Picnic

Our neighbour has a bird table and she puts food out for the birds most days, including  a bird feeder full of peanuts. The other day, as I was working there were a lot of excited noises and when I looked out the window, there was a rather large family having a picnic. Mum and dad were sorting out the kids, feeding the young ones who are not quite independent yet, and shooing away the older ones who were trying to be greedy. There were a few other relatives, maybe aunty and uncle and their brood who were messing about on the lawn. The neighbour has chickens so maybe there was some chicken food on the grass.

It wasn’t long before a few young thugs arrived, older bully-boys, meaning no harm, but trying to elbow the children out of the way. well, mum and dad weren’t going to stand for that! With a few well-aimed pecks and a bit of aggressive fluttering, a great deal of shouting, the naughty boys hurried away to go and mess about in someone else’s garden. The children seemed unperturbed by this disruption, they were just keen to resume their picnic.

Suddenly, someone decided enough was enough, or maybe it looked like rain, or maybe there were some rather aggressive seagulls hanging about, whatever it was, I was time to go, so mum, dad and the kids, and aunty and uncle and their youngsters left… no doubt to return tomorrow or the next time a picnic is set out for them!