Fur Babies





I haven't been sleeping well.
Now most mornings I am awake around 4 am.
Thats why I'm presently on my second flat white in an hour.
This morning I witnessed something quite wonderful in those bleak hours just before dawn. Sat in the window seat with Mary ( and Albert) and a large builder's tea we watched a badger sow with two tiny cubs root excitedly around the garden
The cubs were particulary interested in one of Winnie's turds which they chomped on as though it was chocolate and their squeals and grunts made Mary shiver in excitement which necessitated me to clamp her jaws together save she should bark.
The cubs looked a little like baby pandas
We watched them for a good 40 minutes before the sky in the east started to brighten .

Choir tonight

62 comments:

  1. I started to wake up about 4 am or 4.30 am. Then I tried going to sleep at 9 pm and I still woke up early but I had had a good night's sleep. Now I find I'm not waking up till 5.30 am or 6 am so I'm sleeping even better. You might find that works for you.

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    1. It's stress related not insomnia nick xx

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    2. I suspect my problem is also stress-related. I'm a very anxious person.

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  2. What a treat! For both parties ..

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  3. Get yourself a talking book ( you can put it on your phone ) . Listening to the story will stop you from mulling over all those things that are stopping you from going back to sleep and you can set it to turn off at the end of the chapter.

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  4. I'm a night owl by nature John but i'am usually never disappointed when i play the early bird.. A few weeks into May we can start seeing baby fawns around here.. (Arkansas)We have a steep hollow (valley) in our back yard and it gets bathed in the early morning light.. If i'am up early enough theres a chance... just a chance i will be there at the right time to see Momma Doe coax her newborn fawn out of the hollow where she gave birth... across our yard and across the road and down another hollow toward the lake.. Watching a newborn fawn cross the road scares me to death everytime.. I hold my breath until all is safe.. Those few stolen early morning moments are such a gift.. Enjoyed the read this morning.. Hugs! deb

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    1. I'm not good in the morning, I'm like a bear with a sore arse

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  5. What a lovely gift this morning.

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  6. Magical. It was worth the early start. I hope your badger family thrive and prosper. Your lunch/brunch/snack (?) looks good too.

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    1. Brunch...at the glass lounge Colwyn bay

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  7. Lovely! I can imagine it perfectly. Your fur babies are sweet friends.

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    1. I once cornered a boar badger inside a hen house once after he had killed several hens , he was as vicious as a large dog

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  8. I always wanted to see a badger when I was a child growing up in England. Never did. I now have Mr. Tommy Brock. Badgers seem to be a bit of a pest now from what you have written. How fabulous to see the babies with mum.

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  9. I have never seen a badger, let alone a badger with cubs. I'd be thrilled to the bone!

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    1. Their numbers are high and they are incredibly common here

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  10. How I would have loved to have seen this, so wonderful. By the way, I agree with Helsie, a talking book is wonderful for lulling yourself to sleep, only problem is that you will have to go bake some to catch up on what you have missed. lol Works every time for me if I can't sleep. You can get them through your local library. Mine is 'Borrowbox' but yours may be called something else. Give it a try.
    Briony
    x

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    1. I've got lots of things on iPlayer so I will try that xx

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  11. What a wonderful thing to see, some measure of compensation for those early mornings. (I think I spent most of last summer waking up at 4.00 a.m. - the mind immediately alert and anxious on waking.)

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  12. Great article, but you finger managed to find it's way to the cover image, ha-ha.
    High Odds Dota 2 Betting

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  13. A friend suffered from insomnia for years. What she found works for her is to play talk radio very softly, so she can hear a voice but cannot hear what is being said. It lulls her to sleep.

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    1. I sleep better now, but I used to do this. The effort of trying to work out what is being said seems to cancel out the body trying to stay awake. Sounds counter-productive, but it works.

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    2. My arty friend bel ami suggested I read Proust

      Yeah right

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  14. Your powers of description are too awesome for words!

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  15. Sorry you're not sleeping well at the moment John, but what a lovely sight to see, in compensation of your sleep? Even Springwatch rarely capture Badger & cubs! I hope sleep comes easier to you soon x

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    1. The most number of badgers I have counted in one night in the lane is 9 , they seem common around were we live

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  16. Barbara Anne3:22 pm

    How ethereal to have been a silent watcher as the badger mum taught her babies what is good food - to them!

