We feel very proud of ourselves at La Chaise. A third brood of swallows have hatched, and flown. Their parents built them a new nest, pre-used homes obviously not appropriate for this late brood.
Always hungry, always crying
As always the nest was in Alexandre’s atelier which seems a little odd. First there is the coming and going of Alexandre, plus the noise of his machines when he is working there. He is not bothered by being dive bombed by indignant swallow parents. Somehow the excessive amount of bird shit associated with nests does not fall on his machines or whatever work he is doing. They must have come to some arrangement but Alexandre is not telling.
Pre-used and rejected
It is only in the last three years that swallows have come back to La Chaise. We do not know why they went, not why they have returned. It is not due to an absence of cats, though there was a period feline, free. Now the majestic Cha-Cha, who condescends to be fed by Alex and Audrey and occasionally brings them a mouse in return, stalks the grounds. His ambition seems to be to install himself in our house. But, unusually for a cat, he understands the word ‘No’ – even ‘Non’ – unlike the visiting three year old who ignores both.
So the swallows have left but there are ducks back on the duck pond down the farm. This also after a period of well over three years since the last duck was killed by a pine marten. We were practicing what is known as a ‘vide sanitaire‘ in local farming terms. In other words, the absence of prey for the nuisibles is supposed to make them look for food elsewhere. No doubt the news that two pine martens had been so stupid, or arrogant, as to get themselves trapped only a few weeks ago also helped.