Otterless

Thought for the week

This weekend was supposed to be the second decadal Exeter otter survey which we have been excited about for sometime. Otter reintroductions to the wild have ceased as the population is beginning to recover. We've known for sometime that there were otters in Exeter because of the photo in the Devon Wildlife Trust's newsletter about an otter break in Cricklepit mill:

(click to see the full DWT video)

The survey is postponed until the first weekend in December, which will allow time for the water level to subside in the river Exe and hopefully we'll have a few days free of rain. Yesterday we went on our own otter hunt to the Seaton marshes (see Helen's post), where otters have been sited recently, but alas we did not see any signs.

The week's best(s)

1. Peaceful moments waiting for the rain to stop

2. Positive news from CJ that he'll have surgery soon; we'll be able to take him to the zoo some time in the new year.

3. We received news this week that our builder is nearly finished on his current job (restoration of a old cottage) and will be with us within a week. This weekend we've been emptying the kitchen and dining room in anticipation.

The week's worst(s)

Jedward. Although I do find it comforting that I can honestly say I could have given an equal performance.

Reading

I finished Bernard Cornwell's The Burning Land, his fifth novel in the Alfred series, and it another riveting read. I'm actually considering rereading the series at some stage which is something that I rarely do.

Next weeks aims

Next week I'm going to finish working on the paper we started over a year and a half ago. I have to admit it's looking a lot better than it did, although I'm still dubious about it being submitted to Science. But, it will finally be submitted and I can get back to working on my PhD.