Zoomed in from my window last night (with my proper camera rather than my phone): A hare sitting completely still in this position on a path between my building and the next - probably doing his best to be invisible... Not very successful in that envionment, but I've often seen them "freeze" like that on gravel paths in the cemetery, when there are people about. What had scared him, I don't know - from my own elevated position I could not see anyone about. He even stayed frozen like a statue that way while I went to fetch the camera, zoomed in, and snapped the photo, so at least over a minute. And he wasn't even really close to any of the new strange additions to the neighbourhood: Big stones painted in bright colours!
The summer holidays have started; and in summer, there are always a number of young people doing odd jobs around here - mostly to do with simple gardening jobs and litter-picking etc.
Painting stones is a new task that I've not seen before... The big stones, in their natural state, have been there before: Their purpose is to stop cars from taking shortcuts across the lawns. The colours used to paint them (bright yellow, purple and blue) I recognise from benches around the estate that have also recently been (re-)painted. Whether also painting big stones is really an improvement to the neighbourhood might be a matter for discussion... Personally, I haven't quite made up my mind about that yet! (lol)
The rabbit did not appear until later, so at least he won't have got painted by mistake.
Now I'm just waiting to spot birds with yellow, bright blue or purple feathers, indicating that they've landed on wet paint... But maybe they're too clever for that... ;-)
Big flocks of birds can be seen scanning the lawns after the lawn-mower has been and gone. (Mostly doves/pigeons in this photo, I think. But there are also crows, jackdaws, magpies and sea gulls to give them some competition.)
Apart from this, no strange observations to report.
I wait to decide till they are all painted and you post the pics. Hope the birds can smell the paint and stay away till it dries!!
ReplyDeleteGinny, I'd need a drone to get more than one or two painted stones into the same photo...
DeleteCute little bunny. Odd about the green painted stones, they will deter driving on the lawns though.
ReplyDeleteTerra, the stones have been there for years, but in natural colour. They were in need of cleaning but I'm not sure about the paint... ;-)
DeleteWhat a wonderfully vivid snapshot of your neighborhood's summer rhythm between cautious hares, colorfully painted stones, and opportunistic birds, it sounds like there's never a dull moment just outside your window
ReplyDeleteAt least it was all peaceful, Ro! :)
DeleteMaybe the hare was frightened by a bird of prey circling overhead, and by the time you noticed the hare, the bird was gone but the hare still remained "frozen" just to make sure the bird wasn't coming back.
ReplyDeleteWhy paint stones? They look perfectly good as they are. It is sad that it is necessary to put them up to stop people from driving or parking on the lawns, but that's car drivers for you - so many have no consideration whatsoever for anyone but themselves and their car.
Meike, I think humans with or without dogs more likely to have scared the hare, even if I didn't see anyone. As for the stones, they've been there for years and I've long been thinking they could do with a good cleaning. I suspect someone came up with the idea of painting them when wondering what to do with left-over paint. The long-term result (for better or worse) I guess remains to be seen!
DeletePoor hare. Maybe he's wondering what's happening to his environment. Do hares see colours? I suppose so.
ReplyDeleteJanice, AI says hares can distinguish between some colours but not the whole spectrum like humans. My suggestion they'd be scared of painted stones was just a joke, though...
DeleteThat's an excellent photo of the hare - perhaps it knew you wanted to take it's photo and waited patiently while you fetched your camera! It does seem rather strange to paint those stones, unless it's just something to occupy those youngsters.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I suspect a combination of that (keeping the youngsters occupied) and left-over paint... ;-)
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