Mr. Sparrow

Here is a very quick shot of one of the myriad of cheeky sparrows that chirp away all day in my hedge. This is a male and you can tell by the black throat and eye markings.

The sparrows come to the bird table in shuttle runs of 3 or 4 sparrows at a time, grab a quick bite to eat and then fly back into the safety of the hedge. They must then tap the wing of the other member of the team and another small team emerge. This continues for quite some time each day. It is usually broken up when a dove or wood pigeon makes some forced landing on the table.

Yesterday I bought a large Swiss Ball and today spent what felt like one strenuous hour of exertion inflating it with a bicycle pump. Is that what the core exercise is with these balls; just blowing it up using patently inadequate equipment?

After you have done expelling your last drop of energy inflating the aforementioned sphere, you just collapse on the ball (which is surprisingly comfortable) and feel physically spent.

If all else fails and I never use it for its intended purpose at least I have bought a rather cheap inflatable chair.