The Home Front

I've been feeling a little guilty for the past few days. Is it because I don't blog as often as I should? Only partly. No, the main reason is that I've been taking pleasure in the knowledge that our resident mole has been wintering in my neighbour's garden. I do feel terrible when I look over the fence and see her front lawn covered in mounds of soil, but at the same time I breathe a sigh of relief. I take heart in knowing that her husband is a better mole-catcher than we are, although we have tried everything that Castorama has to offer. We've even given 'bottles on sticks' a try, but alas it's a fact that moles love our neighbourhood and pay no attention to property boundaries for last year our lawn fared worse. If there is any justice, next year we'll both be mole-free and our resident, or residents (judging by the Citadel of mole burrows) will have relocated. Just a quick heads-up (no pun intended) for any blog-reading moles out there. The lady who lives over the fence at the bottom of my garden has been spotted on mole stake-out in the early hours....wielding a shovel. You have been warned!
It's my advice not to let the little critters get you down. It's only a lawn after all. Rake over the soil and be pleased that 5 months of snow has finally melted, hence the sudden appearance of mole hillocks. Get out in the garden and play a little fetch with the dogs.


Facts you never wanted to know about moles - unless you do a lot of pub quizzes.

• Males are called boars and females are called sows. Apart from mating season they are solitary.

• 'Citadel' is the name for a collection of mole hillocks or tunnels. Each tunnel is owned by different moles who mark their territory.

• The most famous mole I know is Kenneth Grahame's from "The Wind in the Willows" - dear friend of Toad and Ratty.