Since 2007 badger visits have declined and they are now rarely seen.
We don't know why.

     What can you say about this perfect place? Just open the door and enjoy the peace and quiet. This is about as far away from it all as it gets. The countryside is all around you, and sometimes indoors with you. Sit back and listen and look as the world passes by in a rush. Everything here is at a much gentler pace, ruled by the weather and the seasons.

     Have had the roof window open since 5 am. The dawn chorus has been lovely – thrush, owls, wren, tom-tits, chiff-chaffs and nuthatches.  When we had the top of the door open a swallow flew in, had a look around and was off again. He did this a couple of times and must have been looking for a nesting site.

     Mist shrouds the valley. Gloucestershire is the prettiest county in all England.

     Walk in the woods revealed a mass of bluebells and primroses, spurge and wood anemones with wild garlic just coming into flower. Down below the bridge by the lake across the road a swan is nesting and we watched three kingfishers . When we returned to Hornstone the buzzards were flying.

     Millie (aged 7) has helped get the two horses, Doris and Goldie, in from the field and rode bare-back! They visit every morning at tea-time with Oscar, the donkey. They are very partial to carrots and apple. They are very friendly and have been in the garden when we have had the bottom stable door shut. Doris likes to look over the door into the cottage. George (aged 2 months) loves looking at the cows on the other side of the gate.

     A wonderful day in which we spotted two lizards, a slow worm, orchids, deer, squirrel, rabbit and many butterflies, pygmy shrew, peacock butterfly caterpillar.  A “Little Owl” was calling in the wood by Hornstone. The small birds have been enjoying the peanuts we put in the apple tree. Quite a good selection of the usual species plus kestrels, sparrowhawk, green woodpecker. There is a baby rabbit that visits our garden. Loves lettuce and cabbage. This is paradise.  

      There is a nest of great tits under the eaves of the bathroom and today at 6.30pm there was a kestrel taking a great interest in them. He actually landed on the roof so close to be able to see how really menacing he looked.     Washing breakfast dishes and looking out of kitchen window at 8.30 we saw a Sparrowhawk catch a woodpigeon. He plucked and ate it in the field outside the cottage.

     We were woken by a chaffinch “attacking” the window. It seemed unconcerned when we got near the inside of the window. This went on for about 30 minutes.  Watch out for the Cockchafer (maybugs) which fly to the light like clockwork toys – very noisy, very clumsy. Just catch them and throw them back outside

     Mark is sure he saw Brock from the bathroom window but maybe the television frightened him off. Personally I think the wine has gone to my husband’s head.

     We took turns to watch over the pan of bread and milk and dog biscuits. At 11pm, with no sign of badger, we all went to bed. We can’t help but suspect that this is the English equivalent of “Snipe hunt” and that there is, indeed, no badger. Food was gone by morning but that could easily have been removed by pranksters.

     More cocopops, pizza, beans and smiley faces. No sighting, but all eaten again. Is it a badger or is Julian feeding the pigs? I suspect he creeps about in the dead of night emptying the bowls.

     Determined to see the badgers as that is the reason we booked the cottage. I waited up till 1.00 a.m. No joy.

         We suggest a game to pass the time waiting for Brock – making up badger jokes. The best we came up with was: “What is black and white and red?  Brock eating tomato sauce”. – I am sure future guests can do better.  

     Last night we experimented with a series of small twigs stuck into the ground all round the back garden to see which direction he came from. Success – the sticks on the right hand side had been knocked over and the food gone.

     We were sitting reading, with the log fire burning, while listening to the wind howling and the rain beating against the windows, when, at 11.30 pm, I took a look out of the window to see the badger with one dish of food finished and the other started. We could hardly believe our eyes – and we nearly missed it. I was able to open the back door and watch him at eye level. Every now and again he even looked up and stared me straight in the eye, unconcerned. Amazing feeling! The smaller of the two was very confident wandering within 1½ metres of where we were sitting, almost within arms reach.

     We put out a big dish of scraps as Annia (aged 5) wanted to see the badger before she went to bed. Not a good idea. The birds gobbled the lot. Just as well we hadn’t put out the chicken carcass. Annia woke up around 10.30 and saw a young fox first of all. She just got back into bed when Brock arrived. Downstairs again to watch Brock pick up the chicken and back away under the fence with it. While he was gone the young fox returned but he seemed too nervous to take any of the food from the dish. Another fox arrived on the scene and the two of them had a bit of an argument and the second ran off. Brock was back in approximately half an hour to finish his supper.

What excitement – six baby foxes – on the ground, on the stump, on the fence. So darling! They couldn’t figure out how to get down from the stump and fence. A badger came and the ones on the ground left; the ones on the stump stayed.                  

     A really good moon tonight. Sat under a beech tree in the cow field behind the cottage and waited. First of all out came the bats, circling around the tree (and me) very close. I could hear the clicking noise they made. At about 9.20 pm a large badger came across the field towards me. He came up to the tree and sniffed around the roots on which I was sitting. Wow! Then something I will never forget, he sniffed at the leg of my jeans, stopped, looked up, our eyes met. That was it. He was off back across the field towards the sett. He stopped, had a quick look back and disappeared into the darkness of the trees. 

     We arrived yesterday with bread and milk for the badger. While cooking dinner we read this year’s badger diary and realise that what we have to offer was rather poor compared to recent culinary delights such as pasta with pesto sauce and ratatouille ……….hmmm, what to do?……..Our supplies at this stage are rather limited. Our visitor appears a picky eater. It left untouched the beans & carrots (raw and cooked) but ate my home made fruit cake, which pleased me ridiculously.   

     The wall mice must be the best fed in Britain. I thought they would take all the nuts before the badger arrived.      

     We put a Rennies in the bowl on the last night just in case

     Badger arrived just after 10 pm. Ate mixture of daily scraps, Rowan’s chocolate cake, but left dog food. Put out bowl of milk with two crusts of bread, which were devoured. Then put out ½ lb. raw, lean bacon, two slices of bread in oxtail soup. Bacon wolfed, and then the badger picked up Fray Bentos tin, white bread and soup and vanished into hedges! Large bowl lettuce and tomatoes and bowl Rice Crispies with milk (no sugar) were put out. Badger cleared potato salad, lettuce and the cherry tomatoes and the crispies. What an evenings viewing. What a feast for the badger. I have never seen a badger before and I was shocked at the size of him. He was huge, though I am not surprised. He has a very good life. 

      Up early (about 7.30). There was a deer in the corner of the field below the stables. A fox appeared and took an interest in the deer. The deer was, or did not appear to be bothered by the fox until the fox went just too close. The deer then lowered its head and took a couple of steps towards the fox. The fox retreated and disappeared for a while. The deer returned to eating the trees, but then went into the woods. The fox came back and had breakfast of blackberries from the edge of the field. You could clearly see it taking the fruit. It then settled down for a short nap in the sun under the trees.

     The cottage is wonderful and cosy. It’s been a great week, just goes by so fast.

     This holiday is proving to be very tiring. Between badger watching at night and early starts to sight-see, there doesn’t seem much time for sleeping. We are going to need another holiday to catch up on the late nights!

            Nil on the badger front, didn’t see one
            But looking next morning the food had all gone.
            Too tired to stay up and watch for old Brock.
            Does he really exist, or is it all mock?
            But still it’s been good and we had lots of fun.
            So farewell to Hornstone. We’ve bin and we’ve gone

     Thank you for a wonderful holiday. The cows licking the window, is much better than an alarm clock. We shall all miss Brock and the cows and Julian & Hege.