Welcome home

This swallow, and her mate, are visiting their usual nesting place in our byre.  Yes, they make a mess in there, but what the heck, we can clean it up afterwards.  We love the swallows treating our home as their own.  They're feisty little birds, and issue a stern warning whenever anyone gets too close.  And if we go into the barn next door, they fly in after us and give us a piece of their mind.

One of them showed up on 9 April, which is just about as early as we have ever seen one in the nineteen years we have been here, and her mate joined her a few days later.  I have been waiting for an opportunity to get a photo, and this evening they came and perched near our bedroom window.  It was taken through the glass at an oblique angle, so there's some distortion, but it serves as a record of their return.

I have had two or three busy days, so have had very little opportunity to comment on my friends' blips.  I'm off to have a look right now.