With a bit of a stretch

.. this squirrel managed to reach the food, which was hanging there to attract visitors to the bird hide at Harlow Carr RHS gardens.

I had been at the hide for a few minutes this morning (and this was actually the first shot I had taken), when the door was flung open and peace was shattered.

Two young mothers arrived with 4 nursery age children and took up residence, bringing food, colouring books and other items to entertain the youngsters. 

One of the women closed the hatch, through which I had clearly been taking photos, announcing it was too chilly, and proceeded to chatter merrily and have a picnic. Sadly their behaviour did not strike me as unusual; having probably honed their manners and communication skills on facebook and other apps, they simply ignored my presence and carried on as if they owned the place.

Annoying though it was, I decided to leave without saying a word.