Well, it sounds like a good title for a village inn.
I need to brush the dust off this blog. Again. Call it a spring cleaning, since the unseasonably mild weather seems to have England in its grip. It has woken up the hedgehogs.
As well as early flowers such as violets and lesser celandine, but that’s for another post. This one is full of that chubby little deer with a face of a teddy and the teeth of a tiger.
Chinese water deer are, of course, not native to the Norfolk Broads, but unlike our other introduced deer such as fallow and muntjac, are not considered to be invasive. They graze in tough marshy habitats and do little harm. They are not, strictly speaking, social; you see them dotted along the marsh, like so many readers in a library trying to pretend that they are alone.
But one of these deer had acquired a companion. See it lurking by the reeds?
Brown hares are rather big, and water deer are rather small, and seeing them together emphasises that point.
It looks like 10c will be shaved off our temperatures next week. Perhaps then the dusk light can stop pretending that it is summer.
A Walk with Wildlife 
Good to read from you again.
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Thank you, and I will try to stay here this time. The general busyness of life took over for a while.
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I love this post, Adele. And thank you for making the point that not all introduced species are a big problem.
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Yes, although I would add a caveat of course that it’s always a bad idea (and usually illegal) to introduce a non-native species. If you end up with one like water deer which isn’t harmful, that’s just a matter of good luck. I’m sure the people who imported buddleia and knotweed had no desire to cause an environmental disaster but they certainly managed it.
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A very good point, Adele.
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How great to see one of your posts! I love the video of the little hedgehog and it’s good to hear that the water deer are not causing issues.
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Thanks Lynette – glad to be back on here and catch up with everyone 🙂
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Welcome back! I love your phrase “like so many readers in a library trying to pretend that they are alone,” and also appreciate the rare opportunity to compare the sizes of the two animals. 🙂
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Thanks 🙂 it is quite amusing to see the water deer scattered along the marsh as if pretending to ignore each other.
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The other day I was watching a video on CBC with a grizzly bear coming out of den, somewhere near Golden, BC. Spring is coming, somewhere with bears digging its way out through the snow, somewhere with a lot of rain (hint: Vancouver). 😀
Nice post.
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That is good news! I’m not sure what happened to spring in England. It’s been snowing for the last two days. Hopefully the warmth will win out in the end.
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Nice to see your post, Adele, hope you are well. Love the sunset!
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Hi Eliza, all’s well here thanks. Hope it is with you too and you’re looking forward to spring!
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Gosh, they really are very small. Good to see you posting again!
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Hi Words, nice to hear from you. Hope all’s well. Yes, water deer aren’t very substantial (except for the teeth!)
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