Behaving like a Child acting as Adult

Now I know that I sometimes, for the sake of the wildlife, get myself into some silly situations. Just such an incident occurred a few weeks ago when I climbed into a tree to ensure that my sent was above the wildlife I was trying to see. When I got up there was enough light to see what I was doing. I stayed there until well after dark, and while I did get to see the Deer, they were to far away to film. Trees in the way, to much vegetation, but my field craft had been accurate in predicting the general location. So once I knew the deer were clear of the area, I decided to climb down.

This was not as easy as it sounds. I lowered my camera, and as I tried to get down myself, my gaiters (used to stop the midges feeding on me) got caught up. So I tried to get back up, not so easy in the dark, and I ended up with my left foot on the ground but my right foot rather elevated. Well lets put it this way I suffered a groin injury.

In the past I had to have a hernia operation, and while at times is has caused some discomfort all had been fine. However, I though I may have undone that by my antics. Therefore yesterday I went to see my GP. I explained what I had done, and his first question was and how old are you?
Well I do childish things, but its my excitement at seeing wildlife that brings out the juvenile in me. At least I don't need to have another operation but isn't it always the way as soon as the warranty runs out that's when things go wrong, and mine expired when I reached middle age.
So today I went to see someone who I had met in one of the local pubs some time ago. One of the aspects of anything to do with wildlife is just how enthused people get regarding natural history. It my just be the Red Kites, or that people love seeing the birds in their gardens but the British love their wildlife.

Anyway, this couple that I fell into conversation with told me that just as the pub we were in, they to ran a community library. And that most of the books had been donated. However, they had a significant number that were natural history titles that no one seemed to want to borrow, so did I want them. Now while books on natural history interest me, there are some that are not really that good. But I did agree that I would take a look at them. That's what I did today.
Well I was expecting there to be a few but there were nearly a thousand books there. By no means were they all Natural History books, but every topic under the sun. They were thinking of selling off these books at fifty pence each. So I suggested that they check what they were actually worth first. So using the internet we went through them, and many were worth far more than fifty pence.

Therefore I hoping I offered the suggestion that they sold them on line. This would provide greater income and enable them to buy more of the books they knew people wanted to read and borrow. I was enlisted to take pictures of them and together we worked out a fair price for them. It was clear that they had been good well looked after books.

Then came the box of the Natural History titles. These had not come from some mere dabbler, many of these books were incredible reference works. What shocked me was they were saying I could have them. I refused pointing out how valuable they were. This caused them some confusion as they had already had a book dealer look at them and he had offered twenty five pounds ($40) to take them off their hands. I picked out three and showed that they were mint first editions and was able to show that these three alone were selling on the internet for just under one thousand pounds.

Going through the rest there was a combined value of well over a thousand pounds. All in all they could raise about Four thousand pounds for their community library. While they had realised that some of the books could have been worth something, no one had been able to help them. In fact it seemed that all the help they had had previously was from people trying to help themselves.

I did not come away empty handed though, as one of the books was a mimeograph (a shorter cheaper students edition) of the New Naturalist Badger a book that I have long looked for but, out of range of my pocket. And I paid twenty pounds for it.

I also have my eye on another book but I will have to save up my pennies for that one.
Now I can see how I am doing it all wrong and misunderstanding what I am seeing. Anyway to celebrate getting this book, here's a picture of one of my sows taken six weeks ago.

Books and Badgers

I have made no secret of my love for books here, they can provide some wonderful entertainment as well as information, and for me personally there have been books that have inspired me too. I may have mentioned before, hey the mouse repeats, there was one book, A Forest By Night by Fred Speakman, that inspired me to go badger watching when I was a child. Especially as the badgers he watched and recorded were in the same forest that was my stamping ground as a child.

Because of my own current watching activity, and my recent acquiring of a copy via the Internet, I have been rereading many of my books on badgers. I would love to get my paws on a copy of the New Naturalist Badger but as these books have become collectors items, I cant afford to buy a copy as copies of it are changing hands for three hundred pounds plus. That makes it frustrating for people like me who want to use the information rather than just own it as an investment. I do have many volumes from the New Naturalist series but I have them as tools for conservation.

Also, these books on wildlife have enabled me to understand what I should be looking for when I am out looking for wildlife, the type of habitat, the times that a species is active etc. However, sometimes what I see and experience is different from what the books would lead me to have expected. What happened last night is a perfect example of unexpected behaviour from my badgers.

I have previously spoken of the way that one sow, female badger, has musked me. That’s where she scent marks me with urine, it maybe what did for my previous boots.

With the freezing weather, watching the badgers has become a difficult and uncomfortable activity. While I normally position myself up a tree to watch the badgers, there is a hollow at the base of one tree that I have started to use as well. This is a warmer location but provides me with less visibility. I have had nights where I have only heard the badgers but not seen them clearly. The other night I knew there was a badger or two some ten feet or so from me, but in the dark shadows I could not be sure of what I was seeing, moving shadows, my eyes playing tricks on me, or were the badgers really sniffing at my feet.

Last night, while I was well wrapped up, I could see frost forming on my coat, as well as my legs. It has been so cold that I have taken a flask with me just to ensure that I don’t place myself at risk of incurring hypothermia. So last night I decided that I would have a hot drink and risk not seeing the badgers return, I had already seen them leave. I could hear them, but in the distance. So I was surprised when after I poured out some soup, I heard one of the badgers start to come closer. Its something that may surprise many people just how noisy the badgers are. Anyway, I think it was the smell they came to investigate.

I had the experience of having two young badgers, this years cubs, playing around me even occasionally running and jumping over my legs. That went on for a good forty minutes, then they both went off again.

My thoughts of going home returned and I poured another small cup of soup. I didn’t think it could get better and as I got ready to get up and move one of the young badgers returned. She was less boisterous and snuffled my boots and legs. I dropped a handful of peanuts for her and she made short work of them. Then she climbed onto my outstretched legs and settled down and went to sleep.

I couldn’t believe what was happening, her warmth was welcome but her weight did make my legs go numb. I think she stayed there for about half an hour, and only moved when she and I heard other badgers coming back to the sett.

What a remarkable experience, I had read of this type of interaction going on before with other experienced badger watchers, but I was sceptical, I never expected to experience anything like that myself.

When I finally stood up, it was clear where I had been sitting was clear as I had left a frost free patch on the ground. I will be stopping my nocturnal vigil for a while, but
I will be back watching my badgers again in the New Year.