Green and country in the city notes 20 May

• There was a pair of foxes in my garden on Tuesday, both morning and evening. In the evening at the same time, there was a fox on the fence two gardens west.
• I got some thin strips of clean wood from the garden of my ex-neighbour.
• Wednesday I had off - not able to do all I would have liked due to rain. I put up workmate in the kitchen and sawed up three metre-length branches and all the strips of wood I rescued the day before.
• Today I went to the Transition Town Leytonstone community garden and offered the 2 wormeries I need a home for. They are interested so I now need to get them there.
• This morning the weather was sunny and warm and I went on a cycle ride. I have a badly bruised big toe so didn't try the hills of Springfield Park in case the peddling pressed my toe against my shoe. Instead I went down by the old river, over White Horse Bridge into the Olympic Park, along the old river there, then out on to the tow path by the Navigation and home.
• I took a slight detour to get elderflowers. Luckily despite the rain we have had the flower sprays both looked and felt dry. This evening I started off the elderflower champagne in a bucket on the dining room table.
• Saw some chives in a vegetable garden in full flower - no where near in my garden.
• Having last week mentioned lack of slugs and snails - I spoke too soon. Plenty since then (though not as many as usual after rain in my front garden).
• Got a nice brass necklace at a charity shop on Wednesday which I wore today. Also reading a book I got from another charity shop the same day - not sure whether I like it yet!

Foxes hunting in my potting soil

Yesterday I had a day off and one of the (few) tasks completed was getting some potting soil for the strawberry planter ready for the time when my wild strawberry seedlings are finally ready to be transplanted from the seed tray.

I propped the bag of potting soil against the outside wall by the conservatory door.

This morning when I opened the curtains there were two young foxes playing over the pots near the house.

When I went out to pick soft fruit for my breakfast and to water the pots and the vegetables, I found the potting soil bag on the floor, ripped with a hole dug into it. Presumably the foxes smelt damp soil and thought there might be worms there, so worth a look.