Boxing hares.

On our way down the farm track we spot what we think are three Corgis racing through the field.

A closer look and it turns out that the Corgis are three large and playful hares. When I say large I mean large. After a while they're joined by three more. We stop and watch them hurtle around the borders of the field. Sometimes they stand on their hind legs and box. Sometimes they launch themselves vertically in the air. Could there be any greater proof that Spring is here ?

The thousands of crows that have made the surrounding fields their home over the winter have gone. They were here at the start of the week but have suddenly gone.  Twenty or so remain. The resident rook that sits on the roof of the house has now returned and chats at length to us every time we walk through the front garden and down to the car. The return of the talkative rook is is a routine we're only now appreciating. He clearly views this to be every bit as much his home as it is ours. It's only now, as we enter our fourth year here, that we've come to recognize that this is the same bird who greets us every year. Perhaps he waits for the crows to go ?

Back up at ' the last wee house before Denmark ' we're joined by the farm dogs.

They've been down for a bath in the rock pool and have seen an otter. As far as the dogs are concerned this is the best start to a day they've ever known. The farmers wife has had to pick up the smaller dog by the scruff of her neck to 'encourage' her home. It goes without saying the otter had headed out to the safety of the offshore rocks and was completely unperturbed by the Jack Russells.

A little later, on the big sandy beach, we watch some large Chinook helicopters hovering low over the water.  They come in high then drop down to wave height and and go round and round in slow circuits. I guess its some sort of SAS drill. These large choppers have a deep thud thud thud sound to them that seems to go right through you. The bright start to the day looks as if it will soon be replaced by cloud and rain. By the time we make it to the car the wind has picked up and the temperatures have fallen.

Yesterday was spent producing more paperwork for the insurance company. They have now e-mailed to say they will review the claim within the next ten days. I fear that when it comes the term 'exclusionary clause' will appear in their reply .

The appendix. What does it do ? :https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-appendix-do-biologists-explain-the-complicated-evolution-of-this-inconvenient-organ-277012

Cabbages everywhere :https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/many-of-the-tastiest-vegetables-are

The answer to this question appears to be 'No' :https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/7988/Could-a-daily-multivitamin-slow-biological-ageing

This is an interesting but perhaps not entirely convincing point of view :https://www.persuasion.community/p/shale-gas-might-have-tipped-trump