For several weeks, I have been noticing a straggly branch at the very top of our first apple tree. There are apples up there, hanging on for dear life - over thirty feet above the ground. On Monday afternoon, a gale was blowing and yet the apples clung on - even though the straggly branch was being whipped around.
I reflected upon how amazing nature can be - pushing water and nutrients up from the old apple tree's roots - even during Yorkshire's driest summer on record. All along to the very tip of the topmost branch. Pretty incredible.
On Tuesday I was about to venture out for a walk on the moors when I decided to first try to get a few photos of the treetop. The light conditions were not really in my favour and I had to use a significant amount of zoom.
Then I noticed we had a familiar visitor - a wood pigeon. Penelope was up at the top of the tree, chilling out and surveying her domain. You can see her in the top picture
The topmost apples from below
Now I don't mind wood pigeons. They need to eat like other birds and they can't help their bulk. This is something I have often said to Shirley when she grumbles about their apparent greed and dominance - pushing out the smaller birds. In the avian world birds of every species do their best to survive.
Another domineering bird we see in our garden most days is the Eurasian magpie - widely thought to be one of the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. They are opportunistic, athletic and nosy. This very morning I was woken by a couple of pecking magpies on our bedroom window ledge. They were probably seeking small insects.
Later, those same birds were gripping to our fatball feeders, eating their breakfasts.
Anyway, a blogpost that was meant to be about apples has now morphed into a blogpost about garden birds. I had better stop at this point before it morphs into something else.
Penelope Pigeon
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/LCBsI9j
