Quiet

I suddenly realised today that everything was so quiet. Sometime during the two weeks we have been away all the birds decided they were going to stop singing. No more waking up to a chorus of birdsong, no lovely Songthrush serenades in the evening. Even the Blackbirds  have given up their warning squawks and amazingly I can't hear the pigeons. It is all so quiet. And where are the hoards of sparrows that are usually everywhere?

I presume the adults are either hiding away whilst they moult, exhausted after bringing up young, or they are away feeding in the hedgerows. There are a few young ones scuttling about, like this young Blackbird. It is a little hesitant, but seems to be developing well. You can see the dark adult feathers coming through. I think it has some kind of insect in its beak. But whatever it was doing it was doing it without a sound.

And there are no people around either. I presume they are all inside watching some sport or another. Gordon is in Liverpool with our daughter watching Netball. She is very keen on Netball and played herself for many years. She was very pleased to eventually manage to get tickets for some of the games and knew her dad would enjoy going to any sporting event. He will be trying to keep up with the Cricket and she with the Tennis, at the same time. 

Me . . . it all just passes me by! And I enjoy the quiet.