Birds

Early to bed last night and up early, well for me anyway, this morning. I felt much better and more energised than I have for a while. Maybe the vaccine is having a good side effect. As a result the kitchen is immaculate with the fridge getting a thorough clean. The weather continued dreich with heavy snow forecast every day for about a week. I felt sorry for the guy delivering my groceries if it comes about. Photographed on and off out the kitchen window as I put my shopping away. The garden was full of birds all wolfing down food as if they knew something. Quite a lot of greenfinches when there's usually only one or two. They are very aggressive. One of them even saw off a blackbird. By the time I had lunch there was sleety rain so I chickened out of walking. Booked a new grocery slot and sorted out most of my order. Slots disappear so quickly. Planned out the rest of this week too in the hope I'll get moving again.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year and better times in 2021. The last day of the year and the final 366. I felt I should take some wonderful significant photo but in reality I sat in the garden photographing birds. I thought Beaky might oblige with a cute pose at least but no. He just concentrated on the sunflower hearts. Blue tits flew in and out and their rather crabby and steely glares won the day. Small birds with big personalities. It was quite a busy day. Lots of e-mails have made the day fairly social as have late Christmas cards and letters. Stuff has been delivered. A Ton Schulten calendar. I love his work and haven't had a calendar for a year or two. Some biodegradable freezer bags. The pandemic distracted me slightly from being eco friendly but I'm getting back on track. A new fitness tracker. My old one gave up the ghost and I wasn't going to replace it but it is a help. It encourages me to keep moving and make more of an effort. But not today I'm afraid. I put Roomba in action but that was the token housework. For once I was pleased to see rain. The ice and snow have vanished so maybe I'll get out tomorrow. Spent the evening with a lot of yummy food and wine plus a bit of Scottish television poking fun at ourselves and our Hogmanay.

Woke up to snow. Looks like the yellow and amber warnings have caught up with us. Was lying on the sofa with toast and coffee when I registered that Andy was brushing the snow off my car so went out to say "Thank you" and have a chat. After a while an ambulance appeared and stopped nearby. I think we were both thinking "Covid 19 ?" but it was a neighbour with a sore arm. She's on her own so off she went to be checked out. Afterwards I got out to clear the pavement and put down salt and grit. That was the activity for the day. Continual little blizzards. Was pleased to see nothing lay on my pavement. Then we had blue sky and sunshine and I was just about to go out when the next blizzard came along. Poor birds. I kept having to top up the bird table. Made a start on my new jigsaw. It took ages just to lay out the pieces but a great time waster I think.

Up a bit earlier today. Maybe I'm coming out of hibernation. More snow had fallen in the night so it's now about a foot deep. An e-mail to say my groceries were not going to be delivered which was no surprise. I quickly booked a slot for next Wednesday so that's sorted. I've got plenty in the freezer and tinned supplies too so I won't starve. Put out food for the birds who were making their presence known then had a leisurely breakfast realising that I didn't have to clean and disinfect the kitchen. It was a lovely sunny day but I contented myself with photographing out the window. Pleased to get a shot of Beaky with his feathers all puffed up. He'd just finished having a good preen (see extra). He's my resident robin and there waiting for me every morning. Seems to manage OK with his deformed beak but I keep an eye out for him. We're good pals. Went out about midday to do a lot more snow shovelling and clear the top of the bins. Had a chat with Jenny who was out too and Andy. Later my car came back. One of the mechanics lives along the street. Passed it's MOT but the bad news is the timing belt is overdue for replacement. I've booked it in for next week wincing a bit at the cost. Salted and gritted again as it's to be very cold tonight. I'm longing to open a bottle of wine but I'm not supposed to until Monday. Why is it one always wants what one can't have.

Quite an overnight transformation. The snow has not completely gone but most of it has and the road is clear. This gave me a push and quite a bit of tidying and cleaning got done. I swopped round the sofas to give the one I lie on all the time a rest and put my fleecy throw in the washing machine. After lunch I went to the Pillars for bread but bought a few goodies as well naturally. Had a walk and a chat with a bloke who worked as a guide and wanted to know bits of Falkland Estate's history. Afterwards I went to Letham to photograph birds on the ponds but not a bird in sight. The ponds were still frozen solid and the birds had decamped elsewhere. Went to Birnie where there was a lot of icy slush on the paths and kept missing shots. Swans walked away from me, I had the wrong lens on to get a good shot of a rainbow, it just wasn't my day. Going back to the car a family were feeding swans so at last my luck was in. It's funny how something always turns up. And my two alcohol free weeks are up so I am going to settle on my sofa with a big glass of wine and some seaweed crisps.

