I wonder how many of us remember the Magpie Song! I certainly do because my father sang it to me so many times when I was a child. He was also very superstitious and if ever he saw just one magpie, he would climb through hedges and over gates in search of another. Thankfully, I’m not that obsessed but I am grateful that it’s two magpies that are building a nest at the bottom of our garden.

     It is true, that every summer for the past few years, the young couple have come to stay at our home for waifs and strays. I am fascinated by the way they build their nest or at least, they built it some time ago and now they have arrived in time to carry out a few repairs before the breeding season begins, as you can see from the photo.

     The nest (or spring home) appears to have a roof and two entrances. It must be very hardy to have survived for so long and in all the wet weather that Wales is known for. Once magpies have paired up, they usually remain within their territory and it’s rare for them to travel further than 10km from where they were hatched.

     ‘Welcome back my dear friends....You’re doing a grand job!’

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird that you won’t want to miss.

Cleaning the garden is much more favourable then cleaning the house! But just like the house, I have a habit of changing things around. The garden never seems to look the same one year to the next and quite often, my kind and unassuming husband (a creature of habit) gets quite exasperated with my ‘uplifting’ projects.  But I cannot help myself! I see things quite differently, one season to the next. So it’s out with a spade, a fork and a pair of wellies. Oh, and a sketch pad too!

     Making a map of the garden is something I have always enjoyed doing. It’s a bit like art work! However, just like a sat nav, my paths around the garden don’t always lead to anywhere in particular. But I do try to make the journey interesting by adding plants that make me smile or herbs that, when I brush past them, release a smell that can only be described as delightful!

     Today, I looked at the compost bins and decided they ought to be moved to an area of the garden where they can’t be seen. However, when I turned to walk back up the garden path, I saw my kind and unassuming husband watching me. He was smiling and shaking his head so I guess I will have to work harder on that one.

      For those of you who would like an update on our home for waifs and strays, here a few. Remember the baby chicks we had? Do you remember also, Lolo who turned up on our doorstep one Christmas morning,We didn't want a dog but could never imagine life without her now. Well, she fostered the orphaned chicks, totally of her own accord! They are fully grown  now and chase each other around the garden like excited children. Lolo still keeps a watchful eye over them. And just the other evening a very young duck found its way into our garden. He had bed and breakfast with us, before being re homed in a beautiful garden built especially for ducks with a pond and an island. A very happy ending!

      All seems quiet in our log store, where last week there was evidence of a polecat or ferret. I guess it’s moved on for the time being, I sigh with relief! And do you remember Miss Broody Pants? Well she is still sitting on an empty nest, wishing and hoping for more young ones. We keep lifting her off and feeding her, but at the first opportunity, she scurries back.

      The frogs and toads are back in the pond and my kind and unassuming husband and I sit in the evening listening to all their chatter. It's incredible! Soon the garden will be a hive of activity. 

       Our allotment is crying out for us to make a start and the greenhouses need cleaning. So much work but we can't wait for the rain to stop so digging can commence!

      So as you can see, life at our home is busy as usual but never too busy that I can't sit by the pond with a cup of sweet tea and just think! Even in the rain!

I often think about the animals that scurry through our garden at this late hour, the hedgehogs, polecats, foxes (lovely animals, despite being a relative of the wolf and not very chicken friendly!) shrews and rats ugh! And of course the mice!

    With less competition at night, the bat with its leathery wings, is a frequent visitor to our garden and contrary to belief, the bat is not blind. In fact, bats often have better eye sight than humans.

     There’s an owl that rests occasionally in the tree by the pond. With her heart shaped face, she has her eyes on shrews with their voracious appetite. And oops I mustn’t forget the frogs and the newts  that have arried back in our pond to mate. Also, the toads, with their warty skin and squat bodies.

     Sleep well all of you!

It’s that time of year again, the time when I dread driving in the rain. Well, I’m probably exaggerating a little (as writer’s often do) but the rain can certainly cause a lot of anxiety in our home for waifs and strays. You see, our pond is home to many, frogs, toads and newts that use it as a yearly breeding ground. And when the wet weather comes at this time of year, it sends a signal to our amphibian friends to return to their breeding home. Preferring to travel in the rain, which prevents them from drying out, our little friends have to cross a road that runs through our village.  I have spent hours (risking life and limb) helping these fascinating creatures to cross to the other side. It is sheer luck that I’m not the one being squished! Well, just recently, I experienced one of those life risking times!

