Friday, June 29, 2007

The Birds

I am surrounded.

When I go out of the front door there are young swallows on the verge of fledging, in a nest just above my head. The only problem is that they produce a shocking amount of poo. Fortunately Lovely Warden has lovingly crafted a doorstep and doormat protector from pieces of wood. So there are still unsightly piles of poo, but on pieces of wood.


When I step outside my back door I am met by this scene.

The ducks know where grain happens. They beg every bit as much as the cats and dog for their meals. Lurking at the edges of the garden are the moorhens. They are cautious birds and dart in amongst the ducks to grab their share of what's on offer. There is a new family at the moment, the baby moorhens like tiny black pom poms running about the lawn.

I spend a lot of time going "awwww, they're so cute!" and not getting any work done.

2 comments:

Betty said...

A couple of years ago there were swallows (housemartins? hotelmartins?) nesting under the balcony outside our hotel room in the Algarve. Interesting to watch, but unfortunately we couldn't really sit outside because of the poo, feathers and, on one occasion, a dead nestling. There seemed to be nesting sites under all of the balconies as we noticed when we were out by the swimming pool!

Doris said...

Betty - I can imagine it all too well. The amount of mess they produce is out of all proportion to their cuteness.