In a flap

The swans that live close to our home in Gloucestershire are feisty, to say the least. But they are also truly magnificent creatures.

I popped out to get some air during this deliciously laid-back weekend and spotted this one engaged in a marathon preening session on a mill pond.

It would preen for a couple of minutes, then stretch itself, before flapping its wings quite violently. Then it was back to preening, stretching, flapping, preening, stretching, flapping etc, etc.

Quite a number of onlookers watched the spectacle before he/she had had enough and disappeared behind some reeds, no doubt to a giant nest that these birds make for themselves in the water.

That was about it for action today. I started the day by reading a chunk of a book called The Factory of Light, by Michael Jacobs, and I'm about to round off the day by reading another chunk.

It is an account of the author's stay in a remote village in Andalucia - a place I love and would dearly like to return to... for good! I am particularly fond of Spain and the Spanish.