As you may know, I’m in Picardie, France, again after a couple of days in the Netherlands for the opening of my exhibit. I’m visiting my parents. Two local friends, Jacques and Stephane, who have incredible knowledge of the local wildlife, took us to a badger sett nearby. The badgers have lived there for years and the sett counts easily over 30 entrances. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Apparently people often eradicate whole families if they get the chance, so finding a sett left alone for long enough to grow this big is rare. The local farmers don’t like them, I guess. It’s silly. Unless you’re an earthworm, you have nothing to fear. 80% of a badger’s diet consists of earthworms and other small invertebrates. They don’t compete with us.

I went to the badger sett again tonight together with my father. Sat still and waited… A robin landed on a branch at our feet. Three roe deer walked by. An hour passed, the sun set. Then… footsteps. Staring back at us, less than five meters away, was another roe deer. A bunny emerged from the sett. “Kee-wick,” a tawny owl called somewhere above us. “Who-ho-ho-ho,” a male replied in the distance. The roe deer barked. Another hour passed. And then, just as we were about to leave, there it was. In the darkness in front of us, barely visible, but unmistakable: the black-and-white face of a badger. First one, then two… then three.

Unbelievable. You should try it one time. Head into nature somewhere and just sit there and wait. See what comes to you. You’ll be surprised.

Because I have no photos of badgers (yet), here's one of the wood mouse that lives in our kitchen.