Hello everyone, I'm back after three months of devastating rainfall and winds reaching 202 kilometers per hour causing a trail of distruction. Trees fell down on the farm and branches are strewn everywhere. On Wednesday 28th of January, Storm Kristin wreaked havoc in Portugal, causing widespread damage as Porto came to a halt, when all power lines came down and these power cuts persist in much of the country.The tempetuous event left me without power for several days, but the people who are suffering the most live in the center of Portugal,they felt the full force of Storm Kristin.They have had their rooves ripped off, and their homes flooded with mudded water caused by landslides, cars washed away as streets became rivers, all this whilst persistant rainfall and severe winds hinder attemps to clean up, and drench those affected. If it's not heavy rainfall we are subjected to, it's hailstones and thunder and lightening and dark days which seem like.nightfall. At this moment I can hear hailstones hitting the glass of the balcony doors and I'm worried that a power cut could happen at any time. Every morning I feed the birds, and there is a flurry of activity. Even in the rain, they come, eager to quench their hunger, as it can't be easy to hunt for food in extremely bad weather.
I saw something unusual not long ago, a Great.tit was feeding another Great.tit. Surely it's too early in the year for this kind of behavior, especially in the deplorable weather conditions we have been having
22 comments:
How wonderful ❤️ Beautiful photos of these lovely birds 🐦 🐦⬛ and squirrel.
I love great tits...plenty of them over here too. Sorry to hear that you have been under the weather, but do take care of yourself first, then come back when you can!
Dear Sonjia :)
It sounds like terrible weather where you are. Storm Kristin never came here, and I'm glad for that. You get rain, and I get snow every day now. Great pictures of your birds. It sounds like they've had chicks already. They don't usually feed each other the bigger birds, do they? Squirrels are always so cute. You have the same red squirrels that we have here.
All the best to you!
Many warm hugs from the cold and the snow.
Marit
Dear Sonjia,
your portraits of the different birds – and the little squirrel too – at your new feeding station are so touching and full of life. That makes it even more painful to read about everything you have been going through. I am deeply sorry that Portugal has been hit by such severe storms, destruction and power cuts, and that you are living through such a long, dark and exhausting time.
What touched me most was reading about your eyesight and how difficult things have become for you – so difficult that you are even thinking about stopping blogging. I can only imagine how heavy that thought must be.
May I share a small idea with you, very gently – not as advice, but simply as a possibility? When I was still working, I had a colleague with severe visual impairment. Even back then, in the 1980s, there were technical aids such as special screen magnifiers. Today there are surely far more advanced options, including software that enlarges text or reads it aloud. E-books, too, can sometimes help, as font size and contrast can be adjusted.
Please don’t feel any pressure because of my suggestion. Your health and well-being must always come first. Still, I so hope that a way might be found for you to stay in touch with your blog friends here, if that feels right for you. Blogging has been a precious window to the world, and it would mean so much if that window could remain open in some gentle way – but only if it brings you comfort, never strain.
I truly hope this is not a final farewell. I would miss you very much. And even if we should not read each other for a long time, please know that you remain in my thoughts and in my heart.
Sending you a warm virtual hug.
With all my best wishes,
Traude
Beautiful birds. It is always fun to watch them at feeders.
Sonjia, I can’t imagine that wind speed and the damage that must have ensued. I pray everyone gets the help they need to secure their dwellings and that the infrastructure is repaired quickly.
I will miss your blog. I hope your eyesight can be improved and you will be back with us soon. Take care.
It's always difficult to deal with adverse weather. Sounds like a mess with all the downed trees. We had a freezing rain storm here that was quite severe, but we never lost power. I'm sorry for your failing eyesight. Whatever the story is, I do hope you find some kind of relief. All the best, dear Sonjia. If you really do go, I'll miss you so much. Hugs.
Dear Sonjia,
What beautiful photos of the birds.
It's very upsetting to read that there's so much damage from the storm where you live.
I really hope something can be done about your eyes so you don't have to stop blogging.
I would be so sad to lose a friend.
