Yesterday morning there was a flurry of snow outside, which in my eyes means that winter is officially upon us. I have been trying to ignore the other signs that have been thrust upon us (drop in temperature, shorter days, etc.), however, yesterday the white landscape was a visual signal that it is now time to snuggle down.

So snuggle down I did. With my pigeons, of course. There’s nothing better than wrapping up and warming yourself with a toasty pigeon on your lap. Georgie is particularly good at it – in fact, she insists on being the first to warm me when I return home from work. If my hands are cold I simply place them under Georgie for a quick warming.

And once I’m all wrapped up and toasty there’s nothing else to do except knit something. Often Georgie will try to take the needles from me – sometimes she succeeds and shakes it about. Like so:

Georgie on my lap

Georgie girl

Relaxed Elmo

Elmo in his nest

Been at home with the common cold to keep me company. Oh, and of course Georgie and Elmo have been trying their best to keep my spirits up. Georgie insisted on snuggling up to me, cooing in her content loving way, and Elmo even dared to sit on my knee at one point.

There was a smattering of snow outside so I had to drag myself out into the garden to empty the frozen water bowl and fill it with some fresh water, as well as fill the seed dispenser so the little birds could have their lunch. The feral pigeons and the squirrels also came to snack on the seed I threw out for them.

Now I must go continue to recover if I’m ever going to make it to work this week!

The other day, when Richard was away for the evening, Elmo finally gave in to his insistent daily demands: his need for human contact and affection overrides his “hatred” of me. So after Richard was gone for an hour and a half Elmo started cooing and shrugging his shoulders, bowing his head repeatedly. So I cannot resist – I must go to him and smother him with kisses and strokes. How often do I get invited over for a cuddle from Elmo?

So there I am snuggling up to him, my nose in his head feathers, my fingers stroking his ears (he loves that!!) and Elmo is absolutely loving it. Then all of a sudden Georgie is beside us. She’s got a look of concentration and slight hesitation as she inches herself closer and closer to Elmo and my fingers. Then she pecks – grabs a few of Elmo’s head feathers and pulls. She knows he’s there and is taking advantage of his relaxed and vulnerable position to exact revenge on him for all the times he has chased her away. I have to put George on the floor to stop her from attacking both of us in her jealous rage. Yep, Georgie was jealous of me giving Elmo affection. Funny girl.

Every time that day when I gave Elmo any attention Georgie came over to “see” what was going on. She’d climb onto me and peck me – whether to get my attention or to punish me, I don’t know. Maybe both.

Watch out for that beak!!

Georgie sneaks up on Elmo