9th Nov - Solzhenitsyn; winter wheat

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Alexander Solzhenitzyn [got that right without looking it up, I’ve got an O-level in Russian] wrote a short story about the time he threw a log on the fire and was horrified to see a group of spiders suddenly appear from the timber. He could only watch helplessly as they were consumed by the flames. I was reminded of this last night.
I brought in some logs from the wood store and put some in the log-burner. A spider crawled over the end of one. You know how hard it is to catch a spider which doesn’t want to be caught but we both got lucky. The fire wasn’t too hot and I was able to reach in, got it at the second attempt and returned it to the garden.

Why do earthworms leave the soil and venture on to inhospitable areas like tarmac? Are they moving randomly seeking to colonise new territory? Perhaps their DNA is not adapted to modern construction methods.
I was contemplating this as I crouched down watching a worm in its efforts to make safety from the pavement to the grass verge when a car stopped. “Are you all right? We thought you were in trouble.” I didn’t realise I was making a spectacle of myself.
Yesterday must have been “be good to animals” day.

Today is the start of next year. We are sowing winter wheat, which for those who don’t know, should be ripe in early summer whereas spring-sown wheat is not ready until the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” (Keats’ autumn.)

info@burnspet.co.uk

9th Nov - Solzhenitsyn; winter wheat

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