A Mass of Odds and Ends

The academic year in Italy is relentless, with so few holidays that odd stolen day off is a great treat.  Two friends were visiting from Ireland this week so I dropped all responsibilities and headed to the coast with them, to the Porto San Giorgio market. The streets around the main square are lined with stalls dedicated to clothes, shoes and bags,  the sort of market that I imagine haunts most men’s nightmares. We dallied happily over brain crushing decisions, and came away with wonderful colourful dresses from Custo, (reduced to such amazing prices that I was tempted to buy one for each day of the week) coats, bags, boots and sore feet. Shopping was followed by a delicious fish lunch and then we wandered along the deserted beach wondering if life could get any better.

I’ve been photographing birds all week, could it be something to do with the their enviable freedom, the way they tip the young out of the next instead of nagging at them to get out of bed and do something other than becoming more square eyed than before, for the summer months? These, I am absolutely sure, are geese, this time, at the Abbadia di Fiastra near us.

I’m pretty ignorant about the life cycle of birds, what they do and when they do it, but judging from all the noise and kerfuffle coming from the roof for some weeks now I think there has been some nesting going on. This little bird has been driven to great bouts of mad behaviour by this shiny chimney, presumably seeing through its crafty disguise and realising that its sole aim is to challenge his manhood, but this morning he seemed calm, as though things are finally under control.