It's Louie!

Well, so, I got closer today, a lot closer and my rusty macro lens skills got a little oiling today, as I had totally forgotten how to photograph robins, when it used to be my daily bread, suddenly it was nothing apart from a few blurry images through a hedge!

If anyone is coming to my blip journal late and doesn't know the story, here it is briefly - I got to know a robin who I called Larry Legs back in April 2011, who I fed worms and photographed, this was before I purchased the macro lens, so I never got really good close up detailed shots of him, but what I got was very special.  In July of that year, Larry Legs introduced me to his son and there a beautiful relationship was formed.  Larry Legs disappeared shortly afterwards and 'Little Larry' came into his own.  My 365th blip featured him too... I don't believe it!  Suddenly, Little Larry (Larry) took over my life, I was besotted with him and I generally hope he was besotted with me too... I watched him grow into a very handsome robin and even started a blip journal all for him...Little Larry Academy where I did indeed blip a photo of him every day!  we'd spend days together in all seasons, just being in each other's company, he loved to spend his days not when he was feeding endless young, just perched next to me preening or singing or just generally sitting there looking pretty as I took his picture and spoke to him.  He took over my life, I could not go away without getting someone to come and look after him, text me every day to say he's been seen and ok.  I worried about him constantly.  Such a delicate bird, small, not the best of flyers, living amongst bullying blackbirds, naughty cats and hungry sparrowhawks.  Sadly it did all come to an end, I lost him 6th June 2013 - still to this day I'm not sure what happened, I thought magpies, as that afternoon there was just one chick and his Mrs 'Lila' and that was all.  Not at all the amount of chicks I thought there was looking at Larry's hard work at coming back and forth for worms.  That one chick I called 'Louie'.  It's taken me a long time to win his trust.  The first Winter he was still battling it out with the other robins in the district, so I hardly saw him, but I knew it was him singing on the hawthorn tree, as that's where his dad used to sing and Louie has taken over his territory and even more territory too.  It was only the beginning of this year that he started cottoning on that I had 'food' and having called and spoken to him since fledging, he recognised me calling him 'Louie'.

Wow, was that short?  Sorry!

Anyhow, today, Louie was so relaxed in my company and he realised now that I wait for him to have his fill... to stop the sparrows and blackbirds eating his worms (I do give them some afterwards too!) and this evening, again around 6pm, I went out there and called his name and shook the box of worms and yes, he came... like he did earlier too (see picture!), he came back and forth about half a dozen times and then like last night he told me he had had enough by singing on top of the crab apple tree.

I am so lucky to have known three generations of the same robin family... and I really did promise myself not to fall in love again, as Larry broke my heart disappearing like he did, it's hard when you don't see it happen nor find a body, because least then it's final - but I knew on that day he didn't turn up for his breakfast, I knew he had gone.  He helped me through the grief of losing my mum in May 2012 - he was my rock, my dearest sweetest Larry xxx

Long Live LOUIE! xxxx