Saturday 8 May 2010

Hard to swallow.

The Swallow is viewed as one of the first signs of summer. To see them returned, having over-wintered in southern Africa, is always a special moment.

It takes them about four weeks to fly the 10,000 kms back to Europe, which is quite a feat in itself. Sadly, the one above then made that common mistake of thinking that all birds can fly through glass, and I found him early this morning in this very neat and peaceful crouched position, outside my studio window.

All of life is special (other than slugs, wasps, cockroaches, etc, etc), but these elegant little birds are extra-special, as they are very happy to live their lives in harmony with us humans. To have made all that effort to return to the exact location of our cottage, just to end up this way, is such a shame.

R.I.P. Swallow.


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5 comments:

  1. Oh dear. On a lighter note, a friend said to me the other day, "One swallow does does not Anne Summers make"..

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  2. I like it. Trans-pond readers might be puzzled!

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  3. Poor bird. It's so sad when an animal is hurt.

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  4. Poor little mite. What a sad way to end it's life. Cro, I have to disagree with you on slugs, wasps etc. I was watching two slugs that had made their way over to one of the cat dishes (my cats live outside). They were polishing off the stale remains of a few cat biscuits and I marvelled at the way their heads totally disappeared into their bodies when something threatening appeared. I know they're a right pain when they decimate all the salad crops and the cabbages but sometimes I wish I could hide my head like that when I'd rather avoid somebody :>) Have a good day, Molly.

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  5. My head disappears up my own fundament when something threatening appears.

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