Charmed, I'm Sure

Jazzy dog and I went down the field before I had done my chores this morning as the sun was shining heart-liftingly beautifully.

We stood under the oak by the horse sanctuary and chatted to a robin while a wren scurried, mouse-like, amongst the brushwood.

I heard a distinctive snorting, sneezing sound, a charm of goldfinches was working the hazel hedge. People wax lyrical about their song but I think those nasal notes negate the tinkling twiddly trills. 

The goldfinch was included in hundreds of medieval religious paintings. Its plumage and lifestyle had produced powerful symbolic associations.

These birds are doing very well and increasing in numbers, nobody really knows why, especially considering that greenfinches, skylarks, corn buntings etc. are in decline.