Bluebells and Foxes

The weather was kinder to us this weekend (last weekend was a wash out) so it was time to catch up on garden tasks once more.  In relative sunshine yesterday but a stiffer, yet not too chilly wind today, we cleared, planted, and generally sorted.  By mid afternoon today we had everything in the back garden as set as we could beyond waiting for seedlings to grow. The task of making further badger fortifications/adaptions in the front garden could wait for another day.  It was time to reward ourselves with an amble around 'our wider patch' so we set off for the coastal path.  

We were only 10 minutes into our walk before a fox jumped out on the path in front of us and sprinted for about 20 metres before diving into the beach side scrub land.  We stopped and followed its progress but lost it briefly behind a rise.  A rabbit scarpered on the opposite side, indicating the invisible pathway the fox was taking below.  The fox then reemerged into view with a small rabbit in its mouth.  It must have got lucky and gained a meal on its journey, although all be it not very lucky for the unfortunate rabbit.  As hard as it is being vegans, to see a life being taken, nature is nature and the fox needs to feed itself and the cubs it might have been heading in the direction of.

Having lost sight of the fox, we continued on our walk along the coast path.  Further along the headland, and out of the dunes, we began to see more and more wildflowers.  Bluebells were very much in evidence, their blue haze mirroring the every changing blue hue of the sea below as the sun intermittently appeared from behind the dark clouds.

We finished our walk at the local pub, sat supping a pint whilst overlooking the beach.  The landscape of the beach is ever changing through the seasons and from year to year.  This year the river mouth has moved to the centre of the beach with, in addition, several river-lets being dispersed along the beach.  In previous years when this has happened there has been an attempt to 'dig out' the old course of the river again at the eastern cliff edge to make it safer for the impending tide of tourists but invariably this has never been that successful. The river chooses its own path; tourists or not. 

We watched as a lone SUP'er (stand up paddle boarder) had some fun on tiny waves and also commented on the amount of seaweed that had built up on the beach recently, before finishing our pints and starting on the 15 minute walk back home.  It was good to be out and about in the wild after a weekend spent confined to bringing some order and vegetable growing potential into our own garden.