I loved the ever present birds in Portugal..... they were never far away on our walks....often I could hear them before I could see them. The ordinary sparrows are still my favourites.
The ever present blackbird in my garden today.
The rain and sleet and cold wind kept me indoors all day, writing Christmas cards and letters.....re-connecting with all the dear and near far flung people in my life....I keep thinking I have loads of time but I don't.... and I'm reminded of all those other Christmases..... Robin sitting at the table with me signing the cards.....until the last one when he couldn't hold a pen.
I took a break to taste the gift of some tiny, beautifully made mince pies that I was given yesterday. I marvelled at her skill and patience to create anything so miniature and delicious.
And I read a chapter of The Robin - a Biography by Stephen Mosss...fascinating. I didn't know an adult bird only weighs 18grams - that's less than 2 one pound coins...less than a mini, mini mince pie.
I also discovered that the robin who lives in the bottom of my garden - "my robin" is probably a different robin every year as their life span is typically only 12 months and rarely more than 2 years.
I made my own spicy, lemony, sweet and boozy batch of mincemeat too....several kilos of it.
I usually use it to make mincemeat shortbread - quick and easy - no rolling out of pastry and cutting and filling and lidding the pies. I don't really have the patience or skill to make normal size mince pies let alone the feather light baby ones I enjoyed this afternoon.
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