A Crafty Visitor gets seen off.

Yesterday afternoon about 4pm when the farmer took his sheep dog, Tip and Tess for their afternoon walk, Tess as usual lagged behind at a rabbit hole.   They were just passing our little plantain at the time, the wood where many of our wild pheasants roost for the night.   Unbeknown to the farmer, his friend and neighbouring farmer was just getting his cows in for milking from the other side of the plantain.

The farmer called out for Tess to hurry up and disturbed a crafty visitor to the little wood!   A vixen was lurking in there, waiting for the pheasants to stroll home and fly up into the trees for their nightly roost.   She streaked out in front of the cows plodding home and our friend rang on his mobile to say 'watch out for the vixen' and there she was, streaking across the field in full flight.

She got away this time but sadly I fear thay if she keeps trying the same trick her life may be a short one.   Secretly I hope she learns her lesson.   If only she would stick to rabbits for her food then everyone would think of her as a friend.   But pheasants - and even worse, our hens - are I am afraid beyond the pale.

More apples dealt with today.   Two apple pies made for the freezer for a start, and then for sheer indulgence I made a steamed apple pudding (with suet and brown sugar) for our tea.   Forgetting about the calories I steamed it all afternoon on the Aga and we ate it in front of the wood burner on the most wet and miserable afternoon imaginable.

Tomorrow I intend to add two apple crumbles to the collection in the freezer.  I have hardly made an impression on the apple crop and sadly I really don't think I shall ever get through them all before they begin to deteriorate.   They are none of them

keepers and a box full at the gate for people to help themselves to would be useless as everyone has the same bumper crop.