If you live in the UK you will know that we are experiencing what the media are referring to as the 'big freeze' - but is actually more like the decent winter weather we should get at this time of year, but so often don't! Anyway the covering of snow has solved one mystery...
Just inside the front gate of the church is a wooden side gate that gives entry to the garden. I'm guessing that most people have not even noticed it as it looks quite a lot like the fence when closed. It is just that most mornings when I get to the church it is not closed but open. The problem with the gate is that it does not latch properly, but it seems that everyday someone is using the church car park and garden as a short cut - and leaving the wooden side gate open.
Anyway - the snow gave the opportunity to solve the mystery of who was leaving the gate open once and for all. This morning on arrival at the church, the gate was indeed open, and there were a single clear set of footprints in the snow, leading through the gate, across the car park... easy to follow the prints and find out which house they led to...it was just then a case of ringing the bell and finding out why the person repeatedly left the gate open and trespassed on church property...
But the footprints belonged to a fox. The gate is being left open by a fox.
When I was younger, when we left a door open we would often be challenged, 'were you born in a field?' I guess the answer in this case is probably 'yes'.
