A weather eye

It’s a beautiful day. Yesterday Roch told me he has been amazed that he hasn’t gone ‘stir crazy’. Apart from his two days in work, he hasn’t been out at all this past week. Today we’ve had a late breakfast together, and he’s gone back to bed for a rest. He didn’t sleep so well last night. We sat at the kitchen table this morning and watched the birds. The back wall of our house is basically all window and we never get tired of the view. I never liked birds much, but I have a growing fondness for them now. We have two daily visitors to the coconut bird feeder. Two robins. They grow very bold - and seem attracted by the smell of cigar smoke… Small groups of coal tits swoop and dart from one side of our garden to the other. There’s a tiny wren, shyer than the rest and a jay pays us visits now and then. I’m watching one of the robins right now. He has a fuller breast than his friend. His chest glows ruby in the winter sun. I’ve seen blackbirds too. We have wood pigeons, magpies and crows - but I like the smaller birds best. I leave a ‘Field Guide', illustrated in colour, on the kitchen table, so that Roch can identify any newcomers.


I don’t think we would have done this before. Taken the time to watch and appreciate. I know the robins always remind Roch of his mother. She loved them, too. In my more fanciful moments, I like to think that those robins are keeping a watchful eye on Roch just for her. I mean, have you ever heard of a robin liking cigar smoke?
Is someone keeping a weather eye on the watcher?