    Your food looks yummy and very healthy, too.

    I usually sleep well but since my lupus dx, it's not restful sleep. I'm as tired when I get up as I was when I went to bed. It's another kind of no fun.

    Hugs!

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    1. There are a great number of badgers around where I live

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  17. Natures winderfuk silver lining. We have a jack russell called Missy and when we walkex ger the ither day we came across a tiny squirrell building a dray often carrying twigs and branchesctwice its size and weaving them in where it wanted them. Nature is superb. Sorry u r not sleeping too well. Hugs Tricia x

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    1. I think I've programmed myself for tomorrow morning now

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    2. Hope so for your sake. Pattypan x

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  18. I'll agree with whomever suggested talk radio turned low. Some civilized BBC production where no one ever raises their voice...

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    1. Things on my mind E , the diversion my be very welcomed good idea

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  19. It's not surprising you're waking in the night when you're working night shift a good part of the week. How can your brain know what to do, night to night? Maybe it would help to accept it and act as if up at night, sleep in the day is the normal thing, night shift or not. Just catch the sleep when you can. I find a sleep mask is a huge help when I want to sleep when it's light out. Hope you find a way thru this...

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  20. We have a few Badgers around here but I have been not so lucky to see any. The crazy cute Javelinas make up for them.
    Ever since all the problems with the x, then the divorce then other problems I have some sort of book on tape or documentary on my phone playing. Only thing that can stop my mind from the crazies. About 30 + years now.
    Good luck John

    cheers, parsnip

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  21. I have never seen one John - almost worth waking up at four for. Lucky you.

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    1. Come round and we can sit in the window seat together like derby and Joan

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  22. How lovely to see a mother with babies. How is Albert doing?

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    1. His old broken leg is playing him up recently . The neighbour noticed it first the other day and alerted me

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  23. All will be well. Fate has a plan even though we are not privy to it now. The badgers that we have here in the states are truly ferocious things. They are hunt people for miles and are really bad tempered. Still necessary for a thriving ecosystem but they avoid people as we do them.

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    1. I worry that in some areas like ours they have over populated the eco system

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  24. Badgers - lovely creatures. The worst dung I have encountered (ex-nurse so strong stomach and farmer's daughter) was our Jack Russell terriers rolling in fox dung. Oh, that was bad, really bad, as the terriers were 'green' on their backs with rolling in it... However, I do hope that the cottage and everything regarding that works out well for you; besides you are a lovely man and don't ever forget it.

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    1. Fox poo is the worst smell ......it burns your nose

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  25. I think wildlife of any kind is interesting to watch no matter how many times I've seen it before or how common it is. I hope you didn't have to hold Mary's mouth closed for the whole forty minutes you were watching! lol

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  26. I too have not been sleeping well. I hope you do tonight,.

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    1. Me too.... I sang my guts out tonight at ćhoir.

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  27. Sadly I know about the three and four am wake ups.
    A badger (with or without cubs) would brighten the darkest morning though.
    Hugs.

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  28. Oh, my. You brought back a memory for me. "Builder's tea". One of my friends, now passed away, very British, would tease me unmercifully for my enjoyment of tea much the color of coffee. Still drink it that way. Miss her. Glad you could enjoy the morning!

    Cat

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  29. Front row seats to the Badger invasion sounds worth waking up for, sounds like the rest of the day went well hopefully singing in the choir took your mind of things and you got a decent nights sleep.

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  30. Right before dawn is my favorite time of day...

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  31. Early wakenings haunt me and have done so for the last few years. I was making myself sick trying to get back to sleep. Rather than continue the fight I now try to enjoy the early rising. It is still early but I try (most days) to enjoy the quiet time and the awakening world outside of my front window.

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  32. It's a privilege to witness such things. I've been an insomniac for decades, and I listen to LBC on the radio. Try it.

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  33. Such a lucky and special moment John. Most badgers I see are as roadkill.

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  34. I remember watching with joy some years back as a mother groundhog and three babies frolicked around our pool. It would have remained joyful had they cleaned up any poo in the garden instead of chomping all the flower stems!

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  36. I've not been sleeping well either due to some busy on call work over Easter. I know the pattern will return, but as I've got older the disruptions affect me more.

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