I frequently mention Social Media and how it can be fake but there are parts that are satisfying and rewarding to see, and I refer to pictures and stories of the wonders of nature and especially images and videos of animals.
There have been some remarkable portrayals of various species being rescued from an impossible situation where they were unable to extradite themselves. Satisfying to see especially if done by another animal of a different kind.
The pandemic caused by the Covid 19 has changed things in an unexpected way, because of the lack of visitors many birds have been more enterprising making nests closer to the house, and in some instances on the walls of the property.
I find this delightful as they are closer and it is possible to see in detail the way they live, building their nest and looking after the young with the pleasant sound of constant twittering as they wait for food. Then Mum or Dad arrive with beaks full of nourishment and for a brief moment absolute quiet as the young are fed.
It was a few years ago when we first saw the Wagtails, they would prance around the pool waiting and then swooping as some bug decided to land on the water.
Last year, they became a lot bolder and made a nest behind an air conditioning unit close to the patio doors where they produced a young family. Since then, the family have been growing and this year an extension was added to the original nest, also another built in a separate part of the pool area.
By now the two families were frequently seen doing their wagtail strut as they wandered around the garden. As the young ones grow the parents line them up on the fence and watch as they fly further than the small hop from the nest. This activity comes to a frantic end toward the end of July when it is time for the families to fly away, my guess is for a summer break, but without a doubt they will be back next year.
We have seen a black bird, at least that type of feathered friend around the pool area, and we were certain twittering was coming from the wagtail nest furthest from the house.
Time moved on and we became aware of one solitary wagtail, a young one taking short flights. One time it came up to the glass doors and stood there opening its mouth as if it was hungry.
The mystery of how one small bird survived when the rest had flown became a little clearer when one early evening the youngster was sitting on the wire fence as the black bird landed beside it.
They seemed to be conversing and then at the same time they flew off together and side by side they vanished over the rooftops. A few days later the wagtail returned into the pool area, this time it had a friend, a small sparrow type bird.
Although our little wagtail got left behind, perhaps it was too young. However, we think the little thing found its forever home. A wonderful experience.
The Orange Tree
It was a lovely Orange tree. It sat in the middle of a small garden in the centre of the patio to the front of the house looking wholesome and producing beautiful fruit.
It was a vigorous tree and within a year it had grown from a small cutting to as tall as a person with bright green shiny leaves bushing out from it and heavily laden with sweet to eat bright orange coloured fruit.
The owners were proud of it. This magic wonder of a miracle tree. The large soft fruit was willingly passed around, some went to the church for the jumble sale and the surplus was given to neighbours.
The owners lived near to the coast in a semi detached property of about eighty square metres in a road of similar houses.
Exactly, as most people, they paid their way not wanting for anything and were happy with the lifestyle they had developed and then one morning – shock – through the letter box dropped a bill from the water supplier totalling three and half thousand Euros.
Although they had been receiving an account from the provider every month, what they did not realise was that for the past twelve they had been estimated accounts based on previous use – now the metre had been read for the first time in a long period.
Below the orange tree the main water supply to the house had ruptured with the water leaking from the pipe work and feeding their wonderful orange tree.
We had had a similar problem when we first moved to this wonderful country and learnt the problem that the water system is different to whence we came, as the underground pipe work does not have the same protection.
The answer all those years ago was to read the meter regularly. Which we do weekly. Just recently we noticed the consumption was going up so we investigated.
The mains water supply to the house had ruptured and there in the driveway a green patch of grass and other plants had appeared in a desolate area of dried out and dead plantation.
It is going to be expensive but nothing like the cost if we had not known about it.
It was stated In 1945, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” which appeared in the Columbia Law Review – and it is so true.
Take care
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