Living In The Countryside.

Some people would say that living in the country has its drawbacks, but it also has its benefits. I have been privileged to have lived in the “sticks” for most of my adult life and have seen, up close most of our natural wildlife, including, deer, badgers, foxes, rabbits, hares, red and grey squirrels‘. Since moving to Lincolnshire we have had rabbits and grey squirrels in our garden. One animal that I hadn't seen in the wild was a stoat (Mustela erminea), that was until recently.

One day last week, I was in my study checking on my weather station software, when I just glanced through the window and there on the side terrace was a stoat, yes it was a stoat, it had a black tip to it’s tail. It stayed there for about 30 seconds, and was gone. The following morning I noticed a pile of pigeon feathers in the paddock behind me. I suppose it could have been a cat, a fox, or even a kestrel, but call me a romantic, I prefer to think it was our friend the stoat .