the sweet silver song of a lark

No actual larks in this post, but I couldn't find a song about blue tits.

The birds are enjoying both the fat balls and the 'house' of birdseed. We get a couple of blue tits, such pretty little birds; there's also a pair of great tits, like blue tits in evening dress with their elegant black heads and thick tummy stripe. There are two robins—though on one memorable occasion there were *three*, which I had never seen before. And a young gentleman blackbird has figured out how to eat the fat balls. I think blackbirds must usually eat from the ground, as I never saw a blackbird partaking all through last year, but this one has found a handy branch to stand on and now noms happily.

There was a frustrated squirrel trying to get the seeds out of the little 'house', but having very little luck. Oh, and I think I even spotted a sparrow tucking in once, though the sparrows generally stay on the ground.

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( Personal stuff )

In summary, none of my problems has actually gone away, but there does seem to be a better path for dealing with them now.

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Also, I read a book yesterday! This may not seem like a major achievement—and indeed, for someone who used to hurtle through books at a fantastic rate, it doesn't seem like much even to me, but I have not been 'in the mood' to read novels for a dismayingly long time. Yesterday I had stuffed myself with Yuletide fic and needed a break from the computer, and my son was frustrating himself with the PS5 on our telly, so I snuggled into bed with Scalzi's "Red Shirts", which I enjoyed quite a lot.

There are so many books piled up waiting for me, I'd like to think I will get through a few this year.