A day when I plucked my eyebrows, checked my bank account, payed my road tax and set Roomba going downstairs while I went to the Pillars for milk and bread. I parked at a distance from the shop to get in some walking and was half way there when I realised my mask was back in the car. So a bit more walking than I intended . Starting out again I was behind three people who walked abreast right across the roadway, stopped while one went to peer into a cottage window, looked as if they might move on then another had to look in the window and return to stand in the road and then the third had to peek too. Eventually they noticed me but even then I had to cross the road and walk on a very muddy verge to keep clear of them. I did actually speak up about their inability to understand what two metres or six feet was but as I didn't sound grumpy I 'm not sure they got it. Thankfully they weren't going into the shop. Afterwards I went to Birnie. It had rained all day so I thought there would be fewer people and there were. The plan was to photograph birds but I had forgotten to bring bird food. What an idiot ! Had a bit more of a walk instead and ended up entranced by the patterns of water and melting ice. Got distant shots of a heron and back at the car park stood photographing a group of distant ducks for ages. Oh, and snowdrops. Came home and learned that ducks eat anything including crawfish, frogs, newts, beetles and fish. And here am I thinking they were vegetarian for eighty two years

Up slightly earlier today which was good. The kitchen got a thorough clean and disinfect and I read and did crosswords until my groceries arrived then sorted them out and put them away planning to have a sinful evening meal. Went into the garden yet again. More pruning and clearing the ground under the smoke bush. Feeling very pleased with myself although my leg is killing me, both the hip and the knee. But I don't care. It's such a pleasure to see one border looking tidy. Went to the Pillars for milk and forgot to take my purse so had to go back for it. Stopped at the Palace back gate to see if I could photograph the aconites but the results were poor. After I bought the milk I went to Birnie. The light was going but I had a short walk and photographed a swan. Not my finest hour but I liked the ripples.

A cloudy day and not that warm. I spent the morning tidying up and setting Roomba in action downstairs then went into the garden to howk up more ivy and continue to fiddle with the ground bird feeder. Bits are now being cut off the bay tree. I want the feeder to have plenty of protection round it and a clear view from inside the house. I think there are going to be small adjustments for a while. Beaky came to say hello. He is amazingly trusting . The afternoon was spent eating cake and drinking coffee with Andy. He is getting keener than he used to be on independence and is very cross at Salmond. I'm surprised as he never used to be into politics at all and didn't vote until I chivvied him into it in his fifties. I don't try to tell people how they should vote but I just think it's important to vote. However the topic changed after a while to new neighbours who moved in next to Andy today and across the road from me. As usual I hadn't noticed. I'm oblivious to what people around me are doing. Finished up with Andy agreeing to put my bird box up for me and a number plate. The old one fell to bits ages ago and I feel guilty every time a parcel is delivered.

I meant to go somewhere different today to cheer myself up but I woke to a chilly overcast morning disinclined to go anywhere and feeling I needed to spruce up the house. So that was what I did. Clothes washed, bathroom which I had neglected on Sunday cleaned, floors hoovered, grocery order amended, bank account checked. Then I assembled a casserole in the slow cooker and did a tiny token bit in the garden. Barely quarter of an hour but I didn't want to aggravate my knee or hip. Booked a slot at the recycling on Thursday afternoon and finally organised a house number - one with a difference. It's like a mini window box. White with black numbers attached and will screw onto the fence beside my front door. Did some bird photography later in the afternoon. A fair number of birds were using the new ground feeder. Goldfinches and a coal tit and a greenfinch as well as blackbirds and Beaky and the possible girl friend. Not together though. That I would like to see. The fat filled coconut is going down fast. It will be interesting to see if the blue tits go inside when the level of fat drops even further. They can just about still reach it. Although I like the look of this one I think the next ones I buy will be halves. Went to the Pillars for milk and sesame bread sticks late on and combined it with a walk. Came back just in time as Julie appeared. She's hoping she will be able to cut hair again soon so we had a good chat on the doorstep. She's getting her first vaccination next week. It will be so nice to have her back again.