Husband home from hospital!

It's been a few weeks since I was able to get down to the field, but the voles are obviously doing well. Latrines everywhere, and two sightings within half an hour.

Rounded

I may have chopped this vole's nose off, but there's a nice clear shot of the dark brown hairy tail. Sometimes tails are all you glimpse, so it's important to know the difference between a vole's and a rat's (greyish-pink and naked). The generally rounded shape to the vole's body is the other quick-spot giveaway.

Yum

Voles are like Buses

It's ages since I posted a latrine pic - so there you are. Don't say I never treat you.

Ringlet (I think)

Burnet moth

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You wait for ages and then two turn up and once. An hour and nothing but a flash by my feet of what was either the baby water vole, or possibly a bank vole, I couldn't tell which. Then, just as I was about to pack up, two large adults came round the corner practically nose to tail. One carried on up the stream, and the other hung around and ate some apple.

View

In-laws visiting hospital this afternoon, so I snatched half an hour by the brook to watch these two. It's tempting when taking photographs to cut the hanging grass away before you start, but I worry about removing precious cover for these much-predated animals. No good having a clear view if all your voles have been carried off by buzzards!

Water Voles and Mental Health

Big adult

Small adult

The baby again. I wonder what their relationship is to each other?
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The aim of this blog was always to talk about water voles, not myself. But something has happened this week which will impact on all areas of my life, including my nature records. On Thursday my husband was involved in a very serious road accident and is currently on an HDU ward with severe multiple injuries. The doctors say he is "fixable", but it's going to be a very long haul and will involve months in hospital. The drive to see him is 50 minutes each way and I shall be visiting at least once a day, while trying to keep the household running as normally as possible for my two boys, and working as well. And I don't think even when my husband comes out that our lives will be quite the same as they were before.

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When an event like this occurs, the range of emotions is vast. I've gone from numbness to elation (when realised he wasn't dead!) to openly sobbing in the hospital corridor. I've been overwhelmed by the kindness of friends, relations and complete strangers. I can't eat and I can't sleep - for now I'm fired up on nervous energy. Last night, though, after my in-laws came back from visiting, I was able to get out into the field for an hour and I found it tremendously helpful and calming to sit silently in the grass and watch my voles.

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I've heard Bill Oddie talk about how important nature is for his mental health, and I feel sympathy with that. So though there may be fewer blog entries for the next months, that doesn't mean fewer voles or less vole activity, and I shall still try to have an hour here and there with my camera and my camp stool, out under the evening sky.

Huge GCN Excitement!

Finally got a picture of the great crested newt who lives in our garden pond. She still looked pregnant to me, but perhaps females always have a lumpy belly?
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Two sightings of water voles tonight, one at the bridge near Homebase and one along Edward German Drive (big latrine at the former, seris of massive feeding stations at the latter).