Quite a dull day today although I am happier than in my last post. At least I can eat and drink fairly freely as the gap left by my missing tooth is slowly healing.
Have just spent 10 minutes or so watching a pair of Carrion Crows raiding my garden for food. We had Kung Po Prawns and Rice for dinner last night. As usual I did too much rice. The excess was scattered for the birds which is what had attracted the crows. They are magnificent birds. Jet black, looking so smart. What is amazing is that they are one of the bigger birds to settle in the garden yet they seem to be quite nervous. The image above was purloined from the RSPB web site. I would have posted one of my own photos but to have moved to get my camera would have scared my visitors away. More details can be found by following the link at the bottom of this post.
While on the subject of beasts with beaks, I was doing a bit of sticky beaking myself this morning.
I spotted a guy in a bright yellow jacket outside the front of my house. He had a short ladder leaning against the trunk of the very big Beech tree. He had climbed the ladder and was about to hammer something into the trunk. So of course I went out and asked him what he was doing.
It appears he works for the local council and is carrying out a survey of the trees for which they, the council, are responsible. He was tagging this tree as he is going to make a note about one of the branches which is getting a bit long and heavy. In his view the branch needs some of the sub branches to be removed to take some of the weight off the main limb. Apparently, Beech Trees are prone to dropping their branches.
Seems likely he was the guy I accosted a few years ago when I spotted him taking measurements. At that time one of my neighbours had contacted the council with a view to taking the tree down. So todays chat just reinforced the continued interest, by at least one of the residents, in keeping this tree safe and intact.
While he and I were chatting we were surprised by a small army of council workers either sitting on or following a variety of power mowers. Now during the year we do get visited by these guys. Usually their numbers are limited to 2 or 3 on mowers with a guy following on foot with a leaf blower. Today we were blessed with the arrival of not 3, not 6 but 8. The noise was phenomenal. It’s all very well the drivers having ear protectors but what about the unsuspecting residents.
Anyway, I guess I’d better get back to work. Have to knock off early today as I am going for physio appointment later. Also, big smile, we are expecting a visit from my granddaughter and great-granddaughter. So bye for now.
WrAnTz 