Walking The Fields

In earlier years there were sheep in my mother's fields, but the farmer who hired the grazing rights has dropped out of communication and the fields are beginning to revert to a state of nature. My mother used to walk the dog round them but there's no dog any more. I do believe that Matthew and I are the only two people who have set foot in them this year.

There are several warrens- and the rabbits keep the grass down. I'm seeing a lot of toadstools-  black ones, white ones, green ones, orange ones. The orange ones are the right shape for elves to live in and fit with dormer windows.

There's a stream that rises in the field. It's been dry through the summer and the bed is overgrown but after the recent rain there's a glitter of water down among the grasses and brambles and iris leaves. Stand close and you can hear it trickle.

Identifying The Yeti

Hairs that are believed to come from a yeti have had their DNA matched to the DNA from the jawbone of a prehistoric bear. So there's a big bear we thought was extinct roaming the Himalayas. That's exciting.

But does that mean we've identified the yeti? I'm not convinced. Are we to believe that all the people who say they've seen it mistook a bear for a huge primate? There are other kinds of bear in the region. People know what they look like.

So we've found a new kind of bear (which is great) but I'm not ready to accept we've explained the yeti away- not yet.