9th June 2024 - Sad days of Mink deaths - and building a wall

Thought for the day :"The French eat snails because they don't like fast food"

Dry mainly - but we had rain in the evening

Sad day today - the Mink took the remaining five chicken overnight leaving only one for culling.

Such a waste - the mink kills and hardly eats, and like a fox goes on to kill again and again.

Having brought them up, I went down to put the security clamps on the ducklings box, only to find that the mink had been back by daylight and killed both ducklings - and dragging them out through the screwed up pop-hole, indeed the last one was stuck in the gap so hard that I had to force the door open as it had been screwed shut.....

We have secured the rest of the enclosures - but you can never tell with mink.

On the bright side, as I found the dead ducklings, I heard the screech of a very angry mink in the trap that Susie had placed.. The mink was female and looks as though she was suckling young - but nevertheless it was a drowning for the creature.

The only chicken left untouched ..

And we get in with the building work on the terraces

End of second day and a very impressive buttress

Rhys says he is doing all the work 

Small calamity with the tipper
In fairness I was left unsupervised 

In other news on this day ...

The Roman attack on Anglesey 60 AD.

Anglesey’s strategic importance was clearly significant. It was a place of refuge for dissenters, and had considerable agricultural and mineral wealth, but the main incentive for the campaign seems to have been the desire to destroy the druids last major outpost. The Roman legions XIV and XX attacked Mona with a level of brutality and ferocity rarely seen elsewhere in their conquest of Britain, such was their determination to wipe out the druids. It is thought that the Romans crossed the Menai Strait at low tide when there was only a narrow strip of water between Anglesey and the mainland. Although they were initially cowed by their superstitions, urging from their commanders soon led them to inflict a bloody slaughter on the defending Deceangli force, making especially sure to kill the druids, destroy their sacred groves, and cover their altars with the blood and entrails of British captives. Before the victory over the Deceangli can be secured, however, Paulinus is forced to abandon the campaign and rush his troops eastwards to deal with the massive rebellion led by Queen Boudicca.

The attack is documented by Tacitus.

"Ranks of warriors lined the Anglesey shore, urged on by their women, shrieking like furies, dressed in burial black, while druids, with arms outstretched to heaven, cursed the invaders."

"The legionaries doffed their clothes and swam naked across the Menai Strait to do battle with the druid-led Celts".

Cheers