Birds and cats

Yesterday someone put a beautiful photo of a nightjar on F/B, I can only describe it as a living colour range of grey- browns to blend in with the branches they hide themselves upon. We don't have many in this country and they are mostly down south, described as crepuscular, they inhabit that time of dusk and are rare. Today friends have put the first photos of siskins arriving in their garden in Oxfordshire and there is always Em's marvellous photos of birds (and now lichen) on Dartmoor. 

So what do we have in our small garden? I treated the birds to a bird table this week, as I am getting a bit tired of standing on garden chairs to hang bird feeders from the tree.  Most days I see the tail of our gormless wood pigeon sticking out gobbling up the seed, the ring doves have been down and so of course have the starlings in their squabbling community. Blackbirds are getting much noiser as they anticipate spring, and the robbing magpie is keeping a close eye as well should any nests be in evidence.

My two daytime cats, Skinny and Buttermilk, sit on the garden chairs and probably frighten off many other birds.  I have learnt a little about these two, they belong in a house up the road and she must go out to work all day that is why they have set up 'another' territorial home in our garden.  A letter pinned to her hedge, thanked the person whoever was feeding them and said they did have a cat flap, but said the lighter tabby can only eat biscuits, so that is what they get at lunchtimes from me.

Is spring here? we shall see, the flowers are beginning to appear.

As for the news all week about horsemeat in foods, strangely my heart has been with the slaughtered horses, probably a culling has taken place in Ireland and Romania as the economic recession has hit, as I don't buy processed food I cannot feel any indignation only the fact that I WILL NEVER BELIEVE the labelling on packaged food anymore. 

In fact I have been eating quite a lot yellow/orange food this week, homemade butternut squash soup, carrot soup, polenta which I had a yearning for plus sweetcorn.  Must be their bright springlike colours;)