drainedThe park behind my house was eerily empty this afternoon as I walked through. It's normally teeming with people - yesterday there were two joggers, an elderly man out for a walk, a young family having a game of football, a lady walking her dogs etc. Today, no-one at all. I can't recall ever seeing it totally empty in all the time I've lived here.
One thing I did, see, however, was my family of plovers. I look for them every day and worry if I can't see them all. At the start of spring we had one pair of birds, and the male would set up a raucous song and dance whenever one got too close to his nesting partner; he'd hop on one leg to look wounded, and try to lead you in the opposite direction from their nest. Then their chick hatched, and I've watched him grow to the point that I can't tell him by size any more. I read tonight that the young birds stay with their parents for one to two years; I don't know why that makes me feel happy but it does.
