Thursday, 23 April 2020

SALLY...PART 224. THE LOCKDOWN AS SEEN FROM A BLACKBIRD'S NEST !


YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE  THAT THE NEST IS IN THE BUSH BESIDE THE TRAMPOLINE !
May 11th 2020. Day 77

I haven't stepped out of my house since this self isolation started except to drive to my daughter's house in the first couple of days to pick up some shopping left outside her front door and you might expect us to be going off our heads but we're NOT...honestly !

WAITING TO BE PLANTED OUT
We're tanned because we've had weeks of hot sun and sat or laid in our completely sheltered garden soaking up the sunshine !

CORNFLOWERS AT THEIR BEST !
I eventually stopped working because I wanted to learn the piano and I can now play it brilliantly, as far as I'm concerned, so I was a bit shocked when Shirley walked into my room last night at nine and shouted, "FOR GOD'S SAKE GET BACK TO WORK !" and stormed out shouting to the moon, "If I have to listen to you playing 'To A Wild Rose', 'The Swan' or 'Fur Fucking Elise' once more I WILL go mad !"

I knew in my heart that she was right and returned to my table and picked up my Stanley knife before immediately putting it down again because I'd forgotten to do my ten minutes of 'Joe Wicks' or my ten minutes of chest expanders either !

ONE OF THE MINUTE JUMPING SPIDERS THAT LIVE ON THE BRICKWORK
Sat once again today in our red hot garden I thrashed her at our daily dose of excitement, a game of Scrabble, aware that the female blackbird nesting in the bush flew straight at us whenever she left her nest to seek food for her babies, apparently determined to scare us off whereas the male flew off avoiding us completely.

HERE'S THE FATHER STARING US OUT, IMPERCEPTIVELY SHAKING HIS HEAD IN WONDER AS WE SAT ARGUING ABOUT NOTHING  !
"HE'S been gone a long time !" Shirley said, irritated by my sitting there with my trigger finger poised waiting to take a slowmo of the bird's comings and goings.

"He's probably having a chat !" I quipped light heartedly.

"Why do you always have to say something stupid ?" I was asked and not for the first time.

"I was just being funny !" I replied.

"Well you're not !" she said and not for the first time either !

" If  I hadn't done the dirty on your brother forty nine years ago when you turned up sniffing around on my doorstep with your tight blue trousers with the large red fly buttons on the outside we wouldn't be sat here arguing now !" she sighed.

"Correct, if I hadn't done the dirty by nicking you from my brother the moment I set eyes on you you'd be sitting here with my brother instead !"

"Hm !" she said, quite annoyed, knowing if only she could admit it that she'd made the right choice !

MEANWHILE...down the garden the lady blackbird said to her husband, "Those two ! Do they EVER stop bickering ? If there's another lockdown next year I'm not nesting in THIS garden again so you'd better keep your eyes open for somewhere else d'you hear ?"

"Yes dear", he replied, vomitting up some partially digested worms for the chicks !