Not giving up

 




Our robins have gone. The ones that were nesting outside my kitchen window. They braved the grocery delivery men who went straight past their little box. They came back after we had frightened them opening the door of the electricity meter and they ignored me peering at them through the kitchen window. But now they have gone.

What could have happened? What could have made them disappear? Could it have been me when I went to the garage? Was it Mr T who went past with his ride-on lawn mower? We do not know but I do know that they are not there now going backwards and forwards with little grubs for their young, bringing out little bags of poo to keep the nest clean and tidy. I miss watching out for their busy journeys as I stand at the kitchen sink.

 But some more cheerful things are happening. I have seen a swallow flying above our leafless ash tree. I know that one swallow does not make a summer, but it helps to know it is on the way. I have also seen the white with orange tip butterfly and the brimstone looking like a yellow leaf. They are flitting around the garden like ghosts from the winter.

We visited Lake Vyrnwy in Wales this week with its green, green grass and its still black trees. We saw flocks of little siskins which seemed to ignore us thorough the glass of the bird hide. I saw a nuthatch looking like a little woodpecker except that it is blue grey on top and peachy on its sides. Back at home we have taken the bird table down so that the hungry nestlings can be fed with grubs, flies, and caterpillars. I do not like to think of the young being full of peanuts and fat from our bird table.

Another positive thing is an update for my mobile. It was not something any of us could have guessed when I got my new phone over two years ago, it used face recognition. Now I wear a mask when I am in an indoor public place. I use my mobile to pay, and my phone did not recognise me until I took my mask off, which I did not want to do. But now like magic it can recognise me with a mask on thanks to the update.

Then yesterday I was hanging out the washing, does anyone do that these days – use solar and wind power for free? And I saw the robin and she was building again with dry leaves in her beak to make a new nest. She is not giving up.

(Taken from my column in the Shropshire Star)



The robin is building again carrying leaves as big as his head


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