If it’s a fine day I usually leave the kitchen door open, so that Tilly can perform her In and Out dance without my participation. Yesterday when I walked back into the room I was surprised to find a bird flying around, and even more surprised to find it was a swallow. It took up position on the bar holding our wall hanging up, and I was just wondering how to persuade it to go back out when it was joined by its mate!
What followed was half an hour of twittering as they flew around inspecting the beams and ledges. Fortunately for us, it seems they didn’t deem it suitable as a des res and eventually left. Before the cottages were restored in 2004 swallows would probably have nested in here as the cottage which is now our kitchen was a cattle shed and the one that is now our study/loo/crog loft was a store. Given that they usually return to the same area, these swallows were probably the great grandchildren of the last swallows to nest here.
Meadow, Grove and Stream 