Blackie

A very different day to yesterday, there wasn't a glimpse of blue sky all day. There were plenty of things to do indoors, including watching the interactions of the blackbirds feeding on apples on the patio outside.  This one isn't the dominant male, he gets shooed away when the alpha male  turns up.  He's distinguished by having  a much steeper forehead.  It won't be long before they are breeding, which may be why the alpha male is investing so much in seeing off potential rivals.  We have run out of apples to give them, so this bird may move somewhere where he's less unwelcome, or he could be a continental bird that will be migrating soon.

We've just come in from Gus's evening walk, and on a damp mild evening, I saw my first toad of the year - we helped her across the road.  All too often the first one I see is a flat one, so let's hope she makes it to her destination.