News & Updates from Clare Walker-BoundingSquirrel · Page 3

One of the absolute joys of the last few weeks has finally been being able to spend longer outside just sitting, observing nature and enjoying the spring.

We were doing that just the other day, when these super-cute goslings and their proud parents came up to the side of a local lake.

Our googling suggests they are and were Egyptian geese and goslings. My father, viewing the picture only, suggests they must be a type of duck.Who`s right? In all honesty, I can only be certain of that they were amazingly cute, and that seeing them made our day.

For all the reasons that all of us know only too well, it`s been a very long time since we had a picnic around these parts.

Granted that we probably wouldn`t have *wanted* to have one during the winter, but still... It`s been a while.

So when, this week, we got to sit among the blackthorn blossom, with a legitimately *leisurely* toastie, in sunshine that felt suspiciously spring-like...Let`s just say, a cheese sandwich has never tasted so good.

Just look at our foxy friend...He`s back, and, unbelievably, snoozed like this on a cold shed roof from around noon until at least dusk the other day.

We suspect that this is because of all the foxy mating that`s going on at night around here at the moment... (mostly in the form of blood-curdling shriek-barks at 2 am... :-) ).

But it`s all good, and just think how wonderful might it be to see tiny fox cubs in a few months time?

Watch this space...

Some things, at least, never change. One is that the red deer stags in Richmond Park are still rutting and roaring as usual. It was an absolute joy to be able to wander through the park this week, and hear their roars and bellows echoing through the park.

Even better (and just at the point when wed given up hope of actually seeing one of them and had turned back towards the car park) we came across this gorgeous stag.

A true creature of beauty and awe, who made our day.

Another birthday has rolled around again recently. A huge highlight for was receiving these these fabulous Japanese-style watercolours. Turns out that my wonderful hubby had been listening carefully after all when I rabbited on about, `cruelty free art supplies` the other week.

What a wonderful present.

And it`s a gift that will keep on giving-probably for years to come. Have a great weekend, everyone.