Part One

Winter is cold in Buckleberry. During January and February, heavy snow usually falls and the icy wind blows through the town. So far, even though the temperature has dropped and people are rugged up in their winter woolly hats, warm winter coats, and snow boots, there has been no snow. Everyone feels confused. It looks like winter, it feels like winter, and it smells like winter with the pine trees standing tall, but the ground remains bare. Everyone is wondering what is happening.

A meeting at the Buckleberry Community Hall is called, and Mayor George is deeply concerned about what is next to come. People gather and wonder what the urgent meeting is all about. To calm everyone's nerves, Mayor George invites the crowd to enjoy a hot tea or coffee and a slice of Baker Bunty’s famous pizza toast. This seems to do the trick. Once the room settles, Mayor George calls on Wildlife Warrior Warren to speak to the group.

The first post arrived just a week after the meeting. Residents spotted what they believed to be a Silver Fox—a beautiful, rare Arctic Silver fox, to be exact. Photos of various sightings were quickly posted online. Everyone commented that it was a first to see such an animal in Buckleberry. Farmer Ted wrote, “It has travelled too far south and should be travelling further north. It has lost its way!” Everyone agreed. Warren suggested that everyone exercise caution, as it would be hard to tell what mood the displaced Silver Fox would be in. He also recommended keeping dogs and cats indoors until further information was available.

Every day, more and more photos of the Silver Fox were posted to Facebook. It had no snow to hide its thick fur coat, so the Silver Fox stuck out like a sore thumb against the green landscape. When locals were taking the Butter Box bus to town, they saw the Silver Fox sprinting away from local farm dogs. Someone caught the chase on video and posted it for all to see. The video went viral instantly, racking up hundreds of comments.

People soon noticed that the Silver Fox was spending a lot of time around human rubbish bins. Warren explained on Facebook that the fox was likely desperate for food. Trying to help, Mrs Cotswold decided to put biscuits in her garden, hoping the Silver Fox would eat them instead of bothering her pet tortoise.

Just Joan put out her leftover dinner of chicken, peas, and carrots because she wanted to protect her Kitty Cat. Tall Tony left some dog food on a plate at the back of his garden to keep the fox away from his house. Everyone just watched and waited. They assumed the Silver Fox would eventually realize it needed the snow and move back north.

Before long, everyone in Buckleberry was on “Silver Fox Watch.” Town cameras, dashcams, and security systems monitored its every move. At home, Daddy set up a camera in the back garden to track which animals were coming and going. Olly and Verity would join him to check the footage, alongside their two unique helpers, Monday and Sunday. 

Monday the hummingbird—who had bravely skipped his winter migration to stay with the family—would fly backwards and take a view from the sky to scan for threats or animals in distress. Meanwhile, Sunday, whom Verity and Olly called "Our Lapland dog," used her incredibly sensitive nose to sniff out secrets she thought Daddy should know about.

It didn’t take long before the Silver Fox ended up in Olly and Verity’s back garden. What the townspeople could never have imagined was how Sunday used her special Lapland instincts to gently guide the Silver Fox into the safety of Daddy’s garden shed. 

Anticipating its arrival, Mummy and Daddy had already prepared a warm, cozy bed and a hearty meal for the fox inside. Safe and sheltered, the Silver Fox stayed tucked away in the shed for a whole week.

Then, the weather broke. Snow finally came to Buckleberry, and it snowed incredibly hard. Sensing the freezing change in the air, the Silver Fox appeared to communicate to Sunday that it was time to go. 

Sunday walked the Silver Fox to the back of the garden and showed it the hidden hole in the fence to pass through. From the patio window, Mummy, Daddy, Olly, and Verity stood together and watched the entire moment play out. It was with a tinge of sadness that they saw their beautiful visitor leave, but they felt glad knowing it could finally return to the snowy north where it truly belonged.

Part Two

March, April, and May usually mark the arrival of springtime. However, the weather in Buckleberry was acting strangely once again. Snow and ice still coated the roads, the trees had failed to grow new leaves, wild berries were completely missing, and there was no sign of the usual plum and cherry blossoms. People felt deeply concerned but simply did not know what to do.

