Photo copyright: Maggie May
These past few days, I have noticed that a pair of blackbirds have been taking bits of nesting materials into my garden shrub. It is a very tall Elaeagnus Pungens and borders my next door neighbour's garden too, with a bit of an overhang, especially at the top.
I am quite excited that they seem to have chosen my shrub, as they usually nest in another neighbours tall Eucalyptus tree, along the terrace.
For young birds to survive here, they will have to evade my next door neighbour's four cats on the other side and my other neighbour's tendency to suddenly chop down everything in sight without any rhyme or reason.
I also get a regular pair of dunnocks, wrens, great tits and blue tits but no house sparrows anywhere in sight.
When I was young, the house sparrows where in such profusion that their chattering could be heard all the time and they would swoop down into the garden constantly. Even when my children were young they were a very common sight. So I wonder where they have gone? I suspect it is because of modern buildings regulations giving no room for little nooks and crannies in roof spaces for the sparrows to nest in.
Some of you have remarked that you are worried about the state of my mangy fox and wondered whether I could do anything to help it. I think the answer is no. If it got so that it couldn't jump the wall and could be trapped by a box, then I suppose that I could call the RSPCA and they would despatch it but it is still too fast and would bite me if I tried to trap it now.
I know that I have had to lower my horizons a great deal....... I no longer work and go to wonderful places or have the same access to the grandchildren, so you will see that I have had to concentrate on much simpler things so you will probably groan when I say that I am quite excited today because I have ordered a new washing machine. I decided to buy locally and that paid off as the company promised that they would deliver the next day and take the old one away as well as reconnecting the new model and getting it ready for its first wash.
The old machine was still working but it jumped about all over the place and some one had to sit on it to stop it travelling round the kitchen.
Can you imagine having to leave a guest mid speech to go and sit on a washing machine in the next room? Or having to stay in until the washing was taken out?
It was one extra burden when I wasn't feeling well having to wrestle with it.
So I hope they do come this afternoon with the new one as I have a good pile of washing to try out in it.
You know what they say about simple things pleasing.......... simple minds?
