The Memory Wanderer: Bird Count

Monday, January 28, 2019

Bird Count

We participated in the RSPB's 'Big Garden Birdwatch 2019' on Saturday, with predictably gloomy results. Participants were asked to sit for an hour and count the birds which landed in their garden, not the total number but the largest number of each species which was visible at any one time.

Our results were 1 dunnock, 1 robin, 1 blackbird, 1 magpie and, late on, three starlings which pinched all the cheese - a total of 7.

We do our best to feed the local birds. As well as the cheese, there are sunflower hearts, a mix of seeds, peanuts, oats and lard, and there's a nice little bowl of clean water for drinking or bathing. If I put out caviar and champagne, I don't think I would see many more birds. They just don't like it round here.

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The Memory Wanderer

I'm at the wrong end of the road, a short distance to look forward to and a long way travelled, so I spend more time looking back, enjoying the memories, and less time in anticipation of the way ahead. The road trodden has been a good one, a rich and winding one, over which I hold no regrets. There is much still to do - only the end of the track ahead intimidates.

Time is mine now, so I remember, sometimes deliberately, sitting in the warm sunshine, sometimes because my mind, as if keen to help, suddenly gives me a flash of memory, a vivid picture which, like an exploding rocket, illuminates a moment in life; and then fades.

I have seen its dark side but, in general, the world has been kind to me. I have few regrets, I have many blessings, so these thoughts are offered as a celebration of a fortunate life.