...And the Living is Easy...

Apparently there’s a saying around here: if you can’t see the mountains, it’s raining; if you can see the mountains, it’s going to rain!

Deer across the lane  (MC)

It’s been a very changeable day – I got out for a walk much earlier while we actually saw some sunshine, but stupidly, I didn’t take my phone with me, so no pics. Since then I’ve been sitting in the living room and overlooking the meadow and the pond – and sometimes it’s raining, and sometimes it isn’t! Earlier in the morning, it was lovely listening to Michael playing upstairs – I think less practicing than finessing something for his recording.  It was very much a COVID-era project, with other musicians sending stuff from various other places, and he’s now in the editing studio trying to bring it all together, and working on the details of layout and artwork. Sadly, the woman who did his cover art passed recently, and everything needs to come together without her expert eye.

the planned cover...

So this has been a day to ‘veg’ – to write and catch up with people, to help out with some kitchen stuff, to sit and read, and to keep an eye on the action outside;  a busy procession of small birds to the feeders, the occasional magpie swinging like a clown from the cross-bar, and a series of heron appearances – I don’t know whether it’s just one heron or a series of them. Martin says they’re pretty territorial, and the resident will usually see the interloper off.  That fits with what I saw – there was one awhile ago that stalked the rim of the river, and then disappeared under the bridge from the road; about half an hour later another came down by the pond. Heron 1 (I assume) reappeared; though no aggressive moves were made, Heron 2 obviously decided that s/he had business elsewhere!

Heron on the pond  (MC)

The primary entertainment are the magpies – I think it’s a family of five, and the youngsters are full-grown, but still come begging to the parents, looking for food, which looks very comical. The five of them tend to operate as a unit; where you see one, the others can’t be far behind.  They’ve discovered the birdfeeder, and though it’s not set up for birds of their weight, the adults will make a jump and swing on it to dislodge birdseed.

Dinner!  (MC)

Next time I walk down towards Loch Alloa (which is part of the River Lee system) I need to see if I can get closer to the shore – according to what I’ve found, the little island just offshore is a human-created “crannog” – one of only four in county Cork. The archeologists haven’t put a date on it, but it’s located on an important boundary between early medieval kingdoms, and apparently when the water level is low, a causeway can be seen between island and mainland.  There was likely a ringfort on the shore, but there’s been no archeological investigation to give greater precision in dates and purpose.

Eileen had a not-feeling-good day and went to hibernate; Michael wasn't working his show that evening, so Martin, Michael and I went for a pint at the local pub - very quirky and full of character - and then picked up some dinner at a take-out to bring home and eat round the TV. Quiet evening (and blogging time)...