The squirrel has won the latest battle in the baffle wars. What he managed to do this morning was to shin up the pole until level with the edge of the concave dome. He now realises that climbing any further up the pole is counter-productive and anyway gives him a sore head. Whilst clinging to the pole by his back legs he one-handedly grasped the baffle’s rim, then reached out and grabbed the bottom of the green suet ball holder with his other arm, using which he pulled himself onto the table. A raging tigress shooed him away and chased him across the lawn. She then raised the bottom of the suet feeder in an attempt to place it out of reach of this creature who is able change his shape and extend it like a Disney cartoon character. 
For simplicity this tale is being told as if there were only one bushy-tailed invader. Our suspicions that there are two were confirmed later when there was a face-off on the lawn. The jury is out on which has the brains.
Oblivious of the frustrating conflict for the rodents, the birds, such as the great tits, carry on regardless, and one unusual duck, surely out of its element, alighted in the dish as Jackie was preparing dinner.
As the day began to brighten after a morning’s steady, heavy, rain, I walked the Bull Lane/Trusty Servant loop. The more pampered relatives of the sturdy forest ponies, who are left to their own devices, throughout the long cold wet months of winter have, as my readers will know, been covered with warm jackets. Although they neither read books nor inhabit tents, these more delicate creatures are given further protection in warmer weather in the form of fly sheets worn to repel winged pests. 
On the fence surrounding a paddock in the village, a pair was hanging out to dry.
Sunshine and rain vied with each other for ascendancy throughout the afternoon.
Our great friend Don, having spent five and a half hours driving from Bungay, arrived this evening and shared our meal of roast pork smeared with mustard and topped off with roasted almonds accompanied by perfectly timed vegetables followed by bread and butter pudding. Don and I drank Chateauneuf diu Pape with this, while Jackie had her Hoegaarden. We talked about a lot, reminisced a lot, and drank a little more. I’m past elaborating.
Fascinating reading Derrick. I take it the raging tigress is the lovely Jackie? Unlike you, I have acquired some patience as the years go by and would have loved to have sat with Jackie to watch the persistent Disney-like squirrels. I wouldn’t put a bet on the success of her latest move to raise the tempting morsels out of reach though and I look forward to the next update. I am actually willing them to succeed (sorry Jackie x) and I look forward to the next update about that. I don’t seem to rush on line for the Scrabble like I used to – Mattel are trying and hopefully will listen to the critics but I won’t hold my breath. However, that decline has been replaced by my increased interest in your blog: I love your part of the world and your daily updates heighten my long standing desire to move down there. I have found, your “life” I suppose and your lovely family, along with the many snippets and lovely colourful photographs of the forest much more interesting, and the dreadful “envy” creeps in now and again I must confess.
Thank you Barbara. Jackie is, of course, the tigress. I trust she will understand your siding with the undersquirrel. We certainly consider ourselves very fortunate in where we live. I understand that Mattel used a forum for advice on the new system and largely ignored it. It looks as if you could be a very positive addition to my ramblings. Who knows, maybe you will one day come down here. X