Sunday March 20th:Tales of Maidencombe
The one-eyed badger and the three-legged foxA fascinating and ultimately rewarding Night Patrol with Mr Cruisedog as we encountered two favourites. Missing for several weeks, the one-eyed badger boar has reappeared. All badger sites and 'experts' state that badgers do not hibernate in the true sense but may stay in their setts for several days if food is scarce. That may well be true, but all of my badgers disappeared virtually on the same date several weeks ago and now have appeared. I wonder how many of these 'experts' go out EVERY night of the year - in all weather conditions - to observe them as I have for over thirty years ... The old boar still recognised my scent - sniffing furiously as he approached - and snatched a banana from my hand before retreating into the bushes.
Limper, my three-legged dog fox was abroad and observed our progress from high up in the woods. Very cautious, he waited from some way off even after I had thrown a lamb shoulder in his direction. Both Mr Cruisedog and I waited, prone on the ground as I didn't want a healthy fox to get the treat. We were downwind of Limper and after about 15 minutes (I had counted to nearly 1000) he decided it was safe to approach and take his meal. Mr Cruisedog watched with ears pricked but as usual, completely silent and disciplined - I've never had such a clever companion, he knows exactly what I do on our clifftop nightly patrol and it's the highlight of his 'day'. The time flies by out there with the magic of the night ... such are the Tales of Maidencombe ...
