DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST BIRDWATCHING IN MY NIGHTIE!
What a difference a little under 48 hours makes! The last time I posted I felt deeper than the dumps, worrying that I’d never be able to go for a decent walk again because my IBD has been horrendous these past few weeks. And while I haven’t yet been for a decent walk – have a little patience, as Take That says – since I began taking the medication my Spanish doctor prescribed the improvement is remarkable. I’m trying not to get too excited as I don’t want to jinx it, but at the same time I don’t want to be Deidre Doomedpants.
Anyway, so far, so much better. Yesterday afternoon I pottered down to the pontoon on the big pond at the end of our road, where there is a little bench. I sat there for ages, watching the golfers (we live on a golf resort near Girona), listening to the birds and watching for fish, otters and tortoises. I heard a couple of frogs in the reeds among the beautiful water irises, but I was mostly captivated by the birds.
The pontoon, where I geeked out with Merlin
So many birds! I recently downloaded an app that many of you will probably already know. It’s called Merlin, and it recognises birdsong, and identifies each bird for you with a photograph. You press a button, and it records the birds in the vicinity, until you stop. Each time it picks up a bird, the photo and name of the bird appears on the screen. It’s wonderful!
There are so many happy birds here, singing away all day long. I’ve switched it on now and see that quite a few beautiful yellow European Serins are chorusing close by.
A European Serin! So pretty!
They’re joined by a Zitting Cisticola, a Cetti’s Warbler, a European Greenfinch, a Song Thrush, House Sparrows, Eurasian Blackbirds, Great Tits and a Common Nightingale, the latter being anything but common as he sings beautifully. I had no idea Nightingales sang during the day! Late last night, after watching our latest Netflix craze, Yellowstone, which we’ve almost finished - and I’ll miss Kevin Costner, because he’s just gorgeous, I opened my bedroom door to record what for the last three years I’ve thought was a Hoopoe bird, because there are loads around. Well, it turns out that it isn’t a Hoopoe, but an owl! It’s not a barn owl, but some other specimen and sadly I can’t remember his name. But he makes a particular hoop sound at regular intervals, a bit like the sonar of a submarine. I then went and listened to the Hoopoe sound, and it’s similar, but has a triple hoop hoop hoop call. So, now I hope to find a singing Hoopoe, too. Maybe I’ll start wandering around the resort late at night in my nightie, phone in hand, like a weirdo!
A Hoopoe bird. I love them!
My daughter turned me onto Merlin, so we’re now both bird-listening geeks, and I was joking to her earlier this morning - after I got up and took my new magic medicine, then went outside with Merlin – that before we know it we’ll be off to nature reserves in full birdwatching kit! Which sounds really nice, actually. There’s a stunning nature reserve just up the coast, near Roses, which we visited in October. It was quieter than it probably is now, as most of the migration would already have taken place. Nevertheless, there were plenty ofpeople there fully kitted with telescopic cameras and binoculars. I’m pretty sure pink flamingos return there every year, so I hope to go when I’m feeling a little stronger, as well as more confident that my intestines aren’t about to pull a wobbly.
In other news, I’m excited to have registered to go to a reading at the Backstory Bookshop in Barcelona on the 10th of June, where @Daisy Buchanan and @Donna Freitas will be talking about using books to ease anxiety. I didn’t know there was an English bookshop in Barcelona, which is an hour away from our place here near Girona. The Backstory Bookshop looks amazing and regularly hosts all kinds of lovely events there, so I’m hoping to be able to go to more.
I received quite a few copies of my new poetry book, Illicit Croissants at Dawn, yesterday, so I’d like to organize a reading here at the resort, as soon as I feel confident enough, health wise. I think it would be fun. I also videoed myself reading one of the poems in my book, The Bohemians, and uploaded it to Instagram, and I’ll include it here, too. The sound is a little faint as my phone was a little too far away, but if you turn the volume up, I think it’s okay. I did it in one recording, which is a first, as usually I fluff my words over and over. I need to practise putting a little more “acting” into my reading. It’s hard, and I’m shy! Must be because my body is happy to be Spanish again! I only wish my voice could become a little more Spanish, too… However, I need to practise putting a little more life into my readings. It’s hard, and I’m shy!
What I’m reading: A Recipe for Sorcery a poetry book by Vanessa Kisule, and it’s beautiful. I’m also rereading Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, which I first read when it came out. I also find myself dipping in and out of Danielle Coffyn’s If Adam Picked the Apple, which I love.
What I’m listening to (apart from birds!!): I’m enjoyingChristie Brinkley’s autobiography, Uptown Girl. I’ve been a fan of Christie since the mid-Seventies, when she became the first supermodel, in fact I still have a book she wrote way back then which is really cute. She’s 70 now, and still looks incredible. Yes, she’s had work done, but she’s allowed, and whoever does her work does an amazing job; she’s not all lips and boobs! And I wish I had legs like hers…
New craving: Nespresso chocolate coffee capsules! I’ve been careful with coffee for a long time for obvious reasons, and on super bad tummy days I don’t have any. But I love cappuccinos made with Nespresso’s chocolate coffee and whizzy-whirled oat milk. The hazelnut capsules are also a new favourite. My husband hates both, so more for me!
No poem today (so far…), but who knows what can happen. Maybe my swim in the pool will inspire me. I saw a huge tortoise walking across the fairway yesterday while I was swimming, and I saw a fox recently. My husband told me he saw an otter the other day, which I’m hoping to see. It’s almost Disney!
What are your plans today? Have ever been birdwatching? What are you reading, and what do you recommend to add to my mountain of books? Also, if you’ve read Illicit Croissants At Dawn and not yet posted a review on Amazon, please, please do! It helps with my visibility. Thank you!
With love,
Francesca
