'A MID-AFTERNOON SNACK IN THE COPSE...' (WORDS ABOUT BADGERS AT TEMPLE BALSALL...)

 A Mid-Afternoon Snack In The Copse…

The resident bowls needed filling, having run dry.

Thus I hauled three water containers into the wood,

Plus a handful of peanuts for the badgers to seek

At dusk, when they emerged to forage and scout.

The receptacles were refilled as the sun gleamed high

And I tarried awhile beneath the copse’s shady hood,

Enjoying the breeze and fractured sunlight, weak.

Then to my shock, from a sett there appeared a snout…

The eager badger began to feed, as did another nearby

And I held my breath, motionless as long as I could.

Soon though, both creatures calmly disappeared, meek

And silent, leaving only a fussy robin gadding about…

Pete Ray

5th July 2022   

Knowing that badger cubs need water to help digest peanuts, it was critical that the water bowls in the copse were at least partly full, so I drove to Temple Balsall at around 1.45pm with three used milk containers of fresh, cold water.

I then sprinkled a few peanuts about, near two sett entrances as treats for the evening but within moments, two badgers appeared and began to feed. 

It was calm, pleasant and as quickly as the badgers had appeared, they slipped below ground again, presumably to rest after their mid-afternoon snack…