Close encounter of the badger kind!
We took a short drive in the dark to a friend's house. We were met by Sue at the door who invited us in to sit in her living room overlooking the back garden. Sue had prepared a feast of brown bread with peanut butter, sunflower hearts and peanuts, spread just a few inches away from her patio window. We took up our positions in comfy armchairs, complete with a cup of tea, turned off the lights and waited in the dark. This was wildlife watching like we'd never experienced before: inside in the warm and dry. Now all we needed were the stars of the show!After nearly an hour, it was looking bleak. They were late! They are never normally late. Had Alan jinxed this like his (non)-salmon experience earlier in the day? But Sue was confident and kept saying, 'they'll be here soon, they'll be here soon!' Suddenly a black-and-white face popped out from behind the garden shed, followed by the body of a badger! Sue was right. A hearthrug with a humbug face came jogging across the lawn and right up to the window. Reaching the edge of the patio, the badger stopped and sniffed the air, perhaps checking the menu? This particular beast was very fussy about what he was going to eat: peanuts were his starter, and he very slowly and carefully selected the peanuts from amongst the other food. All this was taking place just 6 feet from where we were sitting, totally spellbinding!Then, a second badger trotted over and joined the first. The two animals fed side-by-side without the slightest hint of animosity. Badger 2 had different tastes and carefully selected brown bread and peanut butter. We were totally enraptured by the scene. Sue suggested that we could kneel right next to the window without disturbing the diners if we moved slowly, so of course we had to try. Now the badgers were only 3 feet away, totally amazing!A huge thank you to Sue for such a wonderful experience.