"Runnin' On".

Jane updates us on her "pet" blackbird and reminds us that the recent good weather makes going abroad almost redundant

By the time this gets in print the Tilburn's will have had their spring holiday to the sun. But seeing this early May's sunshine and balmy weather it makes me wonder if we really need to go away, but I suppose it's still a bit cold in the sea at Hunstanton.

If this dry weather stays for much longer at least the lawns won't need cutting when we get back, they are already turning brown. Everything is so early so we should be picking our first potatoes by the end of May and I don't think it will be too long after that we will have strawberries.

I think an update on our blackbird "Beakie" is called for, he and his mistress have raised a pair of offsprings, and he waits each morning for any apple cuttings or last nights cat food leavings to be thrown out and rushes back and forth to the young ones.

I've tried to tempt him to come nearer with our cats dried food but he's very timid and won't come any closer than three or four yards while I'm about. At least they seem very sensible when they have the dried food and the young ones stand on the rim of an old frying pan we have as a drinks point so they can wash down the food. What annoys me most about this tameness thing is that we have some friends in Downham who always have a dish of food for their two cats sitting on the kitchen floor and they have a couple of blackbirds who come into the kitchen to feed regularly. I'm not too sure if they don't come through the cat flap if the door is shut and their cats just sit and watch. So how do you get them tamed?

June 07

Janet Tilburn