This and that.

 A sad story to begin with   'My' baby blackbird, who seems to be the only nestling unless I have missed any others, is dead.   I walked the patio yesterday several times, slowly, looking at the garden and what was happening(what seem like dozens of self-sown aquelegia have shot up overnight).   There he lay on the patio - wing feathers already black and well -developed, body still that fluffy speckled yellow/brown.   There was not a mark on him and earlier in the day a bird hit my window - hard.   I hope that was what killed him - I don't like to think of him tormented by a  cat.  Mum and Dad don't seem concerned - but here's me trying to put human feelings into the mind of a bird-brain.

As to the garden, last year my gardeners had a policy at flowering time of pulling up any flowering aquelegia which didn't merit a place in the garden.   We let them flower and then pulled them up before they seeded.  We shall shortly see what this year's plants produce in the way of colour.   I doubt that we made a lot of difference.   My favourite one - one I bought from Claire Austin, is dark pink and bright  yellow but it doesn't seed freely and I know from experience that if left to their own devices they eventually revert to their 'chosen' colour - dark blue.   The plants at present have taken over one plot and quite a few other plants seem to have been crowded out.   But I guess they are still there and once the aquelegia have flowered and been pulled up they will be there waiting their turn.

There are still a few Union Jacks flapping in today's breeze - the last remnants of Coronation displays.  Interestingly our road, which is at the top of the estate, has - I understand - much more in the way of Patriotic Displays than the rest of the estate.   As we are all bungalows (inhabitants 65 to about 95) can we make a general assumption that it is the young who are disinterested in The Royal Family?

Tomorrow the Covid Jab.   Friends S and T are kindly taking me to the chemist in Hawes - who happily comes out - hypodermic syringe in hand - requests you open the car window  and put your arm -divested of any clothing- out, sticks in the needle and Bob's your Uncle'.   Then there is the quarter of an hour wait for any adverse reaction before we are free to go.

My cleaner, D, a lovely lady, was coming this afternoon and to that end I wobbled about in the sitting room with a damp cloth on my trolley, wiping the six pieces on the mantelshelf - all precious (not in monetary terms but to me) so I like to clean them myself.  (I would hate her to break one and feel guilty).   She has just rung to say she can't come until next week.  (sorry buddha, Spanish bull, cloisonne duck, naughty spirit (sorry US readers I have asked you before what he is called but have forgotten) and clock - but that's your wash for this month and you've had it a week early - no hard feelings.

I have just noticed, looking out of the window, that about a dozen allium buds on long stalks are waving in the breeze.   Something (field mice?) is eating the bulbs I fear because I put fifty in.   And I have a long diagonal line of fully fledged mushrooms marching across the lawn.   I daren't eat them because I don't know whether they are eatable or not (some years we had wonderful crops of field mushrooms at the farm - fresh from our early morning walk taking the cows back to pasture after milking we would fry them with eggs and bacon for breakfast. )  Nothing like a mushroom freshly picked from the field before a cow has had time to tread on it - or worse).

See you tomorrow post Covid jab.