Vegware’s grant for our animal feed costs continues to be employed, although the circumstances have changed quite a bit since lockdown. The Argyll Beaver Centre is closed to visitors but I go up there once a week to check the property and top-up the feeders. needless to say, the wildlife is coping admirably. Our trail cameras continue to pick up the daily comings and goings of the badgers, pine martens, foxes, woodpeckers, goldfinches, deer, red squirrels and many others. Last week’s maintenance check included ensuring our water supply (we are off-grid) was still functioning. It was a sunny day and the lizard enjoying some quality time on the housing for the pump was not happy with me shifting the cover. She reappeared more than once as if to check I’d finished and to see if she could continue her sunbathing. On opening the byre door i was surprised to see the furry bottom of a red squirrel squeezing itself out of the narrow window (the building’s over 400 years old and the byre has long, thin unglazed windows). The peanut husks everywhere were evidence of it helping itself to the food supplies from one of the feed bins. The lid had probably been removed previously by one of the local pine martens; they’ve done it before! So, no worries there, they’ve just moved over to self-service. Finally, one of the more unusual foods we are now buying are tropical fish-flakes. as we can no longer carryout spring pond-dips, we thought we’d bring the pond indoors. It’s now housed in a large tank on my office windowsill. Video updates on the progress of our tadpoles (they like porridge oats and the fish flakes) have proved really popular on our Facebook group. Thanks as always for your continued support, with the centre closed for now, it means more than ever.
