Tufted Duck in the sun

Another day and another sliver of progress. Unlike the first few says of the week progress is slow but moving forwards. The early days of the problem were marked by a tendency to move forward then to slip back during the day. This is not happening now. It’s slow but the slipping back seems to have gone. Unless a miracle happens I think that’s enough about me and my ailments for now.

I’m also going to try to extend the range of my blogging. Most posts seem to be about me these days, and there are plenty of other subjects.

Mandarin Duck – Arnot Hill Park

Like Joe Biden. Remember when he won the election and immediately told the UK he was brought up on his grandmother’s stories of our tyranny in Ireland and we were going to suffer for it? Well, I assumed that his grandmother had suffered at some point in the 20s. Doesn’t look like it. When he won the election the main Irish parts of his family had been in the USA for 170 years. His grandmother was born to parents who had themselves been born in the USA.

He could, I suppose, take comfort from the fact that his Irish family had, since 1921 lived in a free Irish state. Imagine if he had come from a group that still lived under occupation, and still hadn’t had their land back. He’d feel really bad then, I expect. You can see where this is going can’t you? It would be embarrassing to have President lecturing on the evils of repressive government whilst it had unsettled claims from people it had stolen land off, wouldn’t it?

Mallard – Arnot Hill Park

And what if land was still being stolen in 1954? Or 1973?

Actually, he’s a politician, so he probably wouldn’t feel bad.

We were actually taking about this in the shop a few weeks ago. At what point do you stop hating people for the past and try to work with them for a better future?

Gadwall drake

It’s ducks today. I had trouble finding them, then realised they are mainly listed under species rather than just “duck”. They are in descending order of colour. gadwall are actually identified by their lack of obvious identifying features. Poor things.