|
  |
|
|
A little brown bundle in the Lake ice.
By Damien Handslip of Flag Diesel
Yesterday morning I awoke to look out of our window onto the lake. I saw something which moved me so remarkably. Why would I be so moved by the sight of a little brown bundle frozen into the ice? I did not recognise what it was for a minute or two. The ice had frozen waves in a circle around the brown bundle. A huge struggle must have taken place. Eventually the ice had gripped the bundle and held it fast. By morning it was almost obvious what it was. A little Moor Hen had died after a fight with another animal. Now we had a very big Crow sitting on top of the bundle, pecking out chunks of flesh from the hapless Moor Hen. The bundle was becoming more recognisable as the Crow pulled its remains out of the ice. I became quite sad, but knew there was no family of chicks around at this time of year. Just the potential was gone forever. Except, of course, for the next brood of Crows.
|
Contributor's Note
All year round I watch the bird activity around the Lake. From Swans to Grey Lag Geese, Canada Geese to Cormorants, Grey Herons to Moor Hens and Coots, Reed Warblers to Swallows and Green Woodpeckers to Kingfishers. Many of the dwellings around the Lake sport Bird Feeders. I forgot Mallard Ducks and Great Crested Grebes. I shall miss it all if we go to live in France.
I plan to keep contributing wherever I am based.
|
|
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
|
 |
|
Life is cruel. But the moor hen still lived a better life than any of the billions of hens that are raised in broiler houses and devoured by us at the dinner table.
 | | nick Dec 28, 2009 00:33 | |
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Maybe, but we are animals also and have to live. We cannot put different values on ourselves than say the lions of the African plains, who regulary tear young elephants apart and eat them while they still live and breathe.
We at least can humanely dispatch our prey. Being a veggie does not help much as there is not enough room for growing withought fertilisers.
Then again, what is a vegetable. Corals in the ocean are animals living in symbiosis with vegetables (algae). In an ideal world we could be nourished from the sun's rays directly in a kind of photosynthesis with chlorophyl under the skin. This would be much like the reaction produced by my amiodarone medication when I have above a certain level of sunlight on my skin. Never say never! :)
Having the opportunity to live in the rural setting and observe the acts of nature, is in it's self a blessing.
Millions of people, around the world, will never know those blessings.
Have a Healthy, Happy New Year and beyond.
Frederick
The copyright for this content entitled "A little brown bundle in the Lake ice." has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied, distributed, or modified as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://damienhandslip.qondio.com/
|
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
