Caught by the flails

      Poor old grass snake.
      When the drainage board cut the reeds in the dyke at the back of the orchard this fellow wasn't quick enough to get under cover, maybe he was a bit drowsy because the mornings are cooler, but either way he got caught up in the heavy equipment; on this occasion a flail mower.

      We've seen quite a few grass snakes on this headland, some of them up to three feet long, and even the dogs don't bother them, but they're not any kind of competition for heavy agricultural machinery. I searched the dyke thoroughly but fortunately there were no more casualties. I quite like grass snakes they're harmless and just get on with living, in fact they are quite beautiful creatures and boy can they move when they want too. Sadly not this time.

      Meanwhile the deer are visiting the orchard again, probably to fill up on the apples and pears lying on the ground I suppose. You can see the marks where they jump to and fro across the dyke to get their fill up of fruit. So far I've only seen Roe and Muntjack deer but a local farmer said he saw a deer which he was convinced was a Chinese Water Deer.

      Probably too much cider.