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 Badger In The Garden

by admin - 13:28 on 15 April 2012

Matchgirl, who often inhabits a world of her own, is convinced (because of occasional mysterious noises) that badgers live in the walls of The Rural Retreat. Last night she was given the first evidence.

Examination of the Bushnell this morning revealed the usual parade of passers-by: martens, Bess, pheasants. The only missing regular was a hedgehog, but compensation came from a grainy presence that at first glance appeared to be a badger. A badger? Outside The Rural Retreat?

Second glance confirmed a definite badgeriness. Wow!

I wanted to believe that a badger strolled into our garden but identification rested on just one snap, the third of two sets of three images. The first two snaps show an eye, a hint of black stripe and not much else. The second trio show a rounded rear end (with no marten tail) and a hidden head.

Using my ace Photoshop skills I cleaned up the image as much as I was capable and zoomed in on our visitor. The badgeriness did not disappear.

For comparison, I superimposed Mrs Marten, who came for her egg forty minutes later. The foreshortening disguises their relative size but confirms that they're clearly different animals. We really have had a badger in the garden.

Its origin is a mystery but one thing's for certain – the Bushnell will be primed tonight and a healthy scattering of nuts left on the ground.

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