Tuesday 29 September
Well, what a twenty-four hours. Just when I think that Autumn is reducing the amount I can write about. Mother nature and the local area keeps giving. Our smoky-brown fox last night was followed by a hedgehog just before bed.
It turns out to be one of the hedgehogs that our next door neighbour re-homed a few weeks back. It’s so sad that the decline of hedgehogs in the UK of late has made these snuffling little prickle balls such precious creatures. They are now looked after by dedicated souls who then allow them to be adopted by other good souls with safe homes.
I heard some incredible news on the radio this evening on my journey home. On a rubbish tip in Japan, scientists have found a bacteria that consumes plastic. In particular polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the plastic that makes up our disposable water bottles and clear cases for fruit and veg.
These enzymes are now being worked on in laboratories to engineer them to be even more effective. So they ‘eat’ more and quicker. They might even produce enough heat to create energy for us to harness.
So, once again nature has come (potentially) to our rescue. No matter what we seem to throw at it, it keeps bailing us out.
The Bald Birder 