My son and I are going to set up a Minecraft server today for him and his friends. The deal is that a bike ride comes first, in order to use up some of the large amounts of excitement and energy and bring things back to a calmer level. How very parent-y of me.
Author: Stephen James
Managed a look into the blue tits nest box today, having spotted the parents leaving (do they qualify as parents before the chicks hatch?) This is a good sized clutch of eggs – it amazes me that such a small bird can produce so many. More data for the Nest Record Scheme. An [article on the BTO](https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/species-focus/blue-tit) website explains that:> An average clutch of Blue Tit eggs contains roughly 0.5 g of calcium, which might not sound like a lot; but given that there is only about 0.6 g of calcium in a Blue Tit skeleton, this represents a significant investment for the female and it is likely that she will need to source this from the environment, presumably in the form of fragments of snail shell and other calcium-rich material.
With our weekly veg box, it never ceases to entertain me that we get an email alert if kohlrabi is due to be included in the next delivery. So we can change the order. Kohlrabi continues to be a complete mystery to me. One that I have no desire to solve.
I spotted our resident Great tits were away from the nest box so popped the inspection camera in for a peek.They have been busy!
Watched [Mortal Engines](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1571234/) for a family film night. My son is a big fan of the books – I must read them myself. I know it got a bit of a panning, but I thought it was pretty good. Yes, at times it was derivative. Yes, at times the dialogue was clunky. But it had some good visuals and the story was enjoyable – we had a good time.
Two weeks ago I checked our various nest boxes and the one usually occupied by great tits was completely empty.I assumed that they weren’t going to use it this year but in the last week we have noticed the male singing away nearby and one or the other of the pair leaving the box a few times.A quick check with my inspection camera on Sunday revealed a completed nest and at least one egg.They’ve not hung around then! Glad to have them back again.
Finished reading Donald J Robertson’s [Stoicism and the Art of Happiness](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17841317-stoicism-and-the-art-of-happiness). A pretty easy read and good introduction to modern Stoicism. If I had to give it one criticism I’d say it is a tad repetitive, I would imagine partly because it’s part of a Teach Yourself series. I will probably read it through again in a bit more detail in due course.Delving into Stoicism, I’d not realised at all that it has experienced a resurgence in the last few years. Which I’m glad about because given I have a pretty contrary nature, I will often shy away from something if it’s currently a ‘thing’. The impression I get is, like anything that gets into the public imagination, it has attracted the genuinely inquisitive, but also bandwagoners. It also has its critics and I’m very happy to read well-reasoned arguments pointing out its flaws as I wouldn’t want to accept an idea without looking at it from all angles. And I’d rather read something of that nature than articles of the cringe-inducing [‘mind hack’](https://thriveglobal.com/stories/stoicism-ancient-mind-hack/) variety. Stoicism has a lot going for it but also many questions. Which is fine.
Did [Axel Scheffler](https://axelscheffler.com) invent guinea pigs?
I have ordered a handheld recorder.I often use my phone to record birdsong or ambient sounds but obviously the quality is not great. Field recording appeals and I’d like to ‘collect’ sounds more. The kit that is coming means I can dip my toe into it a bit more and make some better quality recordings, all without spending vast amounts upfront.
My wife and I had the day off so we walked around Westhay Nature Reserve. So many warblers and so much sound! Numerous sightings, the most notable of which were the first hobby, common whitethroat and swifts of the year, plus house martins and a redpoll. Heard about 3 cuckoos. And good to see several pairs of great crested grebes and their nests. With all the busyness of late, it was good to have a chance to catch up and talk over a few things. 