Hydrogens new hobbi (by sarah)

Sorry I couldn't resist this I just had to take a photo!

Invader! (by alaric)

When I arrived back at home from dropping Jean and Sarah off in Cheltenham, I was greeted by Helium as I got out of the van. She was rubbing against my ankles and all the usual "Please let me in!" cat behaviour.

But as I approached our front door, I saw another cat run away and dart into the stable. It was the tabby and white one we sometimes see.

Intrigued, I went into the stable, with Helium still following me. All was quiet in there, but the other cat could be hiding anywhere amongst all the furniture, boxes, buckets and gardening tools, so I stood quiet and still for a few minutes. Helium sniffed at the floor a bit, but otherwise just kept rubbing against me, until we both heard a small noise from behind a pile of boxes; her head snapped round and her ears pricked up. She quietly advanced on the place, then she froze, and her back slowly rose into an arch. There was a few seconds of stalemate, then the cat bolted out of hiding. Helium leapt to attack and the other cat tried to jump over her so she only caught its legs, resulting in them both sprawling on the floor, but then the invader was up and away, leaping for the open window. Helium caught up and grabbed its hind legs as it scrabbled through the gap, clawing and biting, but then it squeezed through and was off, Helium in hot pursuit.

I caught up with her in the garden, standing in the middle of the lawn, head raised and ears pricked, scanning the bushes suspiciously, having successfully repelled the invader.

Bird Box Trouble (by sarah)

There is a second blue tit family nesting in one of the bird boxes along the drive - however it has been a bit under seige of late!

The kittens don't appear to be particaully erksome to the nesting family but they did have a bit of a near miss with the magpies/crows (can't remember which it is). Barabara found the lid of this one prized off to but the shape of the box ment they couldn't get the eggs so she wired the lid down whilst mummy and daddy blue tit fantically hopped about - amazingly the things don't seem to abandone disturbed nests!

Jean and Dandilions (by sarah)

I have been training Jean to pick dandilions and only dandilions! We spent ages saying 'no not that yellow one Jean look only these yellows ones!' as I gently guide her away from some prescous prize flower of Barabaras which just so happens to be yellow!

However she does spend most of her time taking them in and out of the punnets, she will even 'claim' dandilions from other peoples punnets!

Monster in the Sink (by sarah)

Look at it!!! Just look at it - its a monster!!!

Where did it come from? A nuclear zone? British Aracnids should not get that big and they certiantly shouldn't jump out on Sarah's whilst they are getting a drink in the middle of the night!