Free Christmas Tree

In these troubled times everyone is trying to save money not least at Christmas time which as we all know has become a festival of rampant consumerism rather than goodwill to all men. One of the most expensive decorations people buy is a Christmas tree, with larger specimens costing over £40. You don’t need to buy a Christmas tree.

Many wildlife trusts and council countryside management departments will be running a ‘pick your own tree’ event at which the public are invited to come and cut down a Scots Pine. The 'payment' is to cut down more than one tree and leave those you don’t need on the ground for rangers to burn. The rationale behind this is that Scots Pine is an invasive species and has to be controlled.

So contact your local wildlife trust or council.

Fox Strike

 It is a sad fact that owners of chickens will at some point be visited by a blood thirsty Rufus. There is really no point in getting too upset as the fox is simply doing what foxes do. The best means of defence is to erect fox proof chicken houses which frankly is nigh on impossible.

We have kept chickens for some years and thanks to various defence stratagems which have ranged from barricading the hen house with branches to sitting up all night with night vision goggles and a shotgun, have never lost a chicken to a fox. That is until earlier today.

I went out this morning to clean the hen house and immediately noticed a pit under the electric fence, that was not there last night. I had a fairly good idea of what had happened, not least because there was a mass of bloodied feathers nearby (I’m nothing if not observant!). Having opened the house I could see that we had lost a chicken.

Tonight I’m camping out by the hen house with a shotgun to hand. Foxes do what they do and I do what I do which is to nail the bastards!

World Preservation Foundation

World Preservation Foundation

Interesting website, especially the section relating to biodiversity.