Feed the Birds

When I flew back into Gatwick and joined the end of a lengthy minibus cue to cart us from the north to south terminal my heart sank; welcome to England I snarled! Thankfully when I closed my eyes a wealth of warm fuzzy Maltese memories came flooding back and one in particular; my little sparrow friend. He would join me for a light lunch every day on our balcony to share my wheat-free crostini platter and catch up on local tittle tattle. After gaining my new feathered friend’s trust he would dine out of my hand whilst I took photos of him, so both of us ended up with full tummies ready for an afternoon of sunbathing.

Seaside Therapy

Tuesday brought me the first chance this year (thanks to the clocks going forward!) to walk home from work along the seafront. I felt the pressure of the daily grind wash away as the waves hit the pebbles on the shore and my heart fly as high as the seagulls in the picture postcard blue sky. People were huddled on benches hungrily munching chips with their little wooden forks and dogs bounced around eagerly catching balls like wide-eyed young pups. The best therapy in life is often free.

Am I getting old?

I recently find myself comfortably engrossed in childhood nostalgia. Only the other month I bought this annual off ebay purely for the beauty of its cover art. I was not actually born in 1970 but story titles like ‘Katie of the caravan’ which is and I quote about a girl who “had set out to be a secretary, but the sight of Paddy Hirley’s romantic looking caravans drew her irresistibly” made me giggle with girlish glee. Imagine how that plot synopsis may be cynically interpreted nowadays. I will sadly admit to visualizing someone being lured in by a local traveler, then running off to live a life dodging council tax and the law. Perhaps I have become over disparaging of the 21st century? However when I look back retrospectively I finally realize how blessed I was to grow up in the 1970’s and 80’s, when children used their initiative and creativity to amuse themselves. No playstation adorned our front room to drain our brains of any imagination, I was too busy making mud pies with a bucket and spade and singing along to my mum’s Cliff Richard records.

The Wonders of the Sea

Myself and Mr Byrog’s spent a rather stupendous Easter weekend down in Worthing wandering the beach in the patchy driving rain and sub-zero temperatures (thanks to a bracing northerly wind) but it was definitely worth battling the glacial gusts if simply to breath in the fresh sea air and revive (or attempt to) my ever so slightly dulled senses.

A Top Tip for Wannabe Twitchers

Finally my relentless perseverance has paid off as a little grey wagtail came to visit my nature patch this morning.

For months I have been hanging seed balls off tree branches outside my window at work and up until this point I’d pretty much only spied your standard array of garden feathered friends. Not to mention one devious bushy tailed squirrel who relishes the chance to unashamedly eat a whole seed ball in one sitting whilst taunting me through the glass (I hope it gets tummy ache!) In fact I’ve recently spent a considerable amount of time artfully tying the balls to pieces of string on the end of the thinnest branches in the hope that it will finally get its comeuppance and be catapulted off into the stratosphere. Ok that last bit is a slight exaggeration and a bit mean, but I have tried to make it as difficult as possible for it to eat everything in sight in Guinness Book of Records timing!

So anyway there I was doing my usual wander around the office when out of the corner of my eye I saw this streak of bright yellow and when I turned around there it was; a stunningly beautiful little grey wagtail wagging its tail (as you would expect!) whilst resting in the grass looking apprehensively up at my D.I.Y squirrel ambush.

Alas I was so overcome with excitement at this new arrival that I let out a loud yelp of utter joy. The tiny grey wagtail immediately flew off and the other girl in the office was so alarmed that she only just narrowly avoided a gruesome encounter with her own stapler.

So my new mantra is that “to be a true twitcher in body, mind and spirit; an element of calm is the key”.