Wanted to share with you

The Rookery in Winter at dusk

Spider Tribe's Bardic Blog

I've recently begun following this blog and the poetry of the participating members is an absolute joy. It's well worth a read. 'Urban Dusk' by Claire is the most recent post. I think it's incredible. Amy Claire Rose also writes poetry for the blog. She is extremely talented and I had to look twice at her age..... 12 years! Click here to read their poetry.

Jackdaws and Rooks

Crows

Stunning artwork by Lemon Street Gallery

Christmas greetings from ye merrye olde England

Christmas Greetings!

Happy Christmas to all you bloggers and thank you so much for the messages you sent while I've been a.w.o.l. I have no excuses for my absence except......

while being unnaturally busy,

got myself in a tizzy!

..... and then of course, my computer finally gave up the ghost after seven years of slooooooooow, but faithful service. Not to worry, I can use the daughter's..... and so I did..... for a few days, until hers decided to join mine in the spiritual world for decrepit computers! However, I'm now sitting here in front of a lovely brand new desktop and it's fantastic. Peace and contentment once more reigns in our little household!

All your messages gave me a lovely warm buzz....... and someone even wrote a special limerick for me. Mr Bennet, I hope you wont mind me reproducing it here. ;)

I once knew a lass name of Lesley

who blogged about blooms and wee beasties

we had become email chums

she has lovely green thumbs

she's missing north-south-east and westy!

That made me grin from ear to ear and I made a promise to write a blog post by the weekend...... it was at that point my old computer decided "no more." But here I am and I hope you're all having a lovely time this Christmas Eve, however you are spending it.

At the moment, the whole of the UK..... and our little garden is covered in a thick blanket of snow. Here are some photographs I took this morning from behind the patio window in the warmth of the sitting-room.

The birds are perched on the huge poplar trees, watching and waiting for me to put out more food for them

Using the zoom lens, here they are a bit closer

Who's watching who? Robin, posing on a snow covered table on the patio

Mr Jackdaw on the same table

"Ever felt like you're being watched?" he says, moving further away to the top of the arch

* Happy Christmas everyone, enjoy yourself and take care *

Jackdaw, the hunter?

I was awakened very early this morning by my husband who was upset. He'd been watching a jackdaw on one of our stone planters with what he thought was nesting material in its mouth. The bird was behaving strangely by ramming the 'nesting material' against the planter. When hubby looked more carefully, he saw that it wasn't nesting material, but a mouse. The jackdaw was bashing it against the planter just as a thrush smashes a snail on a rock.

There was no time for my husband to try to scare the jackdaw and distract it from its acivity; the poor little mouse was already dead and it would probably just have flown off with it anyway. We were puzzled as we had no idea that jackdaws hunted and killed small animals in this way, unless it was a lucky opportunity for the bird.

I've always been fond of jackdaws but was dismayed by the killing of one of 'our' garden mice. However, a little research on the internet revealed that this species of bird has a number of admirable qualities. For instance, they pair for life and even if egg production is not successful, they will not go off in search of another partner. It seems that the jackdaw acknowledges those words 'for better or for worse'! They are a highly sociable bird, protective of the members of their flock and they even share food, in fact study has shown that the jackdaw has a higher level of giving than many of the higher animals.

Saddened as I was about the incident, I will have to accept this as an aspect of nature.