Wildlife Nightlife

I didn't sleep terribly well last night. As I was watching Stargazing Live, I could hear a vixen screaming outside, and she was very close. I let Scruff out for his pre-bed comfort break and he tore off down the garden barking, which continued up the track...and across the field...I think Miss Foxy got more than she bargained for! Anyway, I kept waking up for - apparently - no reason, except whenever I tried to get back to sleep, I could hear the bloomin' vixen yelling her head off outside my bedroom window. She wasn't outside my bedroom window, but it sounded like she was.

If you've never heard a fox belting out her come-hither yowls in the middle of the night, I can tell you it is one of the most unpleasant, unworldly, discomforting sounds there is; once I've clocked what it is, I can tell it's too high pitched to be human, but momentarily, especially with the disadvantage of being half asleep, it sounds like a small infant is being cruelly and persistently tortured. I did go to the landing window and saw her trot up the garden so my already jangled nerves suddenly panicked that the ducks or hens weren't shut in properly, necessitating a hurried trip down the stairs (and if you saw what was on my stairs then 'trip' is just the word) and out to check the poultry. They were fine, of course, and it did give me a chance to spot the 3am stars that had been brought to my attention during the tv programme while I waited for Scruff to come back from his second trip up the track and the field...

Soooo, today I have felt a bit tired, but I have done some knitting and some bee stuff and some work with the children. I went to the farm where I beekeep yesterday, and brought some work home to do:

I have invested in a blowtorch, as the inner surfaces need to be scorched to sterilise them. It's lovely, as the smell of lightly toasted cedar wood with a hint of beeswax and honey is divine. Ann also gave me some money that I had forgotten she owed me, and a pot of honey. I'll start back there once the season kicks off in February/March, weather depending. Unfortunately I won't be able to take Amber with me for the foreseeable future as Ann has got a 10 week old Jack Russell puppy called Sybil and I would not hear the end of it, as things like 'breach of tenancy agreement' and 'money' and 'it would savage your rabbits' and 'we already have a dog' seem to be of little consequence to my dear daughter. Don't know where she gets it from ;-)

Knitting-wise I have cast on Sweet Pea sock number 2, and have already done the boring 1x1 rib bit. I finished the cafetiere cosy:

I was quite pleased and look! - I stuck to my original plan! I am currently knitting another one for my smaller cafetiere, in a dropped stitch pattern called bee stitch. I'm a bit obsessed with all things apian and the moment.

I washed the kitchen floor yesterday, and wiped down the cupboards, although if I find whoever it was who invented grooves in kitchen cupboard doors I am going to make him come along with a toothbrush and he can jolly well get all the gunk out of them. And today I cleaned my Kitchen Aid mixer...I can't say I'm not concerned about such spontaneous acts of gratuitous housework - I blame the increase in daylength!