Migrated ?

Maybe it's the cooler weather that's to her liking. Maybe she's just happy. Or, maybe she's sickening for something.  Whatever the reason Sophie is up and out of the gate like a thing possessed. She runs and leaps along the lane. We explore all the village speed bumps and then carefully examine the 16th century pottery kiln for evidence of C-A-T-S.

The moorhens have had a successful year. Two broods of 4 chicks apiece.  Miraculously, the chicks have survived the attention of the village felines. This morning there is less clucking coming from the vegetation that lines the village pond. Perhaps moor hens migrate and the little ones have headed off ?

At the storm drain Sophie and her master stop and watch the farmer ploughing the field. The hill is steep and the tractor makes a high toned wheezing noise as it struggles through the thick clay.

The box trees in the garden are once again suffering from the insect infestation that is sweeping the country . The gardener comes once every 3 months to spray our box with an environmentally friendly treatment but to no avail. The lady at the garden centre suggests an alternative box look alike. We buy one although its doesn't look much like the original to me . 27,000 cases reported in France yesterday. Sophie and her master, being early risers, are the first in and the first out of the greengrocers.