A bit early for the Poetry Bus.

Dominic Rivron is driving the bus this week and suggests we write a poem on something. Yes, I thought when I read that, of course we'll write it on something. Then the penny dropped - actually write it ON something. That's my offering above.

The little dark smudge at the centre top of this golden privet is a blackbird sitting on her nest. My husband has recently been reducing the height of the shrubs in the front garden. He was working away with the hedge trimmer when a hen blackbird flew out from almost beneath the blade, exposing her nest with eggs in it. He stopped work immediately and fortunately she returned and has hatched the eggs. He must already have cut over the nest on his previous pass with the trimmer. We didn't like to try to place any covering over the nest in case we put her off returning so the poor thing has had to sit out in full sun for days. Fortunately blackbirds seem to like sunbathing. To compensate for his disturbance and Mrs.Blackbird's trauma, my husband has kept Mr. Blackbird supplied with mealworms for him and his family. The bird has stuffed his beak with them and taken them back to the nest with amazing regularity. He looks as if he has a walrus moustache when he flies off. I should think his babies will be overweight and unable to take off for flight when the time comes. We now have a shrub with a very strange 'step' in it - the next cut would have sliced right under the nest.