Cute baby starlings at feeding time. They fared better than the dead bird we found under the table wearing a ring that had been put on one day ago and 4km away. And the one that got away from the cat and spent hours flapping behind the sofa before A1 finally ushered it out. Same two things happened almost exactly two years ago.
We had three sorts of delicious burgers (meat, fish and pizza) with many accompaniments followed by fruit salad for our family dinner (thank you A1) and scored a below-par 8 on the GSQ.
A2 is reading Scatter Her Ashes* by Heine Bakkeid; another grindingly miserable book: divorced deposed detective on trail of missing children and serial killers.
Tag: bird
Robbin’ Robin
Stealing food from the squirrels.
We had porky vegetables and nectarine cake for our family dinner and scored 11.5 on the GSQ. Our average is almost back to 10.
A1 is rereading A Spy’s Life by Henry Porter. A2 is reading The Whalebone Theatre* by Joanna Quinn.
Snow Bird
A robin rehearsing for a Christmas card in today’s wintry weather.
A1 is reading Pulpit Rock* by Kate Rhodes, another Scilly crime story with KR’s usual idiot plot. A2 is rereading Smoke and Whispers by Mick Herron.
Three Little Birds
Starlings on the laurel tree. Tonight is the coldest night of the winter: -5.3°C.
A2 is reading We, the Survivors by Tash Aw.
Lady Blackbird
Happy Birthday Faye!
A1 is reading The Murder Box* and agrees with A2’s assessment: daft but readable.
A2 is reading Too Close to Breathe*, both by Olivia Kiernan
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep
First robin of 2024.
A1 is reading The Lonely Ones* by Hakan Nesser. A2 is reading Him by Geoff Ryman (thx A1). Mary’s girl child undergoes a gender reassignment.
Critter of the Day: Tit
A bird on a bush.
A1 is rereading Slow Horses by Mick Herron.
We had stroggers and Aunt Celia’s Lemon Pudding (copyright Thomas M Disch) for our family dinner and scored 10 on the GSQ.
Blackbird in the Rain
A1 is reading We Know You Remember* by Tove Asterdal. A2 is rereading The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier, which is a pleasure to revisit.
We had chicken/veggie pasta and parkin for our family meal and scored 11 on the GSQ.
Misty Sunrise
Morning pigeons! Morning Sun! Nice to see you again after yesterday’s incessant deluge.
A2 is reading Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir.
Jay Peg
Haven’t seen any of these lovely colourful crows for five years but have seen several in the last few days, raiding next-door’s bird feeders in the snow and freezing fog.
A2 is reading Someone to Watch Over Me* by Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
We had curry followed by trifle for our family meal and scored 11 on the GSQ
Sunrise
Here comes the Sun — and a flock of pigeons.
A1 is reading White as Snow* by Lilja Sigurdardottir. A2 is reading The Ice by Laline Paull.
And yes, it’s cold today.
A Ray of Sunshine
At last (but it didn’t last) a bit of brightness lights up the dark and oppressive skies.
A1 is reading Missing Pieces by Tim Weaver. A2 is rereading Red Pill by Hari Kunzru
We had chicken pie and apfelstrudel for our family dinner and scored a better-than-usual 12 on the GSQ.
One Swallow
A summery day at last.
We had our family meal of spag bol and garden berry cake four days late owing to illness and scored 10 on the GSQ.
Admin1 is reading Guilt Edged by Leigh Russell. Admin2 is reading Conquest by Nina Allan.
Baby Blue
A juvenile blue tit in the cherry tree.
Admin1 is reading Dark Angel by John Sandford. Admin2 is reading The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru, which starts off like Amitrav Ghosh and ends up like Evelyn Waugh. We had chicken and broccoli followed by 3 kinds of ice creams for our family dinner and scored a dismal 8 on the GSQ. The family took our Love (old Ikea chair) with them when they left.
Cherry Blossom Time
But the pigeons are eating the blossoms instead of waiting to eat the cherries.
Admin1 is reading The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Admin2 is reading Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor.
Starlings
Hello birds. Nice to see you again.
Admin2 is confined to the house with agonising leg pains and consoling herself by rereading an all-time favourite: 334 by Thomas M Disch; how the underclass live in the 2020s, as seen from the 1970s.
Red Red Robin
It’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s coming and going. It’s melted and gone — oh no, it’s back on!
Admin1 is rereading Europe at Dawn by Dave Hutchinson. Admin2 is reading The Innocent by Ian McEwan.
Flying
Here come the pigeons.
February was our driest February ever, slightly warmer than last year and below averagely sunny.
Admin1 is reading Cold Reckoning by Russ Thomas. Admin2 is reading At Death’s Window by Jim Kelly.
Fog the Pigeons
Happy Valentine’s Day everybody. According to Medieval folklore, Valentine’s Day is the day that birds mate, so it gets its lovey-dovey image from dove love.
Admin1 is reading The Moon Tunnel and Admin2 is reading The Mathematical Bridge, both by Jim Kelly.
Lieutenant Pigeon
A military bird conducting observations.
Admin1 is reading The Skeleton Man by Jim Kelly, a complicated tale of an evil deed in an insular East Anglian community; reminiscent of Ann Cleeves in its large cast and convoluted family relationships and squabbles.
Admin2 is reading About Grace by Anthony Doerr; a precognitive hydrologist dreams his daughter drowns and leaves home for 25 years to save her. If you like weather, clouds, snow and floods, this is a book to get immersed in.
Watching the Birdies
It’s Birdwatching Weekend so here is a bird and a nest (probably not related).
Admin1 is reading The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Rowbotham, which was compulsively page-turning (read in an evening) but didn’t have much else going for it.
Admin2 is reading The Kingdoms, a bloody-gory wibbly-wobbly twisty-turny time-travelling tour-de-force by the incomparable Natasha Pulley.
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
A blackbird finds a tasty snack on our lawn.
Admin1 is reading Empire State by Henry Porter. Admin2 has been reading Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan but is probably going to abandon it because:
The one-sentence paragraphs.
And the unfinished remarks___.
And because it is so ponderously literary and slow.
And also because it is about cruelty to animals.
No fun.
Pigeon Post
Today the family all tested negative so were back around the table eating stroganoff and parkin. It was a joy to see them all again and against the odds of our ignorance we scored 10.5 on the GSQ.
Admin1 is rereading Unseen Academicals by Sir Terry Pratchett. Admin2 is rereading My Idea of Fun by Will Self; a nasty book from an era of nasty books.
Hedge Sparrow
A young dunnock trying out our unpopular bird food.
Admin2 is reading Girls Who Lie* by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir; a cunning and clever book about lying girls.
We scored 9.5 on the GSQ. Still in double figures — just.
Greedy Pig-eon
A bird reaching for the berries on the elder tree on another 32 degree day. It all falls apart tomorrow.
Admin2 is rereading the marvellous Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
We scored 9.5 on the GSQ with backing from G&D. Well done everyone.