December 2019

Once again we took part in the Christmas craft afternoon at my daughter’s house. A mixed group of people were there, enjoying the atmosphere of the Advent season, and being creative. Some painted, others did some calligraphy, several people did some fantastic embroidery. My own contribution was this Advent window picture which is now in place in one of our balcony windows. 

Of course I have seen stoats before, and their smaller cousins, weasels. Just once in a while I’ve seen them shooting across the road in front of me, and disappearing into the grass. Brownish on the back, a flash of white down the front.

But never have I seen one like this before: it was in it’s winter coat. An ermine, as it’s known in its winter form.

What amazed me was how incredibly white this little animal is - pure, snowy white (except for the black tip to the tail, which we didn’t see, and it’s little black nose and beady black eyes, which we did see).

Being so completely snow white, it might have been invisible on a snowy day, but on this mild December day, on a lush grassy bank just about at the level of our shoulders, it was very visible. At first it disappeared into the grass, but then raised its head and took its time to watch us through its shiny little eyes. And then, when it had seen what it wanted, it disappeared down its hole. 

With this beautiful coat, you can understand why the fur of the ermine became prized as symbol of wealth an authority, as for example on the trimming on the King of Hearts’ royal robes.

What we saw today may have been a first for us. But apparently the stoat is not classed as an endangered animal. It occurs across a wide stretch of north America, Greenland, and northern Eurasia and seems to be one of the world’s most successful invaders. It was introduced New Zealand, where it now wide spread and has become a serious threat to native species of birds.