The Boy who cried 'Wolf'.

When M was over from Blighty I had some fun telling him as we walked back in the dark from Orlando's trattoria about the wolves that have been re-wilded back into the Apennines. Of course, I said, they are only found high in the mountains far from any human habitation.

Then yesterday we were taken out by our Tuscan neighbours to eat at Nappino's in Santa Brigida. It turns out A is a bit of a huntsman and regularly shoots pigeons in Aberdeenshire and wild boar by moonlight in the Maremma in southern Tuscany.

It also turns out that L's relatives had a hair salon frequented by film stars and more on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh down near Hollyrood Palace.

The conversation at some point, over a mixed grill of fish and seafood, turned to the question of wolves. At this point A got his phone out and after flicking through many photos found one of a large haunch of a small deer (capriolo) that had appeared one day in their garden.

It seems that there is a small pack (branchetto) of wolves that lives just 400m below the house where we are currently staying. There is an artificial pond - a watering hole, no less - and the wolves frequent the abundant game that visits it - boar and their little ones, hare, hedgehogs  and the capriolo and cervi (bigger deer).

I later that night turned to the internet to see if wolves (lupi) were much reported in the local papers. It seems there is much controversy about their reintroduction, their growing population and their interbreeding with feral dogs. I came across one massacre near Siena that was put down to wolves (thirty sheep and one  sheep dog). But no injuries to humans.

As we returned from Nappinos we did see our first wild boar - small and very dark - probably one of last year's boarlets. It was limping and may have been hit by a car.

So if I stop blipping you'll know why.

Photo is of our current abode - darkness and noon and all that.  Product placement: that is the new IKEA Vedbo chair mentioned in earlier blips.