The bad tiding

I don't usually recall my dreams, but I was jolted awake last night by the sound of a cat coughing up a furball and had a distinct and vivid memory of a voice saying "four plus three is the same as three plus four because addition is commutative". No wonder my subconscious doesn't bother remembering dreams if they're that boring.

Hoppy the one-legged magpie landed on the lawn yesterday afternoon, over three weeks since I last saw him. He was quite skittish, and before I could bring him some celebratory oats three other magpies* chased him off again. I'm quite sad about that; I'd rather have him than the others.



* Collectively known as a tiding. :-)