There are usually sings of mice in the garden and polytunnels but this year they seem to be everywhere. Each time I go into the garden to cut things down and do some tidying up I find bits of nibbled stems and nests lurking in the middle of a clump of something. They have completely demolished most of the Elymus magellanicus (this has never happened before) and the have munched their way through many other plants such as verbena and other ornamental grasses. There are patches in the lawn where the grass has been nibbled and they have made runs in the cracks in the clay.

Its also a problem in the tunnels. The mice are snacking on various plants and occasionally burrow into a pot of nice soft compost and make a nest there. I have to be particularly careful with bulbs, the really like nothing better than to eat all the fritillaries, tulips and anemones. P has put traps down and some are being caught. George the cat appears to be very lazy but I saw him eating a mouse the other day an eventful moment and much praise was given.

I wonder if the abundant mouse population has anything to do with the fact that there seem to be very few kestrels around. In turn, I wonder if there are few kestrels because there are buzzards? Also I haven’t seen the barn owl for quite a while. Everyone bangs on about how wonderful wildlife is but, believe me, some wildlife is a b…..y menace.