Nigel and I have been laid low by Covid, presumably the Omicron variant.
Since I have
been working in secondary schools and he has attended the odd meeting in
central London, this highly contagious variant did seem unavoidable.
Long country
walks are something we consider essential to happiness, but at the moment we
are confined indoors.
So I have
been consoling myself that if there was one good time of year to be trapped at
home, then this is it – ten dry, cold, overcast January days, with daylight
fleeting early.
The very
countryside has appeared dormant.
Yet as I have
begun to feel better, I can see how wrong I have been.
Whenever the
sun shows its face, I hear birdsong, led by our robins, but including a
swelling number of other species. Blue
tits are showing a great deal of interest in our nest boxes.
Our doves
have begun to vie for the best nest sites in our dove cote.
Each night,
foxes rend the air with their barks.
Even the
hedgehog which we have been fostering this winter seems to have no interest in
hibernating.
So when I
finally get the all-clear to leave the house, the first intimations of spring
will be awaiting me with open arms.
Video of Nigel feeding robin by Carenza
Blue tit photo by david
Griffiths on Unsplash
