Slow worms and mice

I was trying to dismantle the rockery the other day, rock by rock. It's not so much a rockery, as a slag heap dumped when they built the conservatory. It has an amazing collection of plants in it though. Throughout the whole year different things kept coming up almost like a flower lottery.

But I got quite a surprise when I pulled up one rock, and saw a scaly body beneath. I poked it, and out came a snake like creature. But the tail was different. It was rounded. Although I'd never seen one before, I knew it was a slow worm. I wasn't quite brave enough to pick it up, even knowing that.

It slithered into the ivy, and was gone. But I managed to get both girls to have a look. Now I know that it's living in there, I am slightly concerned about the slug pellets. It's like a death camp in my backyard since I put them down. But they were totally destroying everything prior to that. I now have my bucket of death - salty water that I drop them in - just in case they are not totally dead.

I don't think that the slow worm would benefit from either pelleted or salty slugs!

I found a cat foraging in the ivy the next day, and I chased him off in case it was looking for the slow worm. Then later another one - but after he fled I noticed that a tiny house mouse shivering on the ground. It was weeny. I popped it into a container and we took it up to the park. There's quite a party of them living there now - he's the number 13th mouse we've released into the park. Although this is the first I've caught outside the house. All others were inside.