Of Molly and Madeleine

And one or two other characters.*

Molly (unlike Malc's Molly) was a bit distracted. Like Tolkien, another owl we met earlier, she just couldn't quite get on with the business of flying to order. She flitted without warning and had a great deal of chirrupy stuff to say and spent most of her time listening to something behind her. Apparently she comes from an Arctic waste and is accustomed to tracking weasels as they burrow along, two feet under the snow. What she makes of her admirers is hard to imagine. All that clicking and those big, single eyes staring at her. Impossible not to love her though!


Madeleine (the Secretary bird) was a different kettle. Of snakes.
She seemed quite amusing and daintily affected - until she demonstrated her talent for kicking a defenceless rubber snake to death. Later, when us photographers got our private viewing, she had a quick go at her falconer too - not he first time, he's been in hospital after she cut his head open! No, not my favourite bird. Still, the make-up and the trousers are good though the eyelashes surely had to be false :)

*I was going to show you Tolkien and maybe the Harris Hawk or possibly Chestnut, the Tawny Owl. They were all so beautiful (except the vultures who were funny and alarming by turns). but blogger's gone boggy on me so I'll go to bed instead.

Sleep well all. I hope the sun shines for you tomorrow.