Wildlife!

I'm not talking about the Cameron Crowe film but it is a banger so watch it if you haven't already. I'm talking about the birds and creatures we find in England's wooded areas. I am fortunate enough to see the countryside every so often and have just got back from staying in Elveden Forest out in Suffolk. One thing which stoked me out the most was getting to hang around with the ducks. They were everywhere and weren't phased by human presence whatsoever. One came right up to my brothers shoe and started pecking at his shoe laces, there was a squadron of ducklings following these birds about too. I know that is the wrong collective noun but have just checked and found that I should have called it a clutch of ducklings. Squadron sounds far more dramatic. The point of this story is that basically it was a treat to have nature at every corner. Here are some pictures of the ducks..








During my collective noun investigation I also found that turtledoves when found together are referred to as "a pitying" of turtledoves. Over the weekend I saw some rabbits, a robin, a wag tail and a peacock. I also saw some ducks mating which was violent if I'm honest and a little harrowing. That night my brother ate duck, the circle of life! When I got home I received a picture of a dead squirrel from Jackson and a movie which leads up to the picture, I saw some lively squirrels while I was away however..





The dead squirrel picture and last nights post of French as a dog reminds me of a story. Many years ago when Massey was filming Portraits and working at Slam with Toby and myself a squirrel entered their lives. If any facts are wrong I apologise, this is the story as I remember it being told when I returned home. Toby, Massey and French were sitting in the local Harvester one day getting some food as it was raining outside. French needed to buy some cigarettes so he ran out of the restaurant to get to the local shop. Sprinting French scared a squirrel which ran into the main road and took a good knock from a passing car. Mortified by what had happened French picked up the squirrel and took it back to see what the others thought. The squirrel was placed in a box and returned to Cawdor crescent from where the RSPCA were called. The squirrel was breathing but not really up to much. A worried Toby gave the squirrel a little poke to stir some life into it, this worked. The squirrel bit him hard on the finger! It was later collected by the RSPCA and lets hope brought around to a full recovery. Toby washed his wound and returned home to Pinner. That night he was playing guitar and felt the muscles tense up in his neck. Having visited hospital he discovered our furry little friend had given him lock-jaw! Some medication cleared it up. Best not to touch these little fellers is the moral of this story, they could be dangerous!