One morning, during the very short summer, Dave and I were sitting outside, basking like lizards in the sun. We noticed a pigeon, flying in and out of a bush right by our front door. She was building a nest and we both were very skeptical about the possibility of her laying her eggs in such an unsuitable place. The bush is not terribly dense and we are in and out of this particular door all the time, but she persevered and was soon sitting on her nest peering down at us peering up at her.

2 babies hatched and grew at an amazing rate and before I knew it, they were leaving the nest. I managed to get a picture of them just before they left for good.

I am besotted with chalcedony at the moment! I love the variations in colour – from the most vibrant blue – through to moody greens, and we are just getting the most amazingly faceted stones at the moment. I have probably bought far more than I should have – but I just can’t resist it.

One of the first strands that I bought was a glorious blue faceted square. I used them with an unusual gold filled chain and it’s made a lovely bracelet. (I am going through a bracelet phase…)