Birds

mountain on the way home from Geneve

Sunday noon I met Elisabeth and her mom at the Auberge in the pouring rain for a pleasant indoor activity...eating good food with enjoyable conversation. It was Mother's Day in France.

Around 3 PM I was on my way home to await Francis and Marie Annick. They were taking me to hear a Gospel Chorale in Chalon.

Fortunately the rain stopped for awhile when we arrived there...

Mother as Umbrella for her Chicks

...we were a bit late, but a crowd of people were still standing in front of the church. More people than expected had come to hear this concert and those in charge were gathering chairs from elsewhere in town!

When we were admitted, the energy in that sanctuary was palpable. And when the choral group entered, the audience exploded...they were more than ready for some upbeat music!

Monday was overcast, but the downpour was over. I slept until 10 AM...the luxury of retirement. After my morning coffee it was time to check on the baby birds. I don't know what kind of bird has made a nest in the bush by my stairs, other than the fact that she is small. The mother was covering her wee ones during yesterday's rain, but today she was off on her own errands. My errand was to get the 3 loads of laundry washed and hung to dry. 

Wine Press by Bissy la Maconnsise

Meanwhile I Googled another bird—the Great Black-Backed Gull, known to the French as a goeland. It is the largest gull in the world and, among other places, lives along the Mediterranean coast. Its scientific name is larus marinus. Carol and I had heard about the doings of some big unfriendly gulls with a 6 foot wing span while we were in Antibes. The Google site I found suggested that this wasn't a “nice” bird and left it at that, but I won't.

At breakfast that last morning in Antibes, our proprietor came over and asked if we had slept well. Carol replied that we had and kiddingly added that he really should kill the sea gull.

Note the stone roof and iron flower pot

The proprietor immediately knew what gull she was referring to and said that was not an ordinary gull, but a bird just under the size of an albatross, and he held out his arms to indicate the wing span. He told us that if the antenna on the roof needed a repair, it took two men...one simply on bird duty. With his hands he illustrated how two gulls would gauge their dives until they were within range to do damage with their wicked beaks. 

Apparently the fruit appears before the flowers

He had our rapt attention and so he continued. Apparently a nesting pair have chosen one of the inn's palm trees as their home. When it is time for their baby's first flight, the fledgling invariably misses his tree and lands in the small parking area. Then begins a long, drawn-out bird conversation: Are you okay? I'm okay. Are you okay? I'm okay. Are you okay? I'm okay. This can continue loudly enough to keep guests from falling asleep. Are you okay? I'm okay...

Variations on a green theme

One time a baby landed on the low roof of the proprietor's private dwelling at the back of the inn. That evening, along with Are you okay? I'm okay, they heard ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump as the baby walked back and forth across the roof. Then a new noise was added: clank, clunkety, clunkety, clank. This continued through the night so the next morning the proprietor just had to find out what that bird had been doing to make such a racket.

Cherries are ripening

It turned out that the baby had found a piece of iron pipe and would toss it up the roof in order to watch it roll down! The proprietor began to climb onto the roof to retrieve the pipe and end the racket, but Mom and Pop showed up immediately. He decided it was better to let the baby keep his toy.