Nut thief...

A very quick blip today, as I really ought to be wrapping presents! But at least the Christmas shopping is now done (heaves a big sigh of relief). I actually managed to get Alex and Ben up early so that we could go into Peterborough before the crowds built up! We managed to find the remaining gifts relatively easily, though the best part of the morning was going into Cafe Nero for mint milk-shakes and a mocha.

While we were all out, Pete topped up all the bird feeders and sprinkled various scraps of old cheese, that I'd found when tidying out the fridge, onto the lawn. The magpies were having a feast, and the sunflower seeds were being enjoyed by a huge mixed flock of chaffinches and greenfinches. However, it didn't take long for the greedy squirrels to arrive. I watched at least three of them chasing round the garden, with lots of tail twitching and fluffing, before raiding the feeders. I think they are siblings, probably the same group of four babies that I photographed back in the summer.

This afternoon it was off to collect the turkey from the farm shop; we managed to time our outing to coincide with the most torrential rain, but it did mean it wasn't too crowded in the shop. This evening we made a last visit to Sainsbury's, where we found the shelves empty of flavoured cider and cheap wine glasses. So I suppose everyone will be supping cider from their wine glasses this festive season!