Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
A Mystery Marten – part two
by admin - 21:48 on 09 November 2010
Curiouser and curiouser. Our marten visitor yesterday evening arrived around 8.30 and appeared to be yet another different individual. Word must be spreading about the free eggs and Nutella.
I could easily be mistaken about the diner's identity, for I didn't have much time to examine him: this one appeared smaller than last night's visitor and much more timid. When he saw me at the window he took a few steps away from the egg he'd begun to devour, then thought better of the decision and returned to finish it while keeping a cautious eye on me.
He was familiar with the location of pine marten treats, for when he'd mopped up the egg he hopped onto the windowsill for a second course of nuts and raisins. That was when Bess decided to make use of her cat-flap.
If the marten had ignored her, she would have ignored him – assuming that she noticed him in the first place – but he jumped off the sill and ran for cover in the bushes, Bess in hot pursuit less than two feet behind him.
The Rural Retreat's alpha mammal (when Romeo's not around) returned fifteen minutes later, over-excited and hungry. Activity can give a cat an appetite, especially if she's being careful not to catch a creature that's the same size as she is. Our cowardly moggy prefers smaller prey – the ex-rodent she left for us to find this morning is proof of that.
As for the mystery martens, chances are they're all Master Marten, his appearance distorted by the gloom and his confidence dependent on what adventures he's had to reach the garden. I'll continue to keep watch.
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