Noli timere *

A quiet night. Apart from a conversation with a barn owl the pups sleep all the way through . The conversation with the barn owl brought to an end by a shouted request that they  be quiet - or words to that effect. No sign, yet, that the hedgehog has returned.

This morning one of the old farmers cats can be seen sauntering across the lawn. By the time Bob and Sophie have picked up the scent it's over the wall and long gone. Not that this prevents the two angels from charging around the garden like two turbo charged bundles of fluff. Over breakfast I ask ' the font ' if any of our earlier dogs were as hyperactive at eight months. '' Is hyperactive a polite way of saying demonic ? " comes the chuckled reply.

An Indian summer. The temperatures back up into the nineties. It's always like this when the schools reopen.The sunflowers wilting , the walnuts close to ripening. The last of the tourists heading home. A sign on the town hall noticeboard advertising the end of the month '' Miss Nut  " pageant in the little market town. Life in deepest France profonde getting back to normal. 

* The Latin deathbed words  of Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Texted to his wife minutes before passing on.  '' Don't be afraid ".