Awakening

The finest and warmest day of the year so far.  Gus and I saw the sun rise and the sun set from different vantage points.

When I saw the forecast for the weekend, I had a feeling I would see something last seen in mid-September.  I had several conversations with people yesterday about whether he might appear - it is after all more than a fortnight earlier than his awakening the last two years.  But I checked at lunchtime as the temperature climbed well into the double figures Celsius, and there was Reggie encrusted with earth and basking in the sunshine (see extra).  I shall try and get a more blippable photo of him tomorrow after he's had a bath.

I'm not very happy with him hibernating in the garden, since a deep and prolonged frost could be fatal.  But his reptilian intelligence has outwitted my mammalian brain each time this last three years.  Wifie says he hates being in the fridge and at first sign of cooling late Summer temperatures, he buries himself before I can corral him in a smaller pen.  Last year, he disappeared when it still felt quite warm on about 12 September, catching me off guard once again.  There was no sign of where he might be, and we were left with the nagging doubt that this time he might have escaped the garden altogether.  Hence, it was a great joy and relief to see his grumpy face today.