Wildlife sighting No. 2

Nine degrees at 9am. Another misty start but there's the promise of sunshine soon. Better not get too excited. Yesterday I only had to write the 'p' word and a cold southerly sprang up to remind us it's still only February, and we shivered our way through the rest of the day. I've resolved not to mention the 'p' word again until I hear it on the lips of a local three times. A Biblical triple, as in the cock that crowed three times, is always good for these kinds of situations.

This morning was a very early morning - I had promised AJ a Friday treat of a caffe' breakfast before kindergarten. We were rewarded for our early morning exertions with the sight of a capriolo, a roe deer, eating its own breakfast in Ezio's garden, just above ours.

AJ was thrilled. But he was sworn to secrecy. Angelo, the very nice owner of the caffe' is also an enthusiastic hunter. Ever tried getting a 3-year-old to shut up about something exciting he's seen? Luckily, AJ's Italian still isn't perfect, and getting his brioche-stuffed mouth around the word capriolo was beyond him. For once I declined to translate.

There are two types of deer in this neighbourhood, the other being the much bigger cervo. If anyone has the translation for cervo, I would be interested to know.