Next, Mayor George called on Tall Tony to speak. Tony suggested holding community working bees on the local farms and in the residents' private gardens. He recommended planting climate-resilient flowers and building specialized bee homes to attract pollinators back to the area. Tony also spoke about the importance of water conservation and creating community compost banks. Everyone was willing to listen to his practical suggestions, and the community quickly formulated a plan to get through the stalled spring months. Before the meeting ended, Wildlife Warrior Warren spoke again, warning everyone to watch out for unusual animal behaviours and to keep a close eye on the community Facebook page.

Sure enough, Facebook lit up just a few days later when a lost fawn turned up in Butcher Barry’s garden. The townspeople instantly nicknamed her ‘Bambi.’ Suddenly, everyone wanted Bambi to pay their garden a visit, though only a lucky few got to see her. Every new photo posted online gained dozens of excited comments.

Soon after, people started commenting that they were finding tiny dormice inside and around their houses. Warren explained on Facebook that a large number of these rodents were becoming visible because there were no wild berries or blooming flowers for them to eat in the woods.  

Farmer Ted chimed in, noting that the poor creatures had woken from their winter hibernation far too soon. Once again, he warned everyone that the seasonal song was broken.

The mystery hit close to home when Daddy found a tiny dormouse hiding inside an empty flowerpot in the back garden. The little creature was cold and shivering. Olly and Verity instantly fell in love with it and decided to call it Hazel. To help it warm up, they found an old, cozy sock belonging to Daddy and used a few dried berries from the kitchen pantry to entice the dormouse to slide inside and cuddle up.

Just then, the little dormouse appeared to sneeze. Seeing that Hazel was weak, Daddy immediately whipped up a batch of the sweet syrup nectar he had used to help distressed animals beforehand. Monday the hummingbird flew down to help Daddy feed the tiny creature, drop by drop. Once Hazel was fed and warm, Daddy, Olly, and Verity found a safe, quiet place for the dormouse to stay until the Buckleberry weather finally got better.

Part Three

Everyone had marked the arrival of summer—June, July, and August—on their calendars. But when the season finally came, it arrived without much warning. A blistering summer heatwave hit the town, and absolutely no one was prepared. Shops, offices, and schools closed down as people stayed home in a desperate effort to keep cool. Families wore swimwear inside their own houses and took cold baths and showers every few hours just to find relief.

Mayor George called an extraordinary emergency meeting, and the local residents reluctantly turned up despite the sweltering heat. The Mayor had promised free ice cream for everyone, and truth be told, most people only attended the meeting for that very reason.

After grabbing their ice cream, the residents sat on chairs and vigorously fanned themselves with paper, waiting to hear what Mayor George would say. First on the agenda was a strict conservation order: people were officially banned from using garden hoses and washing their cars. Mayor George also recommended that residents limit themselves to just one shower a day or fill a bath and keep the water inside it to reuse. 

It was clear that a severe water shortage was becoming a major threat. People started to wonder what on earth was going on with the world. Buckleberry had already been proactive in installing water tanks and creating drought-tolerant gardens, but everyone agreed that this summer was going to be incredibly tough to get through.

Tall Tony and Wildlife Warrior Warren stepped up to reassure the residents. They felt confident that Buckleberry had enough plans to survive the extreme heat. They proposed setting up air-conditioned evacuation centres for anyone in distress. A fire safety presentation was also given. Despite the heat, the townspeople left the hall feeling informed and supported by their community.

Over the next few days, Facebook photos increased, showing an unusual number of Midnight Barn Owls. It seemed the extreme heat had severely impacted them. Instead of hunting at night, many were seen flying around Buckleberry during the day. The community Facebook pages issued warnings that the owls were accidentally flying into windows, as the bright sun created a strange reflection on the glass. Warren encouraged residents to find a quiet, dark area to safely place any injured or confused owls they found in their gardens.

The mystery hit home for Olly and Verity's family when Mummy was outside hanging the laundry on the clothesline. Suddenly, a  Barn Owl swooped into the white sheets. It struck the dry ground and lay completely still. Sunday and Monday rushed over to see what had happened. Mummy quickly called out for Daddy, who urged Verity and Olly to fetch a soft towel.

Daddy carefully wrapped the owl in the towel, and the family placed the bird into a basket in the darkest corner of the linen closet to keep it calm. They immediately called Warren to come and collect the bird so he could find a proper rescue centre for its recovery.

After Daddy and Mummy shared their story on Facebook, the townspeople decided it was best to stop hanging their washing outside for the time being. Amid all the online chatter, Farmer Ted said once more, solemnly repeating the old folklore: the seasonal song was completely broken.