Something funny at the window

Tom

Saturday 2 February

Tom, the little ginger cat who has been sleeping in my room all night, sits beside me on the bed and taps on my head and face with his paws.  It’s something like 5 in the morning and I don’t want to get up yet.  I’ve just persuaded him to get off the bed when I hear a loud thump and a scratching from behind the curtain – something  inside the room trying to get out.  It’s not Tom because he’s now sitting on the blanket box just under the window and I did tell Jenny that I wasn’t bothered by lizards or gekkos when she said they sometimes got in the room.  If this is a gecko it’s a very big one to make such a noise, so I’m scared, and I’m sleepy and I really don’t want to have to get up and deal with whatever is behind the curtain.  

It’s too early to wake Jenny and Tony but I know that something needs to be done.   And Tom is just sitting there and he’s no use at all.  “Go sort it out, Tom,” I say, but he ignores me.  The curtains aren’t completely closed and I can see the window latch to open the right hand window and let whatever it is out of my room, but if I reach my arm through to lift the latch, whatever it is could grab me.  

I really have to force myself to look behind that curtain, just a little, and see that what is sitting there quite quietly and stoically with it's claws together and just staring out of the window is a pretty African dove.     It must have been in the room from when I went to bed.  I’ve had the door shut all night and the only open window is mosquito netted. 

I still open the window with caution.  I don’t want to spook the bird and have it flapping all round the room, 

and I don’t want Tom to suddenly decide to do the decent thing and sort matters out.   So I open the window very gently and retreat and there is a bit of a flap and a scratch and the bird flies off.

Tony

 Which is how I came to be sitting on the side of the bed when Tony got up at 6.00 and how I was really pleased to go with him on his early walk.   And how we walked through the town and climbed to the hills over Prince Albert and saw it all below us in the early morning.

Prince Albert from the Hills