Mary has been getting pretty irate with the rooks. They keep eating all the bird seed and all the smaller birds get left with little. There are around six or eight of them, not a lot, but they swoop in a couple of times a day and nosh everything that's going. In response (beyond banging the window when she sees them) Mary devised some cunning plans. One included using a ground feeder cage. But night after night it got moved around and the seed was eaten. We suspect early morning raids by the rooks who are notoriously smart, and so to catch them at it I set up my camera trap.
Well after several nights and the cage being moved I started to look through lots of short videos that were captured. Many of cats snooping around, some of small birds, lots of Mary's legs. And then at around 6.00 am a gaggle of annoyed looking rooks. But they didn't find a way in. Looking further and in the middle of the night we caught the culprit - a young looking badger who seems to amble through at around 1.00am every night. He clearly has a liking of seeds and moves the cage around to get at the seed bowl - of course later on the rooks also get a share. 
All very lovely but our cunning planning must continue.

A relatively recent event on the calendar for all cycling enthusiasts if the Somerset Hills Gran Fondo. A well organised day event for all comers with signed routes, marshalling and refreshments. And it all starts in Cheddar. Indeed our current cottage guests came here for a week with the aim of taking part and then relaxing and enjoying the area.
For the serious riders the Gran Fondo itself is a 200km (124 mile) round trip taking in the Mendips, the Quantocks and Exmoor (the "hills" bit) and some easier stuff across the levels - mostly on the way back to give those weary limbs a break.
But you don't have to go for the big one because there is the Medio Fondo (142km - 88 miles, Mendip and Quantock Hills) or the Piccolo Fondo (71km  - 44 miles just the Mendip Hills). By all accounts this is a great event to take part in with around 600 riders. It is not a race but a chance to see some awesome sights, meet some lovely people and get some brilliant exercise. Find out more one their very informative website with maps and gradient maps for all three routes.
Of course Gorge View Cottage provides the ideal base for all of this - but book early.