They know the face!

HE other day or about a week ago in Mayfield we tested the birds to see if they can recognise us and distinguish us (from the crowds passing by). Some birds did. When they see us – and they do in fact know the faces – they know food has arrived. No mnemonic like clapping necessary anymore.

One bird then follows the other. A flock forms.

Birds are smart.

But it’s not about expecting returns

oday was an exceptionally good day. We fed lots of animals in spite of the government telling humans to stockpile food and not (anymore) feed birds. Yesterday we went to check the shop where we used to buy sacks of seeds for the birds. For the second time in a row they don’t (or no longer) stock the stuff we bought, only small bags. This was likely intentional, perhaps some sort of policy (or so we’re guessing).

Research shows that “Millions Could Spend Half Their Income on Food by 2050,” meaning that half of one’s salary is just to nourish one’s body, so what’s left for water, power, rent and so on? Insane.

Anyway, I’ve saved 45 pounds today on food, maybe a hidden blessing or covert reward for us selflessly sharing food with nature’s wildlife. I found many discounts after Rianne and I went to the park and only minutes after giving a ton of seeds to 70+ birds there (various species). We enjoyed seeing them resting on their bellies on the grass (after a very large meal for a considerable length of time). They seemed so happy, some of them leapt on our laps, asking for more (we ran out)

Today, unlike before, Edwin came home and stayed here until almost 7PM which is when it’s getting dark. This is a bird we know and recognise. It inspired me to write this.

Share food with those who need it. One day you might be the one in need.

Update: Edwin has just returned again. Thrice! It’s part 7PM already. Amazing.

He left for good at 7:09.

Black and pink (blackpink?)

am glad to say that we have 20 fish right now and they are all healthy and seemingly happy. They get plenty of human attention. They’re not being neglected, abandoned, or malnourished (except when nasty men engage in lawfare).

Aside from the loaches and penguin tetras we not have some pearl danios in the cold tank and many flame tetras in the warm tank along with cardinal tetras as seen in this photo:

Almost the entire time (that is observable by me) they do characteristically move in schools, always together or nearby, unlike some other fish we’ve had. The fish in the cold tank are very close to me as it is 5 inches from my keyboard and below the screen that I type articles on. The hundreds of shells are doing well, but they are slow-moving. They don’t steal attention.

I’ve joked with a friend that I should write a script to generate passwords from their movements, no lava lamps necessary.

I’ve noticed the danios love swimming against the current that’s coming out from the filters and they always move quite tightly in groups, which means they’re a very social fish and they will grow a LOT more over time. We’ve calculated their projected final size to ensure the tanks won’t get too congested, overcrowding would make grumpy fish.

Just in time for our anniversary.

Snails/shells

vening time today was spent transferring all the shells (I estimate over 200 of them) to a bigger tank and setting it all up. As far as I can tell, all should be able to survive the transfer and I didn’t see any dead one.

They might need companions soon – a task for the coming week or maybe only a few days.

Because winter is coming and they need more heat (and T.L.C.)

managed to find some amazing bargains this morning. Equipment that typically costs about 100 pounds was sold to me for just 2 pounds. I took it home. Next we need to wash it and prepare it for the pets.

Maybe I’ll take some photos after it’s all done.

was rather surprised today to see “Ed” finding the courage to enter the room and clean the floor in the sense that he ate the remnants of seeds scattered on it. He never had the courage to stay on any of the door handles (or the doors) to be bottle-fed, but somehow he wasn’t afraid of getting close to humans.

The training goes on. Today Rianne fed “Sweepy” and taught her tables manners.

In our experience, birds are smart and have very good memory. They know which humans they can trust and which ones they must never trust.

Something positive

nowing that next week will be the second week of an autumn/semi-summer month, I tried to take advantage of the weather that provides a recess from heavy and moderate rainfall. I picked up this season’s last beans from the garden and was gratified to see fluffy green grass where only 2 weeks ago there was dried yellow ‘straw’, nothing resembling grass at all.

We’re coming to the end of summer, but maybe we get to savour one last weekend of it.