hello!

I have been taking a daily photo of these spotted flycatcher chicks since they hatched nearly 3 weeks ago and have watched them turn from tiny helpless, bald pink creatures to these three feathery bright-eyed birds almost too large for the nest. They are well hidden underneath the leaves of the grapevine in the old greenhouse and I have been careful to avoid disturbing them too much. The mother has been keeping a watchful eye on my comings and goings. How she has managed to find and catch enough flies to feed these hungry chicks is wondrous, almost as miraculous as the fact that she flew all the way from sub Saharan Africa to raise them.

It has been a very warm day today, and sunny - just right for the school holidays :-) and just right for us in the low 20s centigrade (though it was certainly a lot warmer than that in the kitchen at work today). I do feel for those people and animals enduring much higher temperatures on the West Coast of America and hope that some cooling breezes soon come their way.

Today's walk: a short one to RB between work, shopping and tea 1.84 miles