Life outside the window ...

Over the winter I cultivated a group of friends ... stand-ins for the dog and cat I'm not really able to have in this European apartment life.

First came the Woodpigeons and the Turtle Doves. Jackdaws called by very cautiously while Magpies exploded in barely viable crash landings, implementing a hit-and-run technique to pick up their portion of treats. A couple of small birds and a more exotic bird whose name escapes me also called by ... and voila, I had everyday winter 'friends'.

Over time a 'thing' formed between me and the Turtle Doves. They realised I could be called upon to rescue them from the 'big bird bullies' whenever the Wood Pigeons came to Balcony World.

It still amuses me to look up and find a Turtle Dove staring intently at me through the glass, seeming to indicate something along the lines of ... 'Hey Di, look what they're doing and we're just so little and so cute ...' needing me to chase the Wood Pigeons away from the bread.

Never mind that those very same Turtle Doves regularly chase away the Jackdaw, the Magpies and anything else that calls by ...

Eventually the Wood Pigeons realised that they weren't scared of me opening the window and asking them what they thought they were doing ... and now they don't move away either.

This morning I looked up from my desk, having heard a flurry of heavy winged fighting outside on the balcony ... two of the big pigeons are 'flapping' each other, whether it's love or war is unclear ...

News from the hot place ... 18 celsius (64F) with light drizzle outside and this time it feels so unbelievably good.