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Spring Cleaning in Autumn

Today, taking care of the damanged tendon in my knee, I took a very gentle stroll down Broomstick and Bottom Lanes and back across the fields. What was very striking was the badger sets. They had all been clearing out old bedding. At first I thought somebody had been fly tipping garden waste but the heaps were sheltered by undergrowth and mixed with earth.

There wasn't much to variety in the way of birds but the jackdaws were making a lot of noise and on the open field a skylark was singing. At home the fat block hanging from the quince tree in the front garden is getting a little attention. This afternoon a dunnock was perched on the branch regarding it suspiciously. After a while it finally hopped onto the top of the feeder which, as it hangs from a single chain, promptly sun round. The dunnock clearly didn't like this as he promptly hopped back onto the branch and then flew away.

Being October there are a lot of cobwebs in the garden. One magnificent one links the curently unused feeder pole to the fence. With the light drizzle we have had it was strung with beads of water and was a most incredible sight.

Around and about the most striking thing recently has been the flocks of starlings moving around in tight groups.

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