Guard duty

The owl family returned in force last night and sat hooting on the bedroom shutters from two til four. They breed in the water pipes in the courtyard wall and in the autumn the gardens are covered in the skeletons of shrews and voles that the parents have brought back to sate the appetite of the chicks. They seem quite fearless with the little ones scurrying around on the terrace in full sight of us and the boyz. Wilf is intrigued by them but Digby affords them a healthy respect and retreats under the nearest piece of garden furniture if they venture towards him. I had always thought that owls were solitary creatures,but judging by the numbers and the din they make, the house must provide a perfect social vantage point when hunting for small furry mammals .

After a restless, owl serenaded night, woke to a bright pink sky flooding into the house. Fog had settled with the top of the clouds twenty or thirty feet above us. By breakfast time the rising sun was colouring the fog the most stunning crimson.I had always thought that Scottish light with its clarity and softness was without comparison but the hill light here with its Mediterranean tones is equally compelling.

Hope to go to Assisi today but we are still waiting for Fortnums to deliver the Christmas cake and pudding. A terribly nice man from their packing department phoned to say they had tracked down the parcel and it would definitely be delivered today. We shall see. Better late than never.