     It took me ages coming home from Marsh Cottage, where I visit on many a Sunday evening. It had rained all day so I knew what to expect. The lane leading up to our village was littered with dead frogs. A painful sight indeed! However, I did manage to help many of these beautiful creatures to cross the road without losing a limb.

     Now, my kind and unassuming husband, who is very clever, has come up with an idea. We will make signs asking people to ‘slow down’ for frogs to cross. Meanwhile, he advised me to contact the environment agency to see if they can help. But because these little friends of ours are not in decline unlike the toads which are now protected, there will be no urgency (I’m guessing) in doing something about it. So this leaves me with no other option, other than the posters, but to start a ‘frog patrol’ to help frogs cross the road so that nature can take  care of the rest.

The Purple Poppy

(A tribute to animals of war)

By J.J.Moffat

Recruiting for the First World War was something pigeons, cats, dogs and horses were not prepared for and neither were the glow worms or the slugs. Millions of animals were taken from the comfort of their homes to join the Army. They marched beside soldiers, bewildered, frightened and without choice.

     In France, trenches soon became infested with thousands of rats, breeding young ones and spreading disease. And so it was, 500,000 cats were employed as ratters. Many a man welcomed these creatures, not just because they killed the rats, but they raised morale which helped temporarily to relieve the stress of war. Quite often, when the sound of the guns blasted above them, the cats lay with the dying soldiers.

     Above the trenches, come rain, wind, or snow, soldiers on horseback raced to the front. Over a million mules and horses had been deployed from Britain alone, with the rest being shipped from North America at a thousand per week. Eight million horses died during The Great War, mostly from war wounds; foot rot, influenza, ringworm, starvation and gangrene. Hunger was a major problem, so sawdust was added to their food to slow down digestion. And despite all their efforts, these brave animal soldiers of war, often succumbed to the relentless bombardment and suffered from debilitating shellshock.

     Once again, when threatened by mustard gas, the Army turned to animals for help. They tested many of them for the detection of gas but they all failed, with the exception of the innocent garden slug. Why, may you ask? Exposed to mustard gas, the slug closes its breathing aperture, so protects its lungs. Recruited immediately and without training, they were marched to war!

      Back in the dark, dank trenches, winter loomed with the promise of being the coldest that France could ever recall.  Soldiers struggled to read their maps and letters from home and morale was low. Then along came an enormous army of glow worms. Not your average soldier by any stretch, but they proved their worth by joining the ranks and living in jam jars. It seemed that nothing could escape this terrible war! 

     Soon, the trenches, built from sandbags and wood, were occupied not only by soldiers, but cats, glow worms, slugs and dogs. It is no wonder, that typhus, dysentery and cholera soon followed. The unsuspecting dogs, once someone’s pet, were trained as messengers and enemy detectors whilst others became Mercy dogs on the battlefield. Carrying medical supplies in a box attached to them, these brave canine soldiers sought out the wounded and dying. Sitting besides the bloodied men, their cries merged as one.

     Americans didn’t use dogs, until they discovered a stowaway on board one of their ships. That dog, ‘Sergeant Stubby’ became the most highly-ranked and decorated service dog in military history. Around a million of these dogs died in action.

     The war was not only being fought on the ground, but up in the sky where pigeon ‘spies’ flew between France and Britain and frontline trenches. Strapped to them were messages, vital to the soldiers. These amazing birds (100,000 of them and probably more) fought the enemy falcons, released by the Germans in the battle of the sky. These birds of prey could bring the pigeon spies down when all else failed.

     And so this bloodiest of wars, with a total loss of more than 9 million soldiers, not counting civilians and the animals that supported them, ended at 11 o’clock in the morning of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918.  But for the animals, their war was far from over.

     The National Archives in Kew, London, tell a sad tale of thousands of animal ‘soldiers’ left behind at the end of the war, in the hands of Belgian and French butchers. The same thing happened after Wcess Royal, unveiled the Animals in War Memorial in Hyde Park, London. This was designed by an English sculptor to commemorate the animal soldiers that served and died under British Military command, throughout history.

At the going down of the sun, we will remember them.W2. Churchill was furious when he heard of their plight and arranged for their safe return home.

     In November 2004, Princess Anne, the Prin