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Welcome to The Compost Bin, which contains my musings on my life and things which interest me.

I live in Herefordshire with my husband and daughter; we have 4 acres of land which contains a woodland, polytunnel, small orchard, garden and veg plot. We grow our own organic produce and make lots of cider, wine, jam and chutney. We also make a lot of compost. We share our lives with 12 Chickens, 3 Cats, 3 Guinea Pigs and assorted wildlife. We try our best to live a more self reliant lifestyle, growing and making and fixing and mending and re-using and re-cycling stuff, if we can.

I now work as a freelance environmental educator/forest school leader and community artist; I also spend a lot of time volunteering as a Master Composter and Master Gardener, helping people make compost and grow veg at home or at school. I used to be a Research Scientist, but that was many years ago.

I started blogging because I love to write about the things which interest me. Whether it's something I have done in the garden, an article for a magazine, a review of websites or equipment I use, a training course I have attended or "just" my daily routine - I love to write.

I hope you find something to interest you in The Compost Bin - remember to click on the photos to make them full size!

Saturday, 11 April 2009

I REALLY should know better.....

I REALLY should know better.....

I posted a comment on a previous post earlier today....


The picture shows a shrew ( a common shrew I think, pigmy shrews are even smaller with even pointier noses!)

but the cats DO bring in bank voles, yellow necked mice, wood mice and ( whisper) the late Monty puss brought in a dormouse once, which I managed to rescue and release. The worst "present" was a live Moorhen, which was brought in through 3 cat flaps, 3 rooms and then killed ( very messily) all over the sitting room carpet...that was done by Kitty Cat many years ago, in his "catching Hares, Rabbits and full grown cock Pheasants on the wing" days...

I wish the young cats would bring back something edible, for a change, I don't really fancy shrew...(!


Guess what Sidney has just brought in?

A full grown, warm, dead rabbit....

I need to be careful what I wish for, I think!

8 comments:

  1. Oh dear, you wouldn't know whether to congratulate him or stand him in the corner.

    Margaret

    ReplyDelete
  2. He is SO pleased with himself Margaret!

    I really do not want to spoil it for him...

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  3. My Albert catches and brings me "presents" but does not kill. So the spit-out mouse or lizard sits for a moment, shakes off the cat slobber, and immediately runs for cover while the cat sits there dumbfounded. I have to look for tell-tale butts and tails hanging out of his mouth before letting him back in the house, or risk the "startle factor" of glimpsing his "presents" scurry across the room later.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We can rescue the live ones, no problem...but we had to empty the futility room the other day ( 2 x freezers, washer, water softener etc to move around!) because there was a definatly dead something in there judging by the smell(!)...we found a dead pigmy shrew under a freezer, quite astonishing how much it whiffed, given how tiny it was...

    Ho hum, cats...!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's one good thing about living in a desert climate. Dead things mummify instead of stink. Last time I moved our china buffet cabinet there was a mummified mouse back there. I could hold it out horizontally from its stiff, straight tail - it hardly weighed a thing. Your shrews look interesting. I can just hear the Benny Hen (er, Hill) chase music.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ahahahahaa! I'm loving your power of instant manifestation.

    Put it to better use next time though, eh?!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What with? "I wish for venison"?

    Best I keep my witchypoo ness to myself, methinks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ooh, I like cats, really I do. I have fond memories of strays we adopted growing up. But two things stop me being a cat owner (or being owned by a cat, as the case may be.) One is a pretty severe cat allergy. The other is dead wildlife. If I had one it would have to stay inside or in an enclosure. Neither are an option so I will stick to occasionally petting other people's cats... :-(

    ReplyDelete

Hello! Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. I have had lots of problems with spammers so I am sorry that I can no longer accept Anonymous comments.

I try to reply as quickly as I can and I really appreciate your interest in my life and doings here in The Compostbin.

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