Dubious Connections

We had a visit from a female badger at about 11 pm this evening. I had put some tit bits out for her in the hope that she would appear before I went to bed. 

Badgers, being omnivorous are quite partial to almost any bit of food, and I guess that even a piece of slightly stale home-made bread makes a change from the normal Earthworms.

Jack and Josh are both keen on cricket and a strip was cut on the "lawn". It was mowed, almost to death and rolled several times, producing a rather browner strip, that wasn't very flat, but did vaguely resemble a wicket. Here you can see Mrs Badger approaching the batting crease!

At the end of her snuffling she wandered up the wicket and disappeared through a gap a deep mid off.

Talking of Cricket, here's on at Rutland, actually in the middle of the Birdfair. This Roesel's Bush Cricket was (I'm told) singing away (stridulating to be precise) but unfortunately the sound is now outside my hearing range. Of course it was easily found be two sharp-eared grandsons,  and Pam took the picture.

I don't think that they could actually hear this Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar munching away. It had already been found and was posing for several photographers, again thanks to Pam for the picture. A home, if we find these caterpillars they are normally on Fuchsia plants, but this one is on its more natural food plant, Willow Herb.