critters

Critters seem to be around just now, beginning with bears. Elder son and his sunshiney girlfriend recently went to her graduation ball. They really know how to celebrate at Birmingham Uni - band, dancing, and a fairground, where they played on the dodgems and my son had a go on a sort of coconut shy and won her a bear.

I have seen the bear on a photo and he really is a sweetie. He was the bear who, unlike the other bears on the stall, wasn't holding anything, just had empty arms for hugging, and the sunshine lady loves him. (How could she not?) So Hamilton's underground railway has spread southwards, and he must have nominated the sunshine lady as his regional bear keeper.

Critter the second is the garden gnome. I went down to pull out the weeds and the things that aren't weeds but are getting too big for their roots, and found him at last, submerged amongst the ferns and trailing things. The snail probably hasn't noticed, but the gnome may have something to say.

Critter the third is a small toad or frog (couldn't get close enough to see) which hopped across the back garden while we were having dinner. If it hadn't moved I wouldn't have known it was there, as it had passed all its exams in How to Look Like a Bit of Soil. I'm going to put a bowl of water outside. As younger son pointed out, there's a river at the bottom of the garden, but I'm not sure how long it would take a thirsty froad to find it.