The mole scarer - doesn't!

Up and out bright and early this morning to find our pristine new lawns looking like a lunar landscape. The mole family have returned despite the deterrent effect of the solar powered mole scarers. It only goes to show that you should read the reviews on Amazon before you buy anything. 'Hopeless' was the comment posted by one purchaser of the mole scarers - a comment I chose to ignore at the time and have only belatedly come to recognize as sadly being all too true.

Mark you comments posted on websites should always be taken with a pinch of salt. If you go to tripadvisor.com and read the reviews you'll always find that there are a couple of deeply,deeply disturbed people who manage to find fault where ever they go. A hotel that gets a hundred glowing ratings will be sure to have a post or two complaining about finding glass in their soup or their room being situated above an active volcano. My favourite is a complaint about a grand hotel in Naples where an unsuspecting couple from the mid-west had their luggage,money and credit cards stolen somewhere in the 20 yards between the taxi at the front door and the reception desk. Being Naples the front desk staff were unwilling to honour their reservation without a credit card - a great way to start your vacation.

Beautiful weather here again after a cloudy spell. Digby decided to go exploring in the fields at first light and has come back covered in grass seeds. We have spent twenty minutes picking them out of his fur and from between his paw pads - attention that was not gratefully received.

The mole scarer day 2.

Another of those perfect days - not a cloud in the sky and the view across the valley to Todi crystal clear. The solar powered mole scarers are installed and busy doing whatever they are supposed to do - so far this morning there are no signs of our little flippered friends. Late yesterday afternoon (having heard about our purchase on the super efficient village grapevine) the local farmer and his son came down to look at the new mole scaring apparatus - I think they were rather disappointed that the scarers look like solar garden lights rather than some state of the art sci-fi type contraption.

The boyz constantly amaze me with their enthusiasm for life - the second I finish my breakfast toast and coffee they are at the front door urging me to get my shoes on and making it clear that they want to get out and start the day without losing a second of exploration time.This morning they were off down the drive, turning round from time to time to make sure that I was keeping up. Wilf bounds ahead while Digby,with his sore hips,tends to lag a little as the walk progresses. I chat away to the two boyz on the morning walk - a character trait that further reinforces the locals view that I'm harmless but not quite right in the head - in short the sort of person who would invest in solar powered mole scarers.

At the bar in the village this morning the talk was of two motor cycle accidents that happened last night. One young chap wasn't looking where he was going and drove into a tractor that pulled out in front of him while in the second the rider lost control taking a corner at speed. Thankfully, both of them seem to have a few broken bones but are otherwise just fine. The number of accidents on the roads here continue to amaze and alarm me - it is as if there is a communal denial that there is a traffic problem. For a country where the family is the dominant social feature you would think that there would be pressure on the young folk to drive responsibly. But no - people drive while reading, while talking on the phone,and the weekend accident rate among the young is something any anglo-saxon would find terrifying and unacceptable. In northern Europe there is a sense of care and prevention when driving with speed limits and strict police traffic enforcement - here in the south people live with a concept of destiny - what will be, will be - so why obey the rules and why enforce them?.