17 May 2016
Tuesday is our day off from plastering. Art groups meets at 12 noon for a couple of hours, Jade comes for a guitar lesson from Dave, then Rosa comes to give singing lessons to Jade, Dave and me. It's quite a busy day, and a significant change from the usual daily grind!
This Tuesday, though, we had unusual visitors. Once or twice we have had wild birds fly in through the door in the south wall. The first time, it was a Great Tit, exhausted from battering itself against the glass. After twenty minutes of stealthy movement and reassuring murmuring, it let me get close enough to slide a finger under its feet and lift it out through the window.
Today, though, it was a swallow. Once before we've had a swallow come in - it swooped about madly, then went out the way it came in. This one, though, seemed happy to stay, perched on the curtain rail. Two others were going frantic outside, and eventually found their way in. And then we were treated to what must have been a courtship process - the first one was the female, the other two were competing males.
Lots of swooping, and resting, and more swooping. Then the cat came home, and was fascinated. I hadn't realised the female was resting on the window sill when the cat went upstairs. I chased the cat away, and the swallow let me pick her up, so I released her through the window. Eventually, the males worked out she'd left and took themselves off too. Quite an entertainment.
Tuesday is our day off from plastering. Art groups meets at 12 noon for a couple of hours, Jade comes for a guitar lesson from Dave, then Rosa comes to give singing lessons to Jade, Dave and me. It's quite a busy day, and a significant change from the usual daily grind!
This Tuesday, though, we had unusual visitors. Once or twice we have had wild birds fly in through the door in the south wall. The first time, it was a Great Tit, exhausted from battering itself against the glass. After twenty minutes of stealthy movement and reassuring murmuring, it let me get close enough to slide a finger under its feet and lift it out through the window.
Today, though, it was a swallow. Once before we've had a swallow come in - it swooped about madly, then went out the way it came in. This one, though, seemed happy to stay, perched on the curtain rail. Two others were going frantic outside, and eventually found their way in. And then we were treated to what must have been a courtship process - the first one was the female, the other two were competing males.
Lots of swooping, and resting, and more swooping. Then the cat came home, and was fascinated. I hadn't realised the female was resting on the window sill when the cat went upstairs. I chased the cat away, and the swallow let me pick her up, so I released her through the window. Eventually, the males worked out she'd left and took themselves off too. Quite an entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment