Russ King

a woman with red curly hair is looking at something in a room . ALT: a woman with red curly hair is looking at something in a room .

I had an issue with the car and had to walk back home with groceries that included a huge watermelon.
I've been muttering " I carried a watermelon" to myself ever since I got back but no-one has picked up on it. Poxy teenagers! 😁

A busy, mini-flock of long-tailed tits swarming over the fat feeder only to disappear as one.
#FirstBirdOfMyDay

This is so beautiful.
For some reason (I mainly blame my English teacher) I very rarely 'get' poetry, but this speaks straight to the heart. ❤️

A crow surveys the area from the highest possible perch while the mournful calls of wood pigeons drift across the garden. The crow shrugs and launches itself into the tree canopy scattering the pigeons before returning to it's perch for a smug preen.
I love crows!

A wood pigeon does it's less than elegant 'flap-flap-flap and dive' flight across an otherwise empty garden. The rest of the garden is devoid of birds and silent of bird song. Did I miss a sparrowhawk passing through? #FirstBirdOfMyDay

Not quite a wood pigeon - a collared dove, perched elegantly on top of the bird table. Our cat grumbles at it through the window without bothering to follow through on his endless threats.

A female blackbird who is missing her tail feathers. She has been with us for a couple of years now. Unless we have hosted a genetic mutation that makes it easier for them to escape from cats...
#FirstBirdOfMyDay

A portly wood pigeon ambling around the garden picking up and discarding endless twigs before flapping off with the perfect item. #firstbirdofmyday

A scruffy fledgling robin looking all grown up and important until a parent flies by, prompting an impressively demanding open-beak gape.
Poxy teenagers!

I used magic realism in a plot and checked with a few people as to how much explanation was needed for the twist on reality. It was a small sample size but it was 50/50 between those wanting no background info and those wanting ALL the info. I was hoping for something in the middle!

Mine was a tiny clockwork toy that turned out to be a full grown wren.

Even better, a reader who writes.

a woman is sitting in a red chair waving her hand . ALT: a woman is sitting in a red chair waving her hand .

Last night my brain took a break from weeks of stressful dreams. I dreamt of discussing a fabulous writing project with Shakira. It was going wonderfully until she mentioned her brother Derek.
It was then I realised she may not actually be the pop icon Shakira after all...

Sending hugs and love from all of us.

Our crab apple tree has suddenly started leaning to the right. There has been no grumbling about net zero or EVs yet. I presume that only happens when it reaches the far right.

Last night a badger did a decent impression of Scooby Doo. I heard it knocking over plant pots so I opened the window and said "Oi!"
It let out a high-pitched sound like a "Yikes!", and sprang into the air with its feet thrashing until it hit the decking, before speeding off snorting and growling.

Such fun! Later in the year a hedge in our garden almost vibrates with the buzzes of bees as they love the ivy flowers. It freaks out some passersby, especially if they see me standing in a cloud of bees, just having a chat with them.

What on earth persuaded Facebook's algorithm to show me a video ad of people being delighted by the amount of dead skin they can slough off their feet with a nasty looking gadget? 🤢

I spoke to someone years ago at a conference who had been to a new Russian university campus and couldn't work out why there were no paths. The students were tracking mud into the new buildings. He was told that they were waiting for the students to choose where the paths should go.

I don't remember anyone eating curry in Some Like it Hot either.

Finding Nemo didn't leave much room for a surprise either.

The local Facebook pages are alive with a few people making a lot of noise about the town council flying a Pride flag for Pride month.
Why is no-one up in arms about those twee knitted decorations on postboxes? Surely this represents knitters getting special treatment that I don't have? 🤔

I'd love to have been at the approval meeting when this design was mooted.
"It's an easy place to install them, but it will make the passengers really uncomfortable."
"True. So we're approving it, right?"
"Definitely."

Feeling sad after finishing Beserker by @adrianedmondson.bsky.social - the sign of a cracking book. It was facinating and funny, but it also made me think. Very unusual for an autobiography.
I'm also intrigued by how well structured it was for a self-confessed beserker - turned stoic! 🙂

No proper rain for ages and it arrives promptly for school run time, then stops, only to restart with avengance the next time I need to leave the house. 🙂

Word of the day is ‘bugiard’ (17th century): one who distorts the truth beyond all recognition to fit their own agenda.

Photomontage of depression era America, with Jeff Bezos and the crew of his latest multi million dollar Blue Origin space-jizz

Have just ordered chocolate to be sent to my sister and family. The urge to 'forget' to change the delivery address from the billing address was strong.

Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads Anecdotal evidence suggests a rise in requests to take books off shelves, particularly LGBTQ+ titles

We watch the orange convict from afar but we have similar activities in the UK. Those who shout about freedom of speech also demand censorship of libraries. But the biggest fiction section is usually crime. So murders are fine, LGBTQ+ stories not so much... www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Ouch! I wonder if you told the pheasant the worst possible punishment for breaking a window. Having to arrange fixing it yourself. I learned how to fix a window with a pane of glass and some putty at quite a young age! Not a useful skill now though. 🤔