12z today - The Azores High lies to the SW, the ex-Siberian High lies to the NE. The UK's stuck in the middle, as is a front. With nowhere to go the front's being squeezed by the highs and is slowly dying as a result. Conditions at 12PM on Sunday: Thickness, 531dam, temperature 7C(dewpoint 5C). Wind from the SSE, 6 MPH. Today's high, 9C, last night's low 4C. (source: MetO, the 12z GFS and NOAA).

If you'd believed the charts a week ago today would have seen the onset of a severe wintry spell, heralding temperatures near freezing by day and a screaming easterly wind bringing heavy snow - a bleak picture indeed. The Azores High had other plans though and so it was today I set off under cloudy skies with drizzle and temperatures around 6C. The picture didn't improve much as I pulled up at Beenham, although a few breaks had appeared in the clouds.

I met up with John (one of the seniors) and heard the most unusual news. Normally the European wolves have a rigid pack structure, with Alba and Lunca as Alphas and Latea serving a dual beta/omega role. She's often picked on by Lunca, but Alba will usually step in if things get too heated - he cares for both his sisters it seems. Indeed, given the chance Alba would rather mate with Latea than Lunca, but due to the rules governing the pack it's Lunca that gets the honours.

However, all that descended into chaos last night as the normally quiet Latea unleashed a spirited attack on Lunca, almost if challenging for Alpha position. The ferocity of the attack was such that Lunca ended up submitting to her. Thus there was an uneasy silence this morning, with an almost palpable feeling of trouble brewing....

Alba (on the kennel), with Lunca and Latea giving each other the "evil eye".

Dakota didn't go in last night, nor did Kenai. Kodiak gave into temptation and scoffed Kenai's food as well - no wonder he's such a podgy wolf! I was allowed into Kenai's enclosure to replace the water bucket, although Kenai decided to hover around 6 feet away rather than come up close. It's safe to be in there with her, but if Kodiak was around... let's just say I doubt I'd be here to tell the tale!

We headed back to the Obs Room as others started to arrive, before deciding who'd be cleaning which wolves. This time I went into Duma and Dakota's kennel and they'd not made much mess at all - nor did they leave much (apart from a couple of meaty bones). Not long after that preperations were underway for today's walk and I zoomed along the country lanes to help with shoelace spraying duty. I'm still not sure whether that "bitter apple" stuff would deter a determined wolf, but with luck I'll never have to find out!

The wolves arrived a bit later and while the public got their safety briefing there was time for the handlers to make a fuss of the animals - here's Dominic stroking Dakota:

Duma was out and about as well. Here's a slightly fuzzy photo of her making grooves in the forest floor while scent marking (with her paws):

Back at the Trust the usual after visit activities went on, with various helpers serving refreshments while others helped on the merchandise counter. The visitors then went on a tour of the facilities and not long after that the call went out for us trainees. This time the training walk was to be with... Kenai!

I've still got a soft spot for that wolf, so needless to say I was delighted.

It was pretty uneventful while the two other trainees, Clive and Tracy had a go. Then it was my turn and as usual I felt a little awed: I'd dreamt for six years of seeing that wolf and it still seems almost too good to be true that I was handling her. This time she decided to have fun and stopped before rubbing up against all and sundry, three or four times. The main thing is not to let the lead get tangled with her legs or paws, which meant doing a dance of sorts while she wiggled and squirmed. She really seemed to enjoy herself, getting a lot of attention paid to her!

Eventually she decided she'd had enough and the walk resumed, only to find out that there were two loose dogs eyeing us in a neighbouring field. Needless to say that's the last thing we needed, but thankfully they kept their distance, enabling us all to carry on as normal.

Unusually I was able to take Kenai all the way back to her kennel and ended up in the caged area for the second time of the day. Then there was another new experience, unclipping the lead and safty catch on the collar followed by slipping the metal loop over her head. Again, it's one of those things that's no doubt second nature to dog owners but I made sure I paid particular attention to what I was doing.

With that out of the way we all headed back to the Obs Room for a brief chat, before something else happened. There was some ferocious sounding growling going on and yes, you'd guessed it - poor old Lunca was being hounded again by Latea. It's quite a sight to see the Omega with her tail held high, while Lunca's is tucked right under her belly in submission. Even more unusually Alba joined in against Lunca and the last thing I expected to see was Alba siding against his Alpha mate! Those at the Trust expect the situation to be temporary (it's all hormone induced), but it just goes to show that even a seemingly quiescent subordinate wolf can turn at a moment's notice into a snarling ball of fury. Certainly I'll never look at Latea the same way again!

This photo shows some of the "pack dynamics" in action, with Lunca on the right.

The sun had set and dusk was closing in, so I decided to call it a day and set off for home.

While driving along the motorways there was an increasing easterly setting in, with temperatures dropping from 8C at the Trust to 3C by the time I got to the Island. It's ironic that we've finally got an easterly and it's a mild one!

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