When I went to check if the milk had been delivered at 0620 this morning I found a pint of skimmed milk and a decorated pebble. The pebble made me happy and I’ve been using it as a paperweight while reading some papers for a meeting, out in the garden, in the sunshine. Every time I look at it, I smile. What a lovely gift coming from a lovely thought.
Now I’m guessing that it did come with the milk delivery, partly because a short stroll along the street did not reveal any other houses with decorated pebbles by their door.
On that stroll I heard a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker – the first, as far as I can recall, I’ve ever heard from this house in over two decades. I’ve seen Great Spots and heard them call, but never drumming before.
That was a good start to the day.
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Our Village Shop has closed to passing shoppers but the wonderful owner now delivers every day, items ordered before 1930 hrs the previous evening. The Milk, Guardian and a few other essentials on the doorstep by 1015hrs. Later in the garden for coffee, five Red kites, two Buzzards and half a dozen LBB Gulls soaring overhead in a thermal. Chiffchaff singing and have heard the drumming GSW for over a month now. Keep well and enjoy the sunshine.
Great that you can still get doorstep delivery, sadly our rural milkman stopped delivering some years back now 🙁
We have atrocious infrastructure including broadband but so thankful that at least I have nature on tap and the weather is sunny and joyous with birdsong.
Take care and stay safe all
Was the pebble not intended for guarding the milk bottle from blue tit attack? Do milk bottles have foil tops now? Have blue tits lost that skill? Or maybe the milk delivery person just appreciates you like the rest of us do.
Mike – I think we beat the Bue Tits into submission by inventing tougher tops, didn’t we? And Great Spotted Woodpeckers either haven’t a taste for milk or maybe they keep sliding off the glass bottles…?
I thought it was semi-skimmed that put the blue tits off. No point in making the effort if there was no cream at the top.
I have just switched from supermarket milk to doorstep delivery, real milk and unhomogenised so has cream on top. All other shopping is being done by my partner, bless her, as I am diabetic so vulnerable and we live next door to each other so isolation is possible. Fortunately for getting out there is a wildlife trust reserve at the bottom of the garden! Love the pebble Mark.
Paul – yes, I love the pebble too. It was such an unexpected, simple but lovely thing to find.
And I’ve heard the drumming woodpecker again.
It was Homogenised milk that did for the Blue Tits, apparently.
Ah makes entire sense.
We are terribly spoilt here Mark in that we have two pairs of GS Woodpeckers that feed and drum here although only one pair nests, the others are over the road. Lock down makes us appreciate just how lucky we are to live where we do, with lots of wildlife and a good place to walk right on our doorstep.