Gorse Everywhere!

A backblip from Thursday
Our friend H took B and I on a walk around and up Muckleburgh Hill via Kelling Heath this morning.  The bird song was plentiful particularly the songs of skylarks and the call of chiff-chaffs.  The heath was especially attractive as most of the gorse was in flower and smelling faintly of coconut shampoo.  We walked about six miles and managed to incorporate a cup of coffee at The Old Reading Rooms part way round.

On a different subject, M and I managed to save 162 toads from being run over tonight on our Toad Watch patrol in a nearby village.  Sadly we lost 14 that ended up under the wheels of cars while we were elsewhere along the road.  I spent a few moments by the breeding pond when I delivered my last bucket of toads.  The frogs were croaking gently and expanding their cheeks and throats which were just above the level of the water.   The toads were a seething mass of males and females and squeaking loudly...quite magical in the light of my torch, and accompanied by a tawny owl hooting nearby.  The full moon and warmer weather has made them arrive in large numbers, a busy hour and a half!