It has been one of those days for wildlife………. not the wild partying kind of days of yore, but for seeing and getting news of the birds and creatures around us here. First of all I drew the curtains to be greeted by a juvenile pied wagtail looking up at me, then the sparrowhawk insisted on perching on the bird feeder and last of all I heard from a neighbour that they had sighted a pine marten in the back garden ground. It is a new house, so the pine marten probably thinks they are the intruders not him or her. No photos yet, but you can see some lovely images here. We have also heard tell of the mink spotted in a nearby burn, and I rather suspect that some of our late cat’s scars were down to scraps with them rather than other felines.
It reminds me of our visitors at the weekend. Around lunchtime several deer came into the rough ground at the back of our garden. The visitors immediately rushed for cameras and started snapping. Here is one of the photos they later emailed. 
Beautiful isn’t it? At the time HBTW and I just looked on. Shows how easy it is to get desensitised to the beauty of nature and creatures all around.
Another friend phoned and was telling me that he had been reading the blog and was interested to see that I was turning into a reflective philosopher. I’m not so sure about that, though it is quite a happy thought. The trouble is that my thoughts come from a random selection of sources. Sometimes I wonder if people expect more about Christianity when they stumble across this blog, after all here I am a retired Minister. All I can say is that I do my best not to beat people up about faith, the church and God. We all find our own paths and a gentle word here or there may well be used to help us in the hard times.
For today, it is enough to be grateful for the times when we can be still, watch, breath slowly and be fully part of the moment when a little bird appears, wagging its tail and bobbing its head saying Good Morning…….
Yes, one cannot beat someone up with faith and still expect them to accept religion with open arms. What is wrong with being a philosopher anyway?
This lovely post warmed my heart and made my day. Aside from the deer none of the others – not the mink or any of the types of birds – are here around us, so it’s a pleasure to meet them through your reflections of them.
Deer, yes they roam our neighborhood now and have eaten my roses. But it is not a happy thing because the reason they are in our little town is because of development in the hills around us. Their habitat is getting squeezed out from under them and they are doing the best they can; consequently, I do not mind the loss of some roses.
We have a family of squirrels and a family of skunks living in and around our property. We are all co-existing well so far. That includes the outside cats (as opposed to the three inside cats) who lay around the back yard in the evening when the skunks walk right by them to the communal food bowl. It is really funny and rather amazing to see!
Birds? Let’s see. We have scrub jays (several young ones consider themselves pets I think), hummingbirds, chickadees, bushtits, English sparrows, goldfinches, and house finches here now.
btw, I like that your blog contains eclectic, random, and inspiring observations. It’s beautiful.
Freda, thank you for reminding me to be quiet sometimes.
Hi, Freda, I like to read your posts in the morning, when the day is just beginning. They set a nice, easy pace for the day. About the deers ~ I don’t think it is being desensitized to just sit and watch. It’s not being distracted from seeing a miracle. Just watching animals in their own habitat is such a gift. When or where ever I am, flocks of birds stop me in my tracks. They inspire such awe.
I know what Lydia said about animals loosing their natural spaces because we build, build, build is true and sad.
Thanks for all the comments, it helps a lot to know that there are people who read it and continue to reflect and think. Tabor, I told the “philosopher-remarking-friend” that I saw the blog as part of my way to be in community. And I think that is true of us all, we help each other by commenting on life as we see it.
I gave a little gasp at the thought of the skunks, Lydia, but I guess they don’t pong unless threatened in some way. Is there ever any chance of your getting a photo of them with the cats?
It interests me that there are so many blog writers and readers who relish nature, creativity and philosophy…….. that has got to be good for all of us, and hopefully the world inside and out there!
You are so right about becoming de-sensitised to the beauty all around us. The Shropshire Hills are an area of outstanding natural beauty but . . . .
Beauty becomes the view from the window, hardly seen anymore. It takes visitors’ exclamations to look properly.