This morning my breakfast was interrupted by a cow.  It had forced its way into our garden, enticed by the smell of our windfall apples.  The problem was that although it was smart enough to make its way in, it wasn’t so good at finding its way back out.  And then this sparrow hawk decided to take a late breakfast.  Pigeon for breakfast, yum.

November is a good month for bird watching.  The air is clear (on a good day), many of the leaves have gone and there is lots of bird action.  Best of all are the swooping clouds of starlings giving their aeronautical displays before roosting, a sight known at murmuration. Must be a nice sight for Father Christmas when he’s flying through the sky on his toboggan!

The autumn colours this year have been as good as I can ever remember.  So much so that my kids have banned me from saying as much in the car each time we drive past an ‘orange tree’. 
It can be such a rewarding time of year to be outside, especially if you’re able to cook in a clay oven.  If you haven’t managed to make one yet, I know a book for your Christmas list!

Which? is sceptical about the value of wildlife shelters.  They are right to be, but they are also slightly missing the point.  As always it is better to make something yourself or, in the case of hedgehogs houses, to leave a pile of leaves.  But in my experience although some people will happily make a hedgehog house or insect hotel, as have we, lots of people like giving a hedgehog house or garden bug box as a gift.  And they make lovely gifts.  To my mind its better to give a gift of a pollinating bee log than a video game, even if solitary bees decide not to use it.  But in my experience they do.