Yesterday was the last day of the month and several submissions windows drew to a close. I was rushed and badly prepared. The worst bit was that I paid for a competition entry and realised when I looked at the receipt, that it was just past midnight, meaning that I had missed the deadline. I wrote and told them to accept it as a donation. The Ancient Idiot rides again!
Baby rabbit in the garden
In the end I made nine submissions of the ten I had intended. August is a quieter month, with only five submissions planned. I’m hoping to catch up, as there are 12 planned for September. I have very little completed work at the moment. What is worse is that I have very little that I actually like, and if I don’t like it, I don’t know why anyone else would.
We have had Stock Doves in the garden several times recently. They are modest birds, not much different from a feral pigeon in many ways, and come to feed on the seed spilt by the smaller birds on the feeder.
Stock Doves and “grass”
It’s been a good summer for seeing new bird species in the garden but it has been a thin season for butterflies. Having said that, one of my sister’s friends saw a Purple Emperor in the country park. They are found over the border in Northamptonshire and have been spotted in Lincolnshire.
I’ve been reading about them, and about a memorial to a crashed aircraft near one of the woods where they can be found, and am feeling enthused to make a trip.
Note on the photographs – the rabbit photo was taken on the 19th May, the Stock Dove photo on 31st July. The grass in the last picture actually looks a bit greener than it really is – what a difference. Apart from the colour, yes it does look scruffy in both pictures, but there doesn’t seem a lot of point mowing when it is already under stress.
Always close to hand
Sorry about the title (which I forgot to add in the first instance) – they are doves, not pigeons, and Purple Emperors hardly get a mention, but I am driven by a need to alliterate. Yes, it is a word, I checked.
Alliteration is awesome.
Alliteration and the Inclusion of Random Capitals are two of life’s great pleasures, along with friends and fried breakfasts. 🙂
Positively picturesque!
Do the doves have a nice call? We have mourning doves here that sound really beautiful and sad.
It’s relaxing on a summer day, but not as distinctive as the mourning dove.
It must have been very annoying to have paid and then missed a deadline. I hope that they were grateful for the donation.
They were very nice. They offered to let me make a late entry as it was only minutes late but I declined as it doesn’t seem fair and, as I said, I am so raely successful in competitions that I tend to regard the fee as a donation anyway. 🙂
Good luck with the poetry! We have a variety of wildlife in our yard, too. Buzzing, fluttering, scurrying, and scampering. How we love it. That butterfly is a beautiful creature. Looking forward to seeing pictures if you make the trek.
Their season is about done, but I will be back next year for a look.
I like your alliteration.
Thank you. 🙂
It must be all those healthy bowlfuls that make you miss deadlines
Or idleness. 🙂