I gather today is the start of spring and the weather is certainly making it feel that way, with a hint of sun and warmth but still a chilly wind. It was the first of the vide greniers (empty attics - the equivalent of a car boot sale but it goes on all day) in one of the local villages, so after a spot of gardening, we thought it would be churlish not to go along. We assumed that it would be quite small and not too many people, as it is very hard to get people out to do things or volunteer for stuff at the moment. Wrong! We trudged a good 3 kilometres looking at baby clothes, books, computer games, knicknacks and junk. We did pick up a big bundle of ground staples and five big flower pots, as well as sore feet. It was great to see a few friends in the crowd too.
Plants are coming up which reminds us that the vegetable season gets going very soon now (yes, technically we already have garlic, shallots, broad beans, cabbages and radishes in, but this is the serious stuff). John has been rotavating this year's potato plot. This patch has been used before so is proving a bit easier than in previous years, and when it was last done 3 years ago, it was pretty solid clay, but it looks better this time around. The half a tonne of horse poo we added last year should have helped. Next week I will start putting in spuds. The other images are of peonies that I planted a couple of months ago just starting to show and our Victoria Plum tree starting to bloom.
It may be a coincidence with the end of the hunting season, but we are seeing (or the trail camera is seeing) more wildlife in the country estate. The previous time I had the camera at this point, we saw NOTHING, not even a cat or a duck. This time we had a passing boar and deer. They went through at night and in the early morning. This pretty doe didn't seem at all phased by the camera and stayed for a while, hence the photo and the nice video.
Before that, a whole bunch of them came through. At least two bucks and probably at least one doe, but we can't tell really.
Then they stopped, not least so one of the bucks could do something about all that velvet on his antlers. if you are looking at this on a big computer rather than a phone, it is worth getting this full screen to watch, as then you see all the action.
I have read up on how to get better footage on a trail, as in general where I put the camera is where I can see things are passing through. I have changed the settings again and moved the camera, so let's see what the next week brings! Although it could be nothing.
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