The Great Outdoors

It’s been like a wildlife park in this neighbourhood over the last few weeks. I might be exaggerating slightly and I confess I have only heard the activity, but Victoria and Grumbling Rose have had actual sightings! I have heard the badgers squabbling and foxes screeching while I’m trying to sleep at night. At first I thought someone was being murdered but having studied several YouTube videos this was definitely foxes fighting, as opposed to a crime scene. Grumbling Rose looked out of our bathroom window one morning a couple of weeks ago and yelled for me to come and see the fox in Jack and Vera’s garden, but I wasn’t quick enough.

Victoria has gone one (or actually three) better. Over the last week or so she’s made a start on clearing a section of lawn at the front of her house, the intention being to convert it into a rockery. It’s hard work especially with the ground being like rock at the moment. Over the weekend she noticed some digging had taken place overnight, but unfortunately not in the required area. This we identified as badger activity. Then in the early hours of the following morning, unable to sleep, she looked out of the window and there was the badger, bimbling across her garden, followed by a small fox. We’re thinking of making a sign with an arrow “Dig Here Please“! Apparently badgers don’t like the smell of citronella or scotch bonnet chilis – I wondered why there were pieces of orange scattered all over Jack and Vera’s lawn!

On the day of our Queen’s funeral, Victoria was watching the service on TV, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a very large but skinny fox, stalking across her front lawn in broad daylight, heading in the direction of our house. It gave her quite a shock.

Our Queen loved the great outdoors, her gardens and her animals. I remember watching a documentary where she took Sir David Attenborough to view the trees in the grounds of Buckingham Palace . With a wry smile he queried why a sundial had been placed in the shade of the trees. This made the Queen laugh and she suggested to someone off camera that perhaps it could be moved, now that the trees had taken over. I’ve blogged about my sundial in the past and I can identify with this problem. Unless I were to put it in the middle of the lawn, which I don’t want to do, there will always be parts of the day when it’s in the shade.

The floral arrangement on the Queen’s coffin was made up of flowers and foliage from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove. These included Rosemary for remembrance, Oak to symbolise the strength of love and Myrtle, which came from a plant grown from a sprig in the Queen’s wedding bouquet. I didn’t know that Myrtle is an ancient symbol of a happy marriage, but I do now.

The Queen was frequently described as having a smile that could light up a room. She certainly had a good sense of humour, which was fortunate, as it must have helped her through a lot over the years! The Paddington sketch was just delightful. Queen Elizabeth II, thank you for being our Queen for 70 years – may you now rest in peace.