Impactful garden

In the garden, all the birds were alarming. I walked up the path and something large and tawny took off, leaving this.

That had been one of these.

Now, I don't know if a sparrowhawk somehow got the starling or if the cat got it and a jay - the jay was heading (back?) into this part of the garden a few minutes later - had been eating the body.

The jay virtually flew into me, backtracked, and landed in the neighbours' birch, looking at me in disbelief before flying off. I backtracked too, to the front of the garden, only for another large bird to virtually crash into me before landing in the lilac. A juvenile jay! this too looked at me in disbelief before flying away with panicked squawks.

Then, I decided to tidy up which involved emptying the water bowls. I was about to refill the last one when the baby robin flew down and started pecking at the empty contained. It looked surprised, but gamely had another go. I was right there so I spoke softly and poured water into the bowl. The baby flew into the lilac when I stepped forward, but as soon as there was water in the bowl, he returned and drank!

I recall Bobbit looking at the food in the tub, then looking at me, as if to say, "Get it out, will you?" Although I don't think the baby expected me to fill the water, he did watch and see that I had indeed done so.

The night before, I found the end of a squirrel's tail in the cherry tree. Only an inch and a half and the bone or cartilage was incredibly thin, but there was blood at the severed portion.

Now, I think this squizz looks as though the end of the tail is missing...

It reminded me of Beatrice Potter's Squirrel Nutkin who lost the end of his tail when an owl caught it.

Anyway, I was standing by the lilac doing my prayers when this squirrel came right up to me in the tree, climbed to the ground, walked across my shoes and sat next to me to eat nuts. I stayed stock still, trying to see out of my peripheral vision. I figure she had a scrap with another squirrel and was using me as a human shield - like the one with the bad paw did last year.

Whatever the case, the garden was full of surprises.