Monday, 28 July 2014

The Hoopoe Excuse.


It is proving difficult to write a blog about Bodrum this month as I've only been there for 48 hours in the last 30 days, but looking through my photo album has provided inspiration.  This photograph is a recent favourite.  I was siting on the terrace in June, reading a book, when this bird swooped over my head and perched on a nearby pine.  Luckily, I was reading on my ipad so I switched apps and took this shot. I hadn't seen a hoopoe for a while so was very excited to catch this one on film.  I always feel that I'm living somewhere exotic when a hoopoe visits. 
The sight also took me back over 20 years to our first weeks in the house. I was so overwhelmed by the number of birds in the garden that I used to spend most of my time with binoculars and no time with a duster or vacuum cleaner.  I'm not very house-proud anyway but with the wildlife distracting me, the house was getting progressively more untidy.  When my old friend Jane visited, she berated me for my messy house. I stood my ground, giving the hoopoes in the garden as an excuse.  She has never let me forget this and blames hoopoe-watching for anything I forget to do.  
I'm using the hoopoe excuse now - there are plenty of jobs to do in my mother's house in Dorset, but I'm writing about this beautiful crested bird instead.

13 comments:

  1. B to B, Why watching hoopoes is a perfectly legitimate reason for not doing anything else, let alone cleaning one's house!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you agree. I think we will get on like a house on fire.

      Delete
  2. Housework is such a waste of energy. You clean. It gets dirty again. You don't need an excuse not to do it, but this is as good as any x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful hoopoes. Worth dropping everything for.

    ReplyDelete
  4. . . quite agree - life is far to short (especially this end of the line) to bother about such tedious details. We generally vacuum once the gecko droppings become a health hazard - much more fun to watch them tail thrashing and listen to them squeaking at each other.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not even sure that I still have a vacuum cleaner.

      Delete
  5. Give me the hoope any time over dusting and ironing....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just blame the dog for all the dust and hair balls under the sofa

      Delete
  6. Housework in Bodrum was like painting the Forth Bridge and who wants to paint in 40 degree heat?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Says the man whose house was worthy of a design magazine centre fold.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A woman after my own heart! Almost anything is more fun than housework, but hoopoes are a perfect reason to neglect it. :)

    ReplyDelete