hi
Dear reader,
Badgers are an ancient species.with their earliest fossil records in Britain dating back over 60,000 years and their evolution occurring in the temperate forests of Asia before spreading to Europe. Historically they were hunted for fur, meat and bones and their name in thought to derive from their distinctive forehead "badge'.
In more recent history badgers were even introduced to the Isle of Wight in the 1920s to manage fox mange leading to a temporary ban on fox hunting. Badger species include the American badger found in treeless areas of North America, the honey badger found in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia and the Sunda stink badger found in Indonesia.
Although badgers are protected by law in the UK, since 2013 the UK Government has allowed the licensed culling of badgers in England as a temporary measure to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) a highly infectious and devastating disease in cattle.
Badgers have big families, big appetites and big personalities. They are a wood's ruling clan often occupying the same sett for generations and laying a network of well-trodden paths through the undergrowth. They are playful, houseproud and expert foragers.
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From Francis Kilvert September 14th 1873 in North Devon
'I got up at 6 o'clock as the sun was rising behind the Tors at Lynton. The house was silent no one seemed to be about. I unlocked the door and let myself out into the garden. It was one of the loveliest mornings that ever dawned upon this world. A heavy dew had fallen in the night ans as I wandered down the beautiful winding terraced walks every touch sent a shower from the great blue globes of the hydrangeas, and on every crimson fuchsia pendant flashed a diamond dew drop. The clear pure crisp air of the early morning blew fresh and exhilarating as the breeze came sweet from the sea.
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Betrayal
You were always there
for me, as I for you.
You read to me
you laughed with me
you told me stories
of magic and imagination.
We travelled north and south
to Scotland and the Western Isles
enjoyed Dorset, Devon, Cornwall.
Went to see the Lakes
peeped into Beatrix Potter’s house
felt cold in Dove Cottage where
you put my hand in your pocket.
We were one heart beat.
But you have gone.
Now I have to try to live
another life
with you not there,
with someone else perhaps,
someone to fill the empty gap
you left me with.
Please forgive me darling.
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With very best wishes, Patricia
