Sudden Change

I intended going to Christchurch to do my shopping, but my foot was so sore yesterday and during the night that I decided to stay home. The conditions were right for cutting wood, calm and mild. I worked at a snail’s pace for most of the morning. The thirty metres between the wood heap and the sawhorse seemed much longer than usual.

While I was having lunch it turned very cold and I lit the fire. Later I saw that there was fresh snow down to the foothills. Castle Hill Peak is in there somewhere.

Update on the blackbird chicks: they fledged yesterday! They made an awful racket. I happened to pass by in the thick of it. The father screeched at me for being so close. I checked the nest this morning and it is empty. I can hear the chicks' strident call in various places around the garden.