Wednesday 15th June 2022

It’s been a rough night. I should explain I have been suffering from one of those lingering summer head colds, a sore throat , runny nose and tickling cough which has definitely upset my sleep pattern. So whilst having a coughing fit early this morning I decided it’s time to get up , at 3.30 am !

The surprising thing is that here in the U.K. we are rapidly approaching the longest day , the most hours of daylight in the year and at 3.30am it is already light enough to see the whole of my back garden clearly. The dawn chorus is in full swing , with the Blackbirds family taking the lead role joined by next doors Magpie family and a couple of Blue tits. 

And it’s not just the birds who are up early , our resident hedgehogs are still active but on a slightly different time agenda . I have just watched one return from his nocturnal adventure and enter one of the hedgehog houses we have dotted around the garden , time for a little nap for the little chap. And the hedgehog isn’t the only nocturnal mammal keeping me company at this unusually early hour , a brief appearance from one of local foxes. As soon as he realised he was being watched he made a very sharp exit ! 

Anyway it’s fantastic to get a full daylight technicolored view of a couple of our iconic night loving mammals. As they depart for a well earned sleep the day shift has just arrived , a couple of Grey Squirrels. And it’s still not 5 am !

Today is going to be hot , with the weather forecasters quoting 30c temperatures. At the moment there isn’t a cloud in the sky , so happy Wednesday everyone.

Peter