Rainy Tuesdays too

All my plans went a bit wrong for today, so instead ended up doing very little again. I did get the vacuum cleaner out, but that's about as far as my cleaning goes these days. I am desperately wanting to do other things around the place but in limbo because until I know what my new neighbour will be like and what the effects of the wind farm are regarding noise, I am not going to spend any money on this place in case I end up having to relocate. Well that's a good enough excuse for being bone idle I guess.

So today, I was sitting here at lunchtime when my arch-enemy The Sparrowhawk made another fruitless swoop, and ended up perching and preening on the fence post outside, about 15 feet away. I grabbed the camera and took several shots through the glass, but it seemed completely disinterested in me, so I ended up opening the window and took some more. He was a bit windswept and dishevelled. Eventually I saw that it had spotted something and was about to swoop, so I yelled, hoping that I would have alerted whatever the poor intended recipient as well as scaring the shit out of the hawk. I ran outside and found to my surprise a beautiful white dove, he's big, he's tame (ish) and he's now a worry. Has been hanging around all afternoon, he's fed and watered and I hope he goes on his way, because I can't bear the thought of something getting him which will surely happen sooner or later. I would capture him if I could and try and find out where he came from. He's much bigger than the pair of doves I just rehomed, bigger than Collared Doves, about the size of a Wood Pigeon, so maybe, just maybe, too big for the Hawk, fingers crossed anyway. The dove seems very tired, and was very hungry, so maybe has come a distance. I once had a pair like this, we kept them in as advised when we first got them, so that they know where they live. The day we let them out, one flew off and never came back. So ended up buying some fantails to keep the one that did stay company. Sadly these are no match for the sparrowhawk, and after one had killed three of them, could take no more and we rehomed all of them.

Yesterday I was chuffed to have a little pair of Siskins back for the first time in weeks. Today I am gutted, because the little male is all fluffed up, seeds sticking to his bill and looks like he has the dreaded illness, trichomonias. When is this bloody thing going to die out here, it has been hanging around for months now, I am still finding or seeing sick chaffinches at least one a week. So fed up.

At least the rain stopped about 3.30 and I managed to take Emma round the park.

The saddest thing today though was having to choose a condolences card to send to the family of a dear friend who tragically died last Friday. I never knew it could be so hard to pick a card. I read the words on about 10, and then couldn't even see properly. Felt a fool standing in a shop with tears streaming down my face, luckily nobody else in there and I was out of sight of the till. She was a good friend, and although had lots of her own problems, was always ready to offer help and advice and a shoulder to me and others. She was generous, and kind and loved her animals, especially the hedgehogs, and her garden and I shall miss her like hell.