FOXGLOVE

It also improves scent, and the dogs were eager in drinking in every wisp and nuance of the ground and air, showing what had passed by, and how long ago. Now, although the clouds were undecided about the main theme of the day, it seemed as if we would stay dry while we walked the fields.

The traps have been catching squirrels lately, rather than the rabbits for which they are set, but that still does a good job. The squirrels are busy squirreling food away for the winter, and are as fat as butter. Good eating they are too, but the very devil to skin, whereas unjacketing a rabbit is the work of seconds. I am collecting squirrels for a friend who has seen them cooked on a television programme, and would like to try them herself.

She is a fine cook and I am sure will make a good job of them, just as I am sure that fewer squirrels here will benefit all manner of wildlife as well as the trees. Thus as I leave the last trap emptied and re-set, my mind is on mushrooms and onions in a squirrel casserole, and I do not expect to see the rabbit that appears, running hard, from the hedge on my right.

The dogs are quickly off the mark, but not quick enough, and the rabbit reaches sanctuary. Experienced dogs do not waste time snuffling down rabbit holes once a rabbit has gone, but return to the point of origin in case there is another to be found. One dog rocks back on her haunches, on point, and I see an animal that I had not expected.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette November 28