Local Wildlife

The baby dove - looks like there's only one - flew this morning. I think. There was a great racket going on around 6am - thanks, birdies, my bedroom wall is only fibre, you know - and this morning I found one parent and what looked like a young bird, rather than the other adult, sitting on the horizontal beam but out of the nest. I have earlier sighted three heads from a fuzzy mass on the nest. The youngster was fluffy and even more vacant of expression than the usual dove, though not much smaller. I think there's been enough time for the sitting on egg and raising of the young bird. It's very hard to tell when you've spent a month convincing a couple of doves two metres away from your front door and within arm's reach upwards that you have no idea they are there.

I've also begun digging - as of 10 minutes ago - a hole which is to become the basis of Frog World. My landlords are generously contributing tadpoles when I get as far as having water, from what was their swimming pool and is now waiting to be drained, which won't happen until said tadpoles become frogs. My back hurts already! Leece, Rob, how deep do I have to dig this thing? I know it can be as deep as one wants but how deep does it have to be so I don't get cooked frogs when the really hot weather comes? The pond will have some shading.

Young Zach the rescue rat has settled in finally, after 18 days of rat-whispering. It's great to see him enjoying the big cage and ratty company after a very frightening start in life.