It has been one of those rare weekends when I simply did not feel motivated to get out and about... On Saturday morning I received a letter in the post advising that a planning application had been submitted to build two new 3 bedroom houses right next to the farm, just meters away from the house! 😡Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper and have unhappily stewed on the prospect all weekend! Late on Sunday morning I decided that getting out for an hour may improve my mood so I slipped on the wellies and went for a quick stroll around the pond (my happy place). At the top of the pond is rough grassland where I have a sheet of black onduline as a heatsink/warming station to attract snakes etc., more often than not, when I lift the sheet I will see a bank vole or small snake sheltering in the warm dark space; today was no exception but in addition to a vole, this little fella was also enjoying the relatively warm and moist environment, so I took his picture before gently replacing the sheeting.
No sign of frog or toad spawn in either pond as yet, but this was a hopeful indicator that I might just be blessed this year with toads actually spawning in the pond this year rather than in the fen drains and ditches nearby. Hopefully that's going to be the subject of future post.
I'm still smarting about the prosect of house springing up right next to me, but this little chap improved my mood for time.
