Edward Scissor Beak....and deep in a cave

The first Black Cap appeared the other day....as exciting 

as watching the Woodpecker...

but  at least he stayed long enough for me to 

capture him in my lens.

And this is the fearless Blue Tit, Edward, called after Edward Scissor Hands. ...

 because of his scissor beak, it is much harder for him to scoop up the seeds so he is nearly always hopping around the table more 

than any of the other birds. The first photos I took of  him I didn't realise about his beak or why he lays his head on one side to lift up the food as best he can... 

and this is him as a baby - you can see the beginning of his beak growing crookedly....

here he is last November ...

 and this is the shape of the beak of his friends.....

I love his determination  and courage....

and how he has adapted to his disability.

Yesterday the first tiny Wren flew in.

 And then the first Nuthatch ( he didn't stay long enough for a photo) which I didn't recognise. I had to look up him up on Google but his orangey, peachy plumage and sleek shape was unmistakable.

He is more of a woodland bird than a common garden bird and of course I am surrounded by woodland here. How fortunate I am.

This morning.

Sunrise at 8.18. I know because a dear friend gave me an Almanac for the year - a beautiful book which among other things gives sunrise and set, moonrise and set and the tides and the stars at night..... 

and this recipe for a January Epiphany tart which I made using up left over pate sucre from a Bakewell tart at Christmas ....using 13 different jams which I didn't even know I had in the fridge - already opened  - including lemon curd, sour cherry and strawberry tree jam. 

The only trouble is I'm now left with a giant jam tart and no-one to eat it...so it's in the freezer.

This afternoon  I buy Seville oranges in Waitrose... and have a lovely chance meeting with a dear friend and time for a cup of tea with her has well.

After my session with lovely therapist I'm feeling kinder to myself...giving myself permission to miss Robin and feel the loss of him....a constant emptiness.... and also to inhabit my life as it is now....as best I can in my unsettled, uprooted state in my not yet home.

 I've been going round and round in circles, pouring over the architect's

 plans, changing my mind after every certain decision.....feeling more unsure about what I want...and more sure about what I don't want.

So maybe I can trust my hibernating instincts for the next few weeks...it's not a good place to make hard decisions from... deep in a cave....and when the sap of spring starts to rise so will my surety and  and confidence. When the time is ripe.

Sunset over my house this evening  -16.35pm. Every night a few minutes later.