Hidden from the eyes of many humans things live, in the stone walls and hedges and remnants of old woods. A world goes on around the humans, full of life and fierce in tooth and claw.
And when we came back from our walk we found, on the path by the house, the body of the stoat. So small. So perfect. So beautiful even in death. We sing a song in praise of the hunter, fighter of rat and biter of snake, who will kill a rabbit, dance like a weasel, mesmerize prey. Teeth like the finest, sharpest needles, shining eyes and soft fur. Fast, like lightening.
Still warm when we found him, we mourn the stoat, wild creature of the dark woods.
10 comments:
I have never, ever seen a stoat before. He was very beautiful. I wonder why he did not get eaten all up? I am going to go try to learn more about stoats.
ps: I wanted to let you know that I gave you an award called "I love your blog." Because I do!
That stoat reminds me of Rikki-tikki-tavi.
Poor stoat. It really looks like lying in a small stoat grave.
I saw two stoats dancing in the fields earlier this year. It's usually so difficult to see one and this year I saw 3!
aw, beautiful, even in death, how sad. :-(
Leanne x
The stoat was very beautiful. I first thought it was just sleeping.
A present from the darling gingers? I received a present this week too, but it was of the faux variety. Thank goodness for that. Delivered straight to my bed.
Weasel. Not stoat. See the stubby brown tail? Marks him as Mustela nivalis. Stoats (Mustela erminea) have longer tails with a black tip.
Poor boy.
I thought he was a weasel, but was reliably informed that he was a stoat. Beautiful he was, whatever.
Have tried to find out more about you S. but your profile is not for sharing. Can you email and tell us how you can be so sure. Would like to know my stoats from my weasels, and whilst I now the joke, " A Weasel is weasily identified, whilst a stoat is stoatally different" (Sounds better when you say it), I am unsure of which is which and what is what.
No, it is definitely a stoat and does have a tip that is black on it's tail and is too too big to be weasel.
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