Weta workshops

Today we rearranged some of the curtains at Coneysthorpe. Over a few sleepless nights (don't ask) I have been wondering how to best use our curtain stock (I had a spare pair), and finally figured out what we should do. My better half helped as I can't lift for any length of time, especially at the top of ladders. I did tackle one set of curtains myself, a pair that we had previously had over the main french windows in our previous home and which didn't require a ladder to unhook them. Only a couple of minutes into the task I let out a short squeal. At the top of the fabric, just below the rufflette was a very large, bewildered and alive weta.

We thought when we moved from our previous property that our ginger cat's weta hunting days were over. At our new home she focussed on mice and large leaves from the Empress tree, the latter of which were always neatly lined up on the living room carpet for us to admire each morning. She is a neat freak, so they always had their stems pointing in the same direction (I think she likes the long stems; they resemble a mouse tail). I realised what she had been doing, and she has repeated the exercise this evening. She shoots through the cat flap, with weta, announces her arrival and deposits the weta near the flap. Disorientated insect finds the curtain and laboriously climbs to the top away from cats claws and jaws.

This evening's offering has been jettisoned from the kitchen window after being caught in a preserve jar. She has just come in again, this time sans prey and is happily eating her supper in our office. Drawing back the curtains will be a bit more tentative in future.