Saturday 12 February 2011

Sparrowhawk 1, Collared Dove 0







Well, the troops survived their funeral for the Stamp Man and looked after poor aul' Pud Lady in her difficult time. Everybody's coping OK down there.
Meanwhile, back up here it's all gone a bit manic as Dad's work starts to move the troops from the old site to the new, the second stage in a massive game of 1200-piece Solitaire which is concentrating everyone's minds at the moment. Dad is also back on the weekend cover this weekend so is up on the 04:15 alarm and heading in to work, back at 11-ish but straight down to the barge where painting is nearing completion. Only then can we have a goodly walk all around the back of, and through the allotments, where Dad wants to pull some leeks out of the soggy ground (all humans now mime the pulling finger out of cheek, plopping noise).
As we get home I sense there is something in the orchard-garden and chase down there, putting to flight our old chum the sparrow hawk, who has nailed a collared dove and beheaded it, but has only got as far as starting to pluck the body. We have extra white-ness in the snowdrop patch, provided by the small circle of dove feathers. The still-warm body goes onto the compost heap and is buried under leaves before a small white dog can show too much interest in it.
Mum and Diamond have been shopping and return here for snacks and a nice long reminiscence chat about June 2009 when Diamond was at death's door with her Leukemia. We can smile about it now, but it was not a good time.
Heh ho, all adds to life's rich pattern.
Deefs

1 comment:

Mr Silverwood said...

You could of let the hawk at the least eat it's kill Deefer..... The barge really is starting to look like it will actually be finished soon enough, well floating at least anyway.