There I was yesterday evening, strolling through the expensive back streets of Kensington on my way to the underground railway (150 years old today), when I saw, scampering towards me on the nearside of the pavement, in the lee of the garden walls, something very small and fast. At first I thought it must be a House Mouse, but it was too small even for that - really tiny - and it looked too pointy at the face end. As it hurried towards me and took a sharp left turn into the safety of a garden, I concluded it must have been a Common Shrew. The last time I saw one of those was back in the days when we had a cat - the late Scruffy - who liked to present rodent tributes to her owners, in the form of dead mice and shrews. The Common Shrew is indeed common, in all manner of leafy sheltered habitats, but rarely seen. What mine was doing hurtling along a Kensington street I have no idea - unless the unseasonably mild weather had turned its mind to thoughts of love...
Entertaining creatures, shrews. We are fortunate in having a reasonable number living in various locations, some in the border at the front of the house, they are often to be heard, scurrying through the undergrowth, coming out into the open as the weather improves. One hot sunny day (what! I hear you gasp) some years ago I was dozing on the lawn when a shrew ventured out and lay beside me. I thought, why not, let's try it, and gently stroked it's head. The little critter lay there, dreamily chilling out then dozing off. Perhaps the hot weather had made it comatose, who knows. Shrews may be, like dogs, mans best friend.
ReplyDeleteAh what a lovely story. Pet shrew...there's a thought
ReplyDeleteIt had probably been disturbed by a cat or fox and was running for its life!
ReplyDeleteOh yes - I shall definitely befriend the next shrew that crosses my path!
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