Dodo Au Go-Go

Last week was a sad one.  I'm not sure why several journeys' ends all converged into the one week in mid-October, but they did. And the heart gets bruised, saddened. Realises afresh life and breath and sunshine is a gift and shouldn't be taken for granted, but grieves at the same time. First, there was my baby bird. It was another round of baby mynah birds in the garden learning to fly - this time, two babies. I quickly figured out the signs - baby cheeps and parents hovering and calling urgently when we were nearby - and kept my Indi-Girl on the leash. But, one of the babies seemed to be staying on the ground too long. I put it onto low branches two or three times, but noticed its parents weren't feeding it as much as its sibling. The next morning, Indi found it - resting forever, at the bottom of the bushes where I'd perched it. Then, a couple of days later, at work, I saw two magpies physically pouncing onto a pigeon. After much shooing, g...

Some recent 30+ degree Celsius days meant we got out the paddle pool out for LittleOne. This also meant me checking the water every few minutes all day in case bugs needed rescuing. (As I get older, I'm becoming more and more fascinated with the natural world and by extension, more and more obsessed with trying to help lil bugs if and when I can.) There were lots of rescues from the paddle pool - flying ants, orange bugs, flies, mozzies and ladybirds.  I spotted two ladybirds in quick succession. One was frantically paddling, and the other still, and to all intents and purposes, drowned. I fished them both out, popped them onto a recovery paper towel, and left Mulberry leaves for shade. I was going to pop the drowned one in a garden bed but just left it on the paper towel instead. And to my astonishment, 2-3 hours later, it woke up! It clung tight to the blue beaker in the pic. I checked on both ladybirds regularly and gave them Mulberries and Mulberry leaves. Mainly be...