High pressure lies to the NE with an occluded front to the south - this is the front that brought the storms late in the day. Conditions at 12z (1PM BST): Thickness, 555dam, temperature 16C (dewpoint 10C). Wind from the east-northeast, 9 MPH. Sunday's high, 18C, Saturday night's low 8C (source: MetO, the 12z GFS and NOAA).

Yesterday marked the eighteenth anniversary of the Great Storm, which saw gusts to 100mph in my part of the world and widespread devastation. Thankfully the weather was as far removed as possible from that as I left yesterday, with slight mist and a temperature of 12C.

The other end of the Isle was blanketed by fog and it was much colder there, around 4C according to the in-car thermometer. Much of the journey to Beehnam was through mist and fog with temperatures fluctuating a fair bit.


Pheasants in a field adjacent to the wolf centre

The wolves had been left out on Saturday night, which meant there was no cleaning to be done. Instead, the first task was to move the kennels in the main enclosure behind the mound, to make the enclosure look tidier. Of course it gave a great excuse to go in and meet Duma and Dakota - and the wolves for their part were happy to see us! Here's a video clip showing the effusive greeting the wolves gave to us all....

http://www.medvale.net/wolves/05-10-16/dnd.avi [25 seconds, 3.1MB]


Dakota yawns in the weak morning sunshine


A close-up of Duma's tail, showing the winter fur growth

Needless to say it didn't take long to rearrange the kennels and the next task began, cleaing nettles from the ground in front of the Trust. Despite using gloves and cutting implements ranging from rip hooks to shears there were more than a few muffled words as people were stung! It was worth it in the end though and the place looks as good as ever.

The walk was an unusual one yesterday in that it was a private booking by a group of 5 people. That meant the handlers outnumbered the visitors for once and it also meant they were able to have plenty of time with the wolves. It also meant we finished earlier than usual, which meant a special treat for the visitors - it was decided to bring Kenai out for a walk with them.


A wolf's eye view - looking eastwards from the main enclosure

However, it took longer than usual to seperate Kenai from her brother, who was in top form yesterday. I've often mentioned how he growls at everyone, even when he's having a fuss made of him! You can hear him in this clip, taken as we were trying to keep him away from Kenai. As you can see, it didn't quite work as planned...

http://www.medvale.net/wolves/05-10-16/knk.avi [25 seconds, 3.3MB]

Eventually Kenai took the hint and came over to the gate. After that we went around the fields with Kenai scratching around to claim the area as hers - she's a textbook example of an Alpha wolf. Amid gathering gloom Kenai was reunited with her brother, the visitors left and with thunder rumbling to the south I said my goodbyes and headed for home. It really chucked it down just up the road from Beenham but (as usual) it was largely dry in Kent with a near full moon providing a good deal of light.


Kenai out on the walk

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