A heron in a weasel
A lovely, life-affirming sight on the way into work today. (I am still commuting in to the sitcom office most days a week, leaving the house at 8.30 in the morning, walking to Redhill, enjoying the sunlight and the birdsong, sometimes eschewing the iPod altogether until I get off the train at the other end, to mask the noise of human beings and the Tube.) As my train came over Battersea railway bridge this morning, into Victoria, I glanced down at the old rusty barge that seems to be permanently moored on the north side of the river. It has THE WEASEL written on it in white paint, as if that's its name. It doesn't do much, THE WEASEL, except for hold water and look rusty. Except today, as a beautiful heron was standing in it, wading in the water. Clearly, as I was on a train, I only saw it briefly as we went past, but it was enough to lift my heart. I saw three cormorants flying over at this very spot the other week. These are the things that make the commute almost bearable. Find out more about the heron here
posted by Andrew Collins @ 10:38 AM
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I live in SW8 and regularly get a visit from a Heron. I think it may come in from Clap'ham Common.
You're going to be such an interesting old man, pottering about with your little idiosyncrasies. I like it!
Thank you, Elm, that's a cheering thought!
In this 'Things-we-see-to-and-from-work' vein..-here's an interesting one..
I cycle home from work in the mornings after doing nightshift along a deserted Commercial Road, in East London and as i normally take it easy at that time in the morning (05:30am) it gives me a chance to gaze at the buildings along the way..
I like looking above the shops at the old architecture, having got interested by once cycling down Oxford St at two in the morning, looking up, and realising that above M&S, various assorted tat merchants and the odd McShite there are some amazing bits of forgotten building tops you'd never know were there..
Anyway, sorry..-ok..there's a huge building in Commercial Road (by the bath store place) that has been completely gutted by fire, it's one of those old sweatshop type places with crittle windows, six floors and no roof, due to the fire, i suppose...I find it terrifying and fascinating in equal measures..Like an enourmous hollow grey skull (sorry..-cheap analogy)..
So, last week..riding along, early morning, bit rainy, glance up at my building and in one of the top windows on the fith floor, staring at me, is a man! Standing in the rain, hands in pockets, looking down at me! It was possibly one of the most peculiar things i've seen, made even more so by dint of the fact that there are A) no floors, B) no stairs and C) no way in past the ground-level corrugated fencing..Christ knows what he was doing there, or even how he got up there but he didn't move a muscle, just kept staring at me..
It was the sort of image C5 use to illustrate a 'spooky' ghost show on their trailers and as i cycled past i kept looking back whilst he followed my gaze in return..
I've just re-read all the above and it's kinda lost it's impact in the retelling but i still look at the window as i ride past in the mornings, I know he was probably just a homeless guy doing his thing but whoo...funny place, London in the early hours......
I pass The Weasel every morning and have often wondered if anyone else noticed it. How nice that you have noticed it too.
I can't take my eyes off herons. Not long ago I glanced out of the window to see one pluck my favourite fish, Clarence, from our pond; a shocking surgical strike, a flash of bright red-orange, horrible flapping wings carrying them away - given the means I would've shot it at that moment, to save the fish. It had already taken his sister Seedorf, her partner Flame and all of their offspring. Others have been taken over the years (Red, Bluey, Melba...) - our fault for not protecting them, the herons were just doing what they had to. I can't hate them, even for stabbing fish and then waiting for them to float to the surface, I just watch them, open-mouthed.
We have a fox in Camden, but that's about it. Usually it's the residents who come into the "interesting wildlife" category.
I did see a bloke walking a rabbit on a lead a couple of weeks back, which for some reason I found slightly upsetting...
I saw an elephant on a bike on my way home a few weeks ago. Obviously not a real elephant! I managed to get a good photo by leaning out the car window - I wasn't driving btw. Shame I can't share this photo as its a classic.......
I once saw a cat walk through the garden carrying a rabbit (big cat, medium-sized rabbit, possibly not dead). That was an oddly disturbing image. Apart from a drowned hedgehog in the pond, that's the most interesting wildlife I've seen in about ten years. I should move. Or at least move about a bit.
At the risk of showing-off our ginger tom used to carry rabbits over several garden fences and then let them go (most of the time); we often had to carry them back to their field. Ponds are a great way to attract wildlife - in our 2x3metre one we get newts, frogs, ducks, dragonflies, damselflies, the spectral heron, and for a while a seriously lost kingfisher. Beat that.
Actually to be fair, I've had frogs and newts in my pond - I think that's what attracted the hedgehog. And the hedgehog was riddled with maggots (I don't check the pond as often as I should).
It was a massive ginger tom that I saw carrying the rabbit. And I have a six-foot fence all around my garden. Impressive but, as I say, a disturbing sight.
You can't beat wildlife for returning calm and clarity. I've actually got two huge wild pigeons (I presume they're a couple) building a nest at the bottom of my garden. They work tirelessly - day in, day out - twig after twig. One of them keeps getting over-ambitious and attempts to move twigs that more resemble branches! Very relaxing to watch, although I'm reluctant to carry on feeding them, as the nuts, bread etc is attracting aggressive magpies, causing many a feather to flutter! The pigeons give as good as they get, but I'm afraid of them being out-numbered...
Apparently the headgehog population is dwindling (maybe because of your pond? :-) ) This is a shame. I like hedgehogs. We used to have one in our garden (in the days I lived in a house with a garden) and we used to feed it. Can't help agreeing with Stef - if I saw more wildlife I'm sure I would feel less stressed...
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