News From the Hill

What joy! This morning as we drove down the hill what crossed the road in front of us but a beautiful red squirrel! What a lovely sight.

For a moment we could not make out exactly what we were looking at as this strange little creature ran across the road, he didn’t seem to be aware of us at all. As he scampered away from us all we could see was his blonde tail perched up over his back so that we could not see his little body at all until he turned into the far hedge and revealed his beautiful self to us.

There are not very many hazel trees around us and the hazel is one tree that I have lately been thinking I want to concentrate on planting more of this year so now I certainly have the motivation. I do know some lovely hazel woodlands and have often found nut stashes but over the years that I have walked in those woodlands I had never seen a squirrel, red or grey.

The only time I saw a red squirrel was years ago in Co. Clare so I was thrilled to see one this morning so close to home. The last time I saw one was when I was out for a drive one day in the early eighties. I was heading toward the Ailliwee Caves, driving along a very quiet and small back road, as I slowed almost to a stop to take a turn to the left I glanced to the right to look into a field that I knew contained a fairy ring and a lovely red squirrel hoped over the wall – perhaps a fairy in disguise…