Once again my trail camera placement failed! Deep in the One Acre Wood, left alone without any checking for 6 days, and overlooking some clear trails, following all the advice, I spent the week imagining the videos of deer, foxes, badgers and boar, and dreading the images of poachers and hunters. What did I get? One very misty video, due to condensation we think as it was from a very foggy day, of a bird that could have been a jay or a chaffinch sitting on a branch and then flying off. We couldn't tell which it was as it was so fuzzy we couldn't get a handle on the size or a clear view of colours. So in answer to the question about if a tree/leaf/branch falls in the forest, does it make any sound, I couldn't tell you as nothing was there to see it and set off the camera!
The weather wasn't all dull and misty/foggy - despite being promised 4 nice days, we did manage 2 where we saw the sun at some stage, and I managed to get some laundry dry outside. Seasonal affective disorder isn't being talked about much, as Covid is so much more important, but the high pressure gloom that has dominated the north west of France so far this year is enough to drive you to holiday porn of Caribbean beaches or Antipodean glamour.
Given that the trail camera provided no excitement, I have to point out that it hasn't been a totally dull week however. When we brought our house the staircase had wooden panelling in places, and where someone had cut a hole for an electric socket (long gone), if you put your finger through the hole, you could feel carving. When the whole two storey staircase had to be ripped out and replaced, we asked the artisans to keep the old panelling, and when we got our hands on it, the carving was as lovely as we had hoped. I got a chum in the know to do an estimate of age for me, and he said that it wasn't really old linenfold, but it certainly wasn't modern either, and he put it at 17th century - think Jacobean.
It has taken nearly four years to find another artisan to take the panels, clean them up and turn them into an internal door, but last week the moment arrived and the door was fitted. It is still missing its transom window, and needs a little adjusting (should happen on Tuesday), but we are already besotted with it. The guillotine door is to allow the cats to pass through easily, or not (when the door is closed).
With January dashing by at a frightening speed, we have now invested in seed potatoes and can start chitting them soon, while John has started to build the small polytunnels that might win us a week or two on salads and radishes. Next week he is muttering about firing up the rotavator and starting to turn the soil for the potato bed, so we can start planting in mid-March.
Finally, I get to work with some amazing environmental projects around England, one of which is Love Your River Cole in Solihull and Warwickshire. They have just published their first VLog including work to improve the river at Meriden Park and also some nice footage of a heron and an egret. So as my trail camera didn't provide a nice video, if you have 10 minutes to spare, enjoy this instead.
Until next week!