A Firkin of Fauna

from fields, forests and farms

[caption id="AFirkinofFauna_Feature" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

1. This pompous peacock struts his stuff standing sentinel on the lawns of Castle Howard, Yorkshire.[/caption]

‘Animals are such agreeable friends–they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms’
—George Eliot

[caption id="AFirkinofFauna_img1" align="aligncenter" width="878"]

2. The cute-as-a-button, prickly-as-a-cactus hedgehog is one of many species whose habitat shrunk considerably with the disappearing hedgerows of the 20th century.[/caption]

[caption id="AFirkinofFauna_img2" align="aligncenter" width="788"]

3. It takes sharp eyes and good fortune to spot a wild boar in the woodlands of the New Forest.[/caption]

[caption id="AFirkinofFauna_img3" align="aligncenter" width="442"]

4. An unfazed tabby rises from her nap in the back garden of Romsey Abbey, Hampshire.[/caption]

[caption id="AFirkinofFauna_img4" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

5. Quiet neighbors, these sleepy cattle wander around the field next to Jane Austen’s house in Chawton.[/caption]

[caption id="AFirkinofFauna_img5" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

6. The keen-eyed, sharp-witted border collie truly is a shepherd’s best friend in the border hill country.[/caption]