At the start of December, the weather changed from balmy to icy and the sub-zero temperatures stayed for a week. The house sparrow flock returned to the seed holder and blackbirds crossed the valley to feed on the apples.

A fox, handsome in its thick winter coat, enjoyed sniffing out an abundance of strewn peanuts and then devouring segments of a Cox’s Orange Pippin that were there for the winter thrushes. We wondered whether, like our friends Rosy and Bill, he or she had signed up to a carefully tailored diet programme.

Happy New Year!