Digger Drops In

I was putting the Sunday newspapers in our recycling boxes, which are in an outdoor basement area at the side of our house, last night when I noticed something odd. In the poor light from a low energy bulb that hadn't warmed up, I could see a small pile of earth near the back door. As the basement is about 4 feet below ground level with concrete walls and a slabbed base, I couldn't understand it and looked about for an explanation.

In the half light I could just make out a small creature, which I thought at first was a hedgehog. I went inside and got a torch and to my great surprise discovered that the illuminated animal was in fact a mole. As there are wooden slatted steps to the basement, I could only think the blind mole was following the scent of something tasty when it fell into the basement. Anyway, it wasn't getting back out without a hand so I grabbed hold of it round its body. Well, it may be small but those little spade like feet and claws are pretty strong. It had no difficulty pulling itself out from my grasp and I had to grab it again a bit tighter. Clearly this wasn't the way to hold a mole but I wanted to get a quick blip of it!

As it was after midnight, today's blip was in the camera. It was now time to escort Mr Mole from the premises and garden to a spot where he could dig away in peace!