Scorpions in the log pile

Never a dull moment here at Plas y Nant.  There we were last night sat round the woodburner all cosy watching Dragons' Den - one of those Dragons looks more and more like a Pantomime Dame each time I see her - when Smidge shot up and started careering round the room like a lunatic. The other two dogs looked up nonchalantly, decided they were too comfy by the fire to join in so went back to sleep.  We tired to ignore her for a few minutes thinking she'd get bored and settle down but after she'd crashed into the coffee table and nearly sent our drinks flying I thought I'd better investigate what was up with her. 

Imagine my amazement (and shrieks of horror) when I discovered she was chasing a scorpion! Now I have to admit if I'd been on my own I would have flattened the thing with my shoe (sorry Pete) but  David's not like that and decided he had to save it. He bravely wrestled the creature into a matchbox and then managed to take a photo of it before releasing it back into the wild - my hero! If you click on the photo you get an even bigger view of it - though it's not advisable.

After doing a bit of research on google this morning - I don't know how I'd manage without google - I discovered that it might not be a scorpion after all but a Devils' coach horse beetle and I can't say I'm enamoured by it's name. Apparently they live in logs so we'll probably be finding a few more as Autumn progresses. I think the hoover will be permanently plugged in.