Darker nights

The clocks going back an hour really make a big difference here – particularly when combined with the extreme speed of sunset. I was sat outside on our bench at 4pm watching the dogs play on the gravel drive; 30 minutes later it was pitch black.

My wife grumbles at the expense of the driveway lights. I had a dozen put up with 6 of them being double-headed. I realise that this uses a lot of electricity (although they all have saver bulbs) when you run them from sunset to 11pm but it does send out a message to hunters and other trespassers to keep off. It also goes some way towards scaring off wild animals until at least well into the night.

I’m very conscious of how isolated we are out here.  Although this part of Italy is quiet on the lawbreaking front (well as quiet as anywhere is, these days), we are a fair way away from anyone else and I remember what it was like when I had my house in England broken into by a gang of junkies. It was my then girlfriend’s birthday and I copped a brick in the face breaking my nose. The dogs scare off most Italians so that helps.

As I think I put in other posts, I could happily play my saxophone here at 2am and I doubt anyone would hear me.

The dogs made a racket last night chasing some animal down the drive. We couldn’t see or be certain of what it was but my guess is that it was a porcupine. There is a hollow down in the lower orchard where one sleeps at night so it could well be him. Pascal, the dog that died, had a run-in with one. He came back to us with a spine just below his eye. Apparently when cornered, the porcupine can fire off his quills and woe-betide you if you are in range (as Pascal found out).

Yes, it’s great fun dog-hunting at 3am when all you know of their location is a distant growling and woofing. We try not to let them out that late but it’s hard to separate a ‘call of nature’ from a desire for a moonlight adventure.

I often lie in bed listening to the owls hooting, often closely-followed by some poor creature’s shriek of surprise as it is swept up by the bird’s talons. Sentimentality is to be avoided, though – the last thing we need is to be over-run by voles and mice. Let the owls, buzzards and snakes have them.