A View to a Hill

I had the silver birch outside my bedroom window planted when we had to fell the pre-existing tree to make way for the bedroom extension. It offers shade and protection to small birds in the summer. Bluetits feed on the seeds and catkins in the winter. Some lower branches have already been pruned and bird feeders hang from the stumps affording a good view of goldfinches, great tits, and long tailed wagtails. Occasionally, we have had bullfinches. I haven't seen greenfinches in quite a while. And there's always the squirrels against which Basil regularly charges in the early mornings.

Unfortunately, the myriads of small twigs and branches obscure our view towards Ives Head, after which we think the village of Shepshed was named.

Len went out with his lopper today and lopped off some of the offending branches and twigs. I'll concede that the tree looks a bit lop-sided but we do have a clear view over the school field now towards the hill.

And what a marvellous sunset this evening. I think it looks even more intense in the extra photo, a silhouette of the birch tree against the southwestern sky.