Getting ready

We've been watching the swallow youngsters practising their flight skills around the back yard, gradually getting more accurate with their dashes in and out of the garage. And now there are periodic gatherings on the telephone wires in front of the house, though not yet in the numbers that would suggest they are anywhere near being ready to leave.   If this week's warm weather continues for a while, perhaps they'll stay long enough to build up their strength and body weight a bit more before they go.

We'll be ready to leave soon too, booked on the overnight ferry back to Birkenhead on Saturday.  I'm really ready to be home.  I'm looking forward to being back in the routine with the grandkids, and to seeing how Jack and Ruth, and their partners, are doing. 

I'm also aware that this immersion in the life cycle of swallows has been a welcome antidote to the mix of farce and horror that appears in the national and international news each day.  Being home will bring a chance to reflect on it all with friends, always helpful.