Nice one squirrel

We have a hazel tree in our garden, and every year as September begins, its produce attracts the attentions of the local squirrel population. Not many to be sure; natural predators in the form of cats, many cats, patrol the area in the hope of having a nice little snack. But there is one who can be seen in our garden every day. He is big, strong, and very, very quick; he doesn't look like he's about to be taken down by any stupid moggie.

Our two cats are fascinated by him and have chased him several times, but now they appear to have given up and instead maintain a watching brief. Despite this Squirrely should beware letting his guard down even for a moment. Like all cats they are possessed of infinite patience, and the slightest lapse in his concentration is all they need: then they will strike. But for the present he enjoys the run of our garden, using all the thoroughfares normally used by the neighbourhood cats and sufficiently fleet of foot to evade them. For the moment...

THE GREAT LUNAR ECLIPSE: HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?

Last night I "programmed" myself to wake at 4 am and somewhat to my surprise it worked. I looked out of my bedroom window and with my naked, decidedly poor quality eyes I could barely see a thing. When I used my high quality 7x42 night glasses though,, it all came into glorious focus: a huge, surreal, coppery orb hanging in the sky, lit only by the light filtering through the outer edges of our own atmosphere, as the Earth itself was blocking any direct sunlight falling on its surface.

As lunar eclipses occur every three or four years and each one can, unlike solar eclipses, be seen over a large area of the Earth's surface, I have seen many in my lifetime. The marvellous thing is that every one is different, depending on atmospheric conditions here on Earth. Although the dark, coppery hues of last night's eclipse are not uncommon, sometimes, as in 1975, the moon can all but disappear altogether. whereas in 1995 the moon wore a bizarre, pizza-like appearance not unlike the surface of Io. In summary, lunar eclipses are a wonderful sight, easy to see and occur relatively often even in the brief timespan of a human life. If you didn't catch this one, don't worry: the next is due in 2019 and I'm confident it won't disappoint- clouds permitting that is...