Looking at the header photo, taken after last year’s blog party – gosh, I miss you guys. Wink and I were saying today, we’ve actually done pretty well without a social life. I know there are people who’ve had virtual parties, all gathering separately with their plates and glasses and jollying with their mates over Zoom or similar but well, with me, it’s all or nothin’ – not that I’ve quite got Ado Annie’s exuberance in some respects, of course, but hahaha-ing at home and not actually being with the friends you’re laughing with doesn’t quite do it for me, but real social occasions are another matter. That being so, I’ve not spoken to that many people, though it’s been lovely when I have. And I’m looking forward to another family get-together in the garden on Saturday.

We put together that garden seat and Wink produced a bottle of Prosecco to wet its head, as it were. As we were toasting each other, Eloise cat appeared. Tim told her that there are two tables on different levels and the lower one is just right for her. She agreed, jumped straight onto it and peered out at us. She is very demanding and spoilt, but we don’t mind in the least because she is so sweet natured, just as long as another cat isn’t around.

While we were sitting with our drinks, I spotted something white near the house wall. Was it a mushroom or an egg? A bantam egg, it transpired. So I picked it up and looked around under the plants, and found another. This had a snail firmly applied to it. I tried pulling it off, but no go. So later, the two eggs plus the snail were put in the coop for the hedgehog. It’s dark now. I wonder if they’ve gone.

I went out to look. My lovely fat hedgepig is curled up asleep in the coop, having eaten all the meat I put out. The two eggs are still there and presumably she will eat them or roll them away when she wakes after her nap.

When I went to shut up the chickens and feed the cats, Eloise followed me. I came out from having given the youngsters their mealworms – the half-grown chicks don’t go to bed as early as their mothers and aunties – Eloise was spitting and swearing at Zain the tabby, who was crouched in a corner glaring back. He’s not an aggressive cat and I don’t think he’d go for her, but he’d surely defend himself and he’d come off better. Eloise has about as much clue at fighting as I do.