mésange

There is a constant line of crumbs on our window sill–old baguette, crackers, cookies. I've made a friend.

One morning, we were sitting in bed when a blue head peeked around the corner. We moved, & he flew away. It was an entire day before we saw him again, popping along the brick border of our window. He was tiny, & I instantly wanted him to be my pet.

I broke up baguette that we had on the table & lined it on the wire grate in front of our window. I've been refreshing the bread each day, & I've been researching the little guy.

I've since learned that in France, the bird is called "mésange," titmouse in English (almost, though they look a bit different) or blue tit in the UK. I've since spent too much time typing "blue tit + France" into my Google search bar.

A British garden bird web site describes him this way:

They are one of the most agile birds, and they will entertain for hours by hanging upside down from feeders, branches, etc. They are also opportunists and will often peck through foil milk bottle tops for the cream.

Maybe I love them because they're so nosy–so intent on looking in our windows & peeking around corners. Blue tits are*...

noisy, sociable and inquisitive birds. They use their strong legs and claws to hang at any angle and investigate clusters of buds or pick off a caterpillar from a leaf.

And they're adorable, "with [their] light yellow belly and bluish wings." No wonder they're "popular visitor to bird feeders"*.

Britannica says, "Of all the birds that feed their own young, this species lays the largest clutch in the world; it can lay as many as 15 eggs." 15 eggs! From a bird that weighs about the same as a thimble. Then the little guys incubate in a maximum of 16 days & fledge in a maximum of 23.

That's a lot of potential birds friends in the coming months. I'm hoping that, if I keep feeding them, me opening the window will result in something like this.

So I'm pumped. I've found my sort-of pet, & he doesn't migrate. I've got him aaall year. And I want this to be me. So take a peek at them. They're stunning. How do you convince a wild thing to let you love it?

Which reminds me: we've finished our dog-sitting, & I have to say that closing the door on Koala was really hard. He loves to play blanket, in which Koala chews on his blanket & growls & the victim holds onto the blanket's corner for dear life. We did this a lot. And we cuddled on the couch. And we made dinner in a full-sized kitchen.

It was like we got a preview of what life will be like in the coming years. While we love our little apartment & our time in France, there are days when you can't see past the fleeting nature of it. Being in an apartment with two multiple rooms & a dog felt like we were adults, like we were really married.

A perfect feeling to have for our first married Christmas.

P.S. We will be in Germany until Dec. 30. Expect a blog post that evening. Until then, we love you.


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