Joys of Winter

What a lovely thought- the garden 'carpeted with chaffinches'! I've seen quite a few in mine, but in the trees. Even here it has been a wild night. It takes a lot to wake me up but that roaring wind was enough. The big trees across the brook are still there, worse luck. They are getting so big that they cut off my sunlight!

mm lovely b. We have garlands of goldfinches. No super yet. I hope she gets a nice fat cheque from scot power and enjoys the story about the husband in the outhouse on her return to us.
Well my new voluntary role seems to have taken up most of today. But I did go for a run between blustery showers and felt surprisingly good. And was inspired, thus:

Legs, heart and lungs working together
Unfamiliar strength in my feet
As solitary crows sulk on damp, wind-tousled grass
I think of black and blue-black birds
Crows, inscrutable in sooty black
Blackbirds, perky and bright eyed
Jackdaws raucous, cheeky
Choughs tumbling in mid air play
Ravens soaring, pinioned
Or strutting, massive and hookbeaked
Rooks too, social and canny
Sidling up to cars in the services
Begging for sandwich crusts
One small memory:
Standing at the bedroom window
Not long before his heart gave up
A young man, a full stop.
Look daddy there’s a blackbird!
No it’s a jackdaw, he has a hood
Four year olds don’t grieve
But sometimes they grow up to look at birds
To have strong hearts
And tears come, better late than never

JessM..... lovely, you painted mind pictures for me!

- when are you going to do a teeny profile ogm?

Just lovely, JessM

it is a beautiful day here, and I've just been into the garden (small, south facing, in Kent) for the first time for a few days. The roses think it's spring, and are making a determined effort - lots of fresh shoots! There's a fuchsia in a pot which hasn't yet lost its leaves, and it too is having a bash at flowering.

Meanwhile, close to me on a table, I was eyed beadily by the robin, who obviously thought I'd been neglecting my bird feeding duties. he only moved when I was right up to him. Lovely. (And a quick dose of Vit.D into the bargain!)

Glad you managed to have some outdoors time today, Ariadne - it has been a refreshingly splendid day after all the gloom and rain recently.

The routine of shutter closing
Is tiresome,
And necessary for warmth
But I hate to block out the night
Of loosely woven basketry
Made against the sky from bare twigged trees
And Japanese shadowed eucalyptus blowing
Against the dusty-cream-grey of a yellow washed sunset.

butternut
Lovely jog round the big lake today
Calm and sunny
Swans, geese, ducks and coots
A flock of lapwings high over the water
And even a little white egret
Walking delicately on water (weed)

You've been looking at some lovely birds, JessM. Can't beat a flock of lapwings with their flash. I miss being by water - maybe in another life!

AND, I have two very small roses on one of the old bushes! Saw them as I looked down on the garden.

Brings a smile, doesn't it, Ariadne.

Love your loosely woven basketry of twigs, butty. We have that outside our bedroom window too and because of that and seeing the stars, I open our curtains after I switch out the light so that I can see both when I wake in the night. The tree is a good indicator of wind strength as well.

Talking of which DD3 surprised me the other day with her knowledge of the Beaufort Wind Scale as judged from the state of the sea. [impressed too]

we were looking at the wiki entry the other day. Fascinating.

There's something about the language he uses that makes the scale very accessible. Good for DD3! Occasionally I've had a fancy for a rain gauge and I was given one for Christmas...

If you see this Bagitha, can I say how glad I am I got that bird table with the "cage" over it that you linked to a week or so back. There were two huge Red Kites swooping over our garden this morning! The neighbours must have put some scraps out and the kites were trying to get up the courage to land and eat them, along with a load of seagulls.

Not too keen on having either of those in the garden tbh.

That's good to hear, jings, both about the red kites and your newly acquired ability to protect your wee feathered friends. I guess you're right in the middle of an important red kite territory. Used to love seeing them above the A40 when we lived in Oxon. Fabulous birds but not ones you want in the garden! People shouldn't feed them but I can understand the temptation to do so.

Mind you, they'd be OK in our 'garden', but I think we're a bit too far north for them. We've had a sea eagle (scared the geese and the hens ran for cover), goshawk, buzzards (all the time), kestrels, sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons. Also tawny owls. Lots of the lovely little LBJs as well though.

You can't look out of the window in Didcot without seeing those red kites. Some foolish people leave scraps of meat on their shed roof for them!

There's a school round there somewhere Annobel where the kids are scared to eat anything outside because the red kites were snatching their food! That does get a bit scary!

Last time we were in Suffolk Bags they had a campaign going to stop the re-introduction of sea eagles. The farmers were worried about the lambs.

Right-o Bags. Just read your other thread. So, what are LBJs? (thought I was being thick)

Wonderful word pictures from my special friends.

At last
I can stand against the mighty wind
That has felled trees - demolished sheds - cast litter
Far and wide.
At last
The drenching rain
That has made a moat of our garden
Filled ditches
Created waterfalls
Swamped fields
Has ceased for a time.
At last
The angry sea
Permits the gulls to feast
And soothes the battered beach
With gentle swell.
At last
The islands step from behind
A curtain of heavy mist
As if to take a bow.
At last
The bloshy cat
Has stepped across the threshold
And sits - as only a cat can
With a superior grin
Upon his big black face.
At last
I'm back with you
Another reason to be glad.

Lovely - you and bloshy cat safe and sound

LBJs are Little Brown Jobs (garden birds). They can be anything you like.

Lovely to have you back At Last too, super.

What an experience you've had, Supernana! Mother nature certainly knows how to cast her opinion occasionally doesn't she?! Welcome back.
Hope you're not too busy picking up the pieces, and pleased to know that Bloshy Cat is doing his thing.