Gruesome Bird Tale

 

Don’t say you haven’t been warned

From Facebook Archives…

9 December 2018 at 16:17 ·

Waiting for the bus in Blackett St, I noticed a crow approach a dead pigeon, and proceed to pluck it prior to having a snack. They're not called carrion crows for nothing.  The other pigeons seemed unperturbed.

 

McChurch  Well, no-one likes a mouthful of feathers. 

Bentonbag  The first bird I noticed having a go was a herring gull pulling the body about, but it obviously saw I was getting my camera out and flew off.  Either that or it realised not even it could swallow that much in one go.  Not that long ago I spotted a magpie swallowing, whole, a mouse the cat had left on the lawn.

 McChurch  Gulls tend to go for the quick gulp approach because, I suppose, they are programmed to eat on the wing at sea.  Bored sailors of my acquaintance used to entertain themselves by seeing what they could fool gulls into catching.  They like sardines but the bird I saw catch a tin of same, circled round and dropped it on a startled `tiffy on the SeaCat deck.

Smarter than you think.

Bentonbag  Sorry my knowledge of naval lingo is inadequate: what's a 'tiffy? 

McChurch  Artificer (Tech Guy).  He was servicing a missile launcher.

For years he told people a bird dropped a tin of sardines on him and they all pretended not to believe him.  He ate the sardines

 

 

 

 

Christmas Moon

Earthrise, taken from Apollo 8 astronauts as they circled the moon

 

Last night I went out to a meeting and, as I parked my car, noticed the moon full and bright in the frosty night.

I immediately thought of my Dad.

Back in 1968 I went with him to fetch the Christmas bird from a farm somewhere down the back lanes of Capel Isaac.

With the sun setting so early this time of year it can’t have been very late, but the twelve year old me thought it was; and it felt very exciting.

When we got back to the car Dad pointed up to the sky and said 

“Look Ben.  Can you see it?  The Apollo 8 rocket going around the moon.  See… just by there…”

Of course I couldn’t, but Dad convinced me that he did.

Whenever I see a full moon at Christmastime the memory of that girl and her daddy comes back to me with a smile.

The Optimist

From Facebook Archives a week or so after Storm Arwen.

7 December 2021 at 08:55

Yesterday evening, watching the weather forecast, 

I commented to Thunderthighs 

"Well at least this time the wind will be coming from the South, so it won't be battering the back door in."

"No" says the ever cheerful one 

"it will be battering the front door in instead."

Mr Monkshood  You can't fault the logic.

Bess Cavalier  Isn't your back door technically at right angles to your front door, so faces east?

Bentonbag  NorthEast with the bay window creating a funnelling triangle.  Front door is SouthEast-ish.

Woolerwoman  Always hits the nail on the head. xx

Cold Caller Baiting #22 Mind Your Own Business

From Facebook Archives

6 December  2021 at 10:53 

The phone has just rung.

Satellite delay then a male African voice

"Hello, am I speaking to Miss Bentonbag?"

"Who are you?"

"I am David mam, and I am calling about your Microsoft computer."

"There's no such thing as a Microsoft computer.  Microsoft is a software system that operates a computer."

"That is correct mam, I am not calling about your brand of computer but about the Microsoft operating system.  Are you sitting in front of your computer right now?"

"It's none of your business where I'm sitting."

"What business are you in mam?"

"I'm not in any business, but it's none of your business what business I do either."

And there he was gone.