Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Adaptation, fledglings and a cat's tale




































It was hard to resist this ingenious piece of work in a front garden in Hawkenbury on the  outskirts of our town.  Recycling and adaptation  have much to offer the sculptor.

Young birds are fledging everywhere it seems. The rapid transition from egg-bound embryos to feathered food-gatherers always astonishes. The starling nesting in the capital of the ornamental column set into the wall of the house opposite have fledged and the young birds are flying onto nearby trees and rooftops returning to the nest every now and then for a rest. Only a couple of weeks ago the nestlings were screaming like telephones  for their parents to feed them. In The Grove and the vegetable garden young blackbirds conspicuous for their relative lack of fear and  for their size - they seem smaller and slimmer than the mature adults - flutter past and run under your feet. Amazing that they know so well how to go about the business of feeding.

The three parts of my short story which I now call A Cat's Tale can be read in sequence in One Fine Day if anyone has the time. Though the sequence is unfortunately back to front.  Marja-Leena, thank you for your comment which arrived by email but never made it  to the blog. Appreciation is always appreciated. Even criticism. Strange are the ways of Blogger.


4 comments:

Tom said...

What always amazes me about blackbirds is the frenetic pace at which the males live, and how their young survive. Also, I remember from a previous life (in marriage terms) that when a cat was about in the garden, the blackbird would come to the vicinity of the house and call me out to chase off the cat. Man and bird in harmony, a little like me and the original Gwynt, bless her!

Tom said...

Me again. I have observed that if I check the 'preview' first, there (so far) doesn't seem to be a problem posting a comment.

marja-leena said...

Joe, thanks, that is strange what happened to my comment but I'm glad it arrived in some way. Again, I must say the story is stunning.

Tom, I do the 'review' thing too and it usually works here but not at 'One Fine Day" - go figure!

Roderick Robinson said...

Tom: I am pleased to read that someone else uses the Preview facility before going to Publish. However, when blogger changed its format the facility was debased. Individual paras are now presented in single lines of (presumably) infinite length. Useless. To allow my anal tendencies a free hand I now compose comments in Notebook.

However, having reversed my normal practice on this occasion I find that Joe's Preview facility now works properly. But my experience says this cannot be relied on.