Morning Walk: April 6th

Maggie got me up at 6 which seems to be the norm now, so I pulled on my joggers, slippers and a coat and let her out into the back garden where she performed with no argument.
Usually we can go back to bed and she’ll give me another hour, maybe two, but not so this morning. At 6.45 she wanted to go out again, but this time didn’t do anything.
By 7.25, I gave up, had my wash and got dressed, then took her out for a walk.

I saw absolutely no-one, not even a vehicle on the road, and apart from the wind chill, it was really pleasant.
Once we’d got the major business out of the way, we continued round the avenue.
The dwarf tulips are showing their cowled heads in a lot of gardens so in a few days will be a blaze of colour. Hyacinths are going over, and the daffodils are nearly finished.
The garden where the yellow rose (above from October 2017) seemed to be in flower all year is waking up, though the bush was heavily pruned last year.

What was really lovely this morning was the bird song. The chatter of sparrows in the hedges was loud and busy. I saw a nest in some guttering the other day and it looked like there were young being fed in it. The bushes throughout the park are always full of them.
Turning the corner into one of the side roads, there is a large tree and from within its branches came the most glorious song. I couldn’t see what kind of bird it was, so I would think either a robin or a blackbird as they are most common here, but the world was his auditorium as he sang his heart out and it echoed off the roof tops.
In contrast, the off-key craw of four crows was a poor accompaniment, and a few starlings were on the front grass pecking at ants or worms as several lawns have recently been cut, including ours a couple of days ago. We had a little wagtail on the lawn yesterday.
In the distance, I could hear the sea, not exactly shouting its presence, but whispering very loudly!
Doves and pigeons hang out on the roofs opposite. It’s the mating season for them too, so they are doing the billing and cooing dance which is quite entertaining.

Photo: August 5th 2018 early morning as we had just seen the sun rise on the beach

The geese fly over our house every morning and return every night at dusk, the sound of their wings is soft and unhurried. There always seem to be two that get left behind or can’t keep up though and they honk as if demanding everyone else to wait. The view is usually in groups of around twenty, then the tardy two, and sometimes a little trio of ducks flapping frantically in their wake!
Welcome to our day.

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