HAPPY NEW WEEK! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
No sign of any blackbirds yet - next door have now got a cat who seems to like hiding in my front hedge.... I will be sad if that means no blackbirds.
LINDY Thank you for the lovely poem.
I'm continuing to catch up with posting my Minsmere photos - I've just completed January! If you'd like to look click on this crow:
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Clare - thank you for the lovely photographs ... what a joy to see birds enjoying the elements.
Lindy - Love your 'Mr Blackbird' poem. I echo your thoughts - such a lovely way to start the day.
Pat: I know that strictly speaking, they sing best in the late afternoons and evenings, but I wanted to start by seeing one on the lawn first thing in the morning! Where we used to live, I often stood transfixed on my back doorstep by the lovely song of a blackbird who liked to sit on our neighbours roof which was below ours, as we lived on a hill. So I could see him warbling away with his truly delightful clear song every evening. I think it was then that I fell in love with this smart and diligent bird and his faithful wife.
Edit: thank you for your messages, its only a ditty really, not a 'proper poem'!
Well, we had snow this morning, big white flakes which didn't stick to the ground. Then we had sleet, hail and drizzle. Then we had sleet, hail and drizzle again, preceded by a huge clap of thunder!
At the moment it's just drizzling.... bah!
W I N T E R
Oh! How I hate the winter, when the cold comes rolling in -
It makes me shake and shiver
And be as grumpy as sin.
The only thing which cheers me,
Apart from sitting by the fire,
Is looking out the window
When the weather is so dire.
For on my garden feeders,
A drama every day -
As sparrows, tits, and blackbirds
Are seen at feed and play.
The cheery little robin, the
Perky bluetits, too -
It's just as entertaining as
A trip out, to the Zoo.
The aggravating pigeons
The noisy starling hordes,
The magpies in their smart bright coats,
As good as actors 'on the boards'
It's all something to keep your gaze
A daily domestic Play!
CAMBODIA Chapter 1
Angkor Wat in Cambodia has been on my wish list for the past thirty years or so. Last August a friend told me a group of people from her church was going to Cambodia in January to visit projects supported by Tearfund, as well as visiting Angkor Wat. I said I had wanted to go there for many years – and thought no more about it. A few days later my friend said she had spoken to the group leader and if I was really interested, there would be a place for me. I jumped at it!
After a very early start, two long flights and a seven-hour time adjustment we arrived at Phnom Penh to be greeted with a long bus trip to our hotel. After about an hour to unpack and have a shower, there was lunch and a briefing meeting … not sure how many of us were awake!
That evening we met some of the staff from World Relief Cambodia (WRC) who told us a little about their work and the things they had planned for us for the next week. We were all too tired to take much in!
Next morning an early visit to WRC offices where we learned about the projects they run and the resources they produce. In the afternoon we visited the Genocide Museum and learned more about Pol Pot and the atrocities he inflicted on the country in the 1970s. However horrific, it is important we should know about this period in Cambodia’s history so we can understand more about how people think and behave as they do now.
PatO: Thanks for the first installment. Don't know the group you went with, but sounds like you got a good grounding for the rest of your trip. Looking forward to hearing more!
I see Lindybird and Clare are full of the joys (and verses) of Spring! Thanks for pix and poems. :-)
PATO - a wonderful experience for you!!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!