All the best, Irma
Hello Sonjia,
I am so sorry you are having vision troubles. I hope your vision can be corrected. Your health is so important, I would not worry about blogging. I do enjoy your sweet birds, they are all lovely. I will miss you, take good care of yourself. Take care, have a great day and happy week ahead.
Don’t say goodbye, Sonjia. Au revoir is okay, hasta la vista is fine, auf wiedersehn perfectly acceptable, so long for now is okay, but not goodbye. I hold on to the hope that things will get better and we will see you again. In the meantime, very best wishes for an improvement in your health, and good fortunes for your country. Hugs and kissss - David
Excellent photos.
Dear Sonya, I have tears in my eyes reading of the destruction in your country. Have seen that with my own eyes and understand how bad it is. also familiar with losing your sight, since my mother lost hers also. I agree with Rostrose if you think that would help. I know how much blogging means to me and to you. Of course it might not work, because we don't know what problems you are dealing with. I do know there are many ways to make it more doable is sight is the only issue. Prayers for you as you go through this and that you can find a way to blog once in a while. We will all be waiting to see you pop up even if you never do. you will be missed, as will your beautiful photos.
Oh my! That storm sounds awful. Being without power is such a challenge. I'm glad it's over now but oh dear. I'm glad your birds have still been out and still bringing some joy.
It sounds like a hard time, Sonija, and an extremely challenging one. I understand why you want to pull back for many reasons. That said, I hope you don't. I'm pretty sure most of us never expect to see regular posts from anyone and when we do, it doesn't matter if it is three months, three weeks, three days or (dare I say it) longer? While I know your photos are so glorious, we don't even need to see photos. Or many. It's YOU we come to visit. I don't know if you have thought about this but a friend who had some challenges used some voice recognition software on her computer for work and I believe, to blog. I can't remember if I've got this right but she did it in an email form or something and then copied it into the blog. Maybe you can do it directly, too. I don't know. But it is something to think about.
You have a loyal and supporting group of blog friends all over the world who truly care about you and I hope you'll at least check in now and then. (And as one dealing with a yet-unknown vision issue -- still trying to get answers -- I really understand exactly what you are saying. The thought of challenging sight is a very hard one to get one's brain around.
A request. Please don't delete your blog. Let it stay so we can revisit it now and then and bask in the beauty of your wonderful photography.
It's unbelievable what the bad weather and the storm have done.
It's good that you're taking care of the birds.
I'm sorry your eyes haven't improved. I wish you all the best. I hope the weather gets better where you are soon.
The weather worldwide has seen a mix of quite extreme weather ... be it strong winds, heavy rains, flooding, extreme cold and heavy snow so many have experienced unusual weather.
I always enjoy seeing your bird photographs.
I will miss your blogging and I am hoping that your eyesight can be improved and you will be back soon. The important thing is to look after yourself and take care.
My very good wishes.
All the best Jan
Hi Sonjia, I couldn´t have said it better then David above, I agree with every word and I hope we se your nice posts and clever comments on my blog again. Best wishes to you Sonjia, Lasse
Has hecho unas fotografías preciosas, me encantan todos los pájaros. Abrazos.
Wonderful visitors at your feeding station.
Querida Sonjia espero de todo corazón que no sea una despedida, si no un hasta pronto, deseo que te mejores pronto y volvamos a disfrutar de tu maravillosa compañía.
En cuanto a las fotos son muy bonitas.
Y del tiempo que decirte esta terrible en España estamos también con serios problemas causados por las borrascas. Esperemos que pronto regrese la normalidad y salga el sol.
Un fuerte abrazo y muchos besos. Cuidate mucho.
PS, thank you so much for linking up and sharing your last post. Enjoy your day and happy week ahead.
gorgeous birds and such a beautiful variety!! i LOVE when they sit in the feeding cups!! i already read sundays post so i was prepared for what i read here, you know how i feel. do not delete your blog, it will stay here for you to come back to, if you need to or can!! maybe you can walk someone else through it and let them type for you. just an update. for now i say, i will see you later!!
Gorgeous birds!
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