Yesterday, the sun shone and I smelled the roses.

Today, it’s been throwing down rain all morning and I’m not planning to venture out much. There’s a soggy looking blackbird on the lawn, sometimes shaking the rain from his feathers, and hopping about the lawn hunting for food.

The blackbird and his partner live in the little crooked apple tree.

During the first weeks we arrived in this new garden, we saw two little dead baby blackbirds. They looked like miniature dodos and reminded me of this well-known graffiti art.

Dead Bod was graffitied onto a shed in Hull, possibly as early as the 1950s, and became a well known local artwork. I think of it whenever I see a dead bod.

Picture credit and more info by Dave Whatt.

davewhatt.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/the-dead-bod-on-the-shed/

…

Yesterday, there were noisy blackbird shenanigans and a great load of kerfuffle in the apple tree. The blackbird couple residing in the apple tree were defending their space, and there was much flapping of wings and clickety chirrups as a few birds seemed to fight it out for this prime nesting spot.

I’m hoping for another clutch of baby blackbirds, and perhaps they’ll make it this time.

I’m also hoping to make time to join the BBC’s Springwatch GardenWatch citizen science experiment. They have several ‘missions’ including birdwatching.

https://nquire.org.uk/mission/bird-detective/contribute

So, on a soggy Friday, as my work for the week is done but it’s too wet to garden, I’ll be reading up about trees, watching the birds, and if the mood takes me perhaps a spot of sowing in the summerhouse.

Whatever your plans and whatever the weather, I hope all goes well.

My Shared Earth Learning friends shared a post yesterday, that said: Be Happy. Not because everything is good, but because you can see the good in everything.

It is nice weather for ducks.

Jen x