My study is separate from the house, in the 0.4 hectare garden, and I find there are three main distractions when I try to write there during daylight. (Though not the Toad’s Hole engraving by the door, which so intrigues visitors – it’s a family joke, dating back to a time when I used to work away a lot and write home signing myself “Toad”).
The first is the large pond just below the window. We had the pond dug out 30 years ago, for the wildlife, and it has been a great success – you can even see it on the latest Ordnance Survey map.
In the past week the two mandarin pairs on the pond have either been courting or the drakes have been fighting ferociously. I suspect they are competing for the nestbox that I can see on a larch tree on one of the two islands.
Another distraction is the panorama the other side of the pond, where a narrow field leads down to the river Nairn with its line of alder trees and a grove of bird cherry. Beyond lie hills topped with snow that will persist for most of the winter to come.
The third distraction is the wildlife feeding station right next to a small window at my side. Various feeders have been hung on to an ash tree and filled with sunflower hearts and mixed seed. The nyger feeder is only 1.5 metres away from me, and if I leave a small gap in the curtains, I can see the birds at close quarters without disturbing them.
For two weeks the nyger feeder has been dominated by a couple of goldfinches, but three days ago two pairs of siskins moved in. There have been no siskins at the feeding stations for weeks; I presume they have been at the seeds of the alder along the river below the house. Perhaps they knew the snow was coming – this morning it lay 20cm deep all over the strath, including the garden. Looking at siskins so close is a delight – I can never decide if their plumage is yellow-green or lime-green.
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