Robin Visits Woodpeckers

The sunniest, coolest, part of another day of developing humidity was before we left this morning to visit Mum at Woodpeckers. Jackie took advantage of this to carry out an early spell of gardening.

I nipped out to photograph her Head Gardener’s Walk clearance, which she had completed yesterday evening, and she showed me the solid lump of hellebore root which had never produced flowers during our time here, that she had prised out of the soil and was too heavy for her to lift.

Mum was on very good form, conversing with wit and humour, especially when we commented on the haircut she had received just before we arrived;

and when she instructed Jackie to quarter a serviette offered because she had forgotten to bring her tissues. After each use the sections were neatly folded, possibly for further application later when they had dried out.

My mother can see very little now, but did struggle to catch sight of a fearless baby robin that darted overhead, paused in a small tree, perched temporarily on a rail in her eye-line, dived on an ants’ nest beneath, returned to the rail to digest its prey, then swooped across Mum’s shoulder, to repeat the process at will. Jean could see the flash of action. She could also hear the building work across the road and ask what was being erected.

More gardening was undertaken this afternoon. My contribution was extensive dead heading, and breaking up the hellebore roots pictured earlier. They were indeed too heavy to be carried in one dump bag, so I distributed them among several.

This evening we dined on roast beef, horseradish sauce, boiled potatoes, crisp Yorkshire pudding, crunchy carrots and broccoli, with meaty gravy. Jackie drank more of the Sauvignon Blanc, and I drank more of the Shiraz.

74 comments

  1. A lovely day, split between gardening and visiting. Your mom looks great, and so does the baby robin — your close up shots of the robin do a wonderful job with those tiny feathers!

  2. Your mother looks so good with her new haircut. She looks so happy. Jackie is such an attentive daughter-in-law. Great shots of the baby robin, Derrick. Shall we name it? ?

    1. If it comes back in a fortnight we could name it indeed. When Mum was wheeled out to us she looked at me and said “Oh, just you?” until she turned and saw Jackie 🙂

  3. Your mother looks wonderful, Derrick, and quite happy! That was nice of the little robin to make an appearance, too. Those are beautiful photos!

    Your gardens look beautiful, Derrick and Jackie. Those root clumps sure can weigh a lot! I’ve had to move a few similar things from time to time and have been quite surprised at how much they can weigh.

  4. I enjoyed my visit with your mum today. She Looks so happy to see you. Do you tell her how many of us look forward to seeing and hearing about her?
    Lovely garden shots too.

  5. Your mother is indeed looking in very good spirits – and lovely to read the description of her hanky waste-not!
    The images of the robin are so vivid – they really catch the perkiness of the little bird on his stick like legs 🙂

  6. Wow, your mum looks great, all chipper with her hair done! I love the baby robin sequence of photos. The header one is my favorite. I really like the angle from which you took it.

    1. Jackie was delighted that she agrees with you once more, Liz. She read your comment before realising who sent it, and shrieked “It IS Liz Gauffreau”. She had already made the point about the angle. I had to ask her what she was talking about. 🙂 Thanks very much.

  7. Your mom looks wonderful, Derrick. It’s easy to tell that she enjoys your regular visits. That is so important for you both.

    Tell me, what exactly is Yorkshire pudding and what makes it crispy?

    Once again, I love the paths through your gardens. Nice work to you both.

    1. Yorkshire pudding is made with a thin batter, placed in a hot oven so that the edges rise and get crisp, it’s traditional to serve with roast beef, although I love it with any roast dinner!

  8. It’s so good to see your Mum looking so good, and it’s good to know she was aware of the little robin-visitor, even with lessened vision. We always played that silly game called “which sense would you be willing to lose” when we were children. I still don’t have an answer for that one, since I’d prefer to keep them all, but losing sight certainly would be a trial.

  9. Your mom and the wee robin certainly have stolen the show this time. Your mom’s hairstyle suits her so well. What a gorgeous smile she has.

  10. I’m glad your Mum is doing so well. Her hair looks beautiful and her serviette quartering instructions seem to be working well. The detail in the robin photos is impressive!

  11. Yorkshire pudding is made with a thin batter, placed in a hot oven so that the edges rise and get crisp, it’s traditional to serve with roast beef, although I love it with any roast dinner!

  12. Derrick, your beautiful Mom looks so healthy and happy AND I AM SO GLAD! 🙂 I think of her so often and smile! 🙂
    How wonderful that the little robin came to visit! Your closeup photos of the robin are spectacular! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) to you and Jackie!!! 🙂
    PS…”Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off and they are nearly always doing it.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett

  13. The thing about your robins is they always seem to be happy standing still for you to take their portrait. And what is the red barked tree near the robin’s boardwalk.

  14. Always great to see Mum smiling. A good visit and good gardening – another wonderful day, I would say, despite the weather.

  15. Your mother looks fine, and the haircut is very pretty. Good to see her smiling and in good spirits, catching some avian action.
    It seems that Jackie has switched from beer to Sauvignon Blanc; I am with her on that.

  16. Yes, your mum was in very good form, for sure! How fun to see her looking so chipper! The pictures of the baby robin are priceless! Love that fluffy down on his/her chest (or was it the tummy?).

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