The sun is brilliant but determined to leave the party early. In the big city park, deserted on Monday afternoon the sun sits bright and brilliant as he prepares to leave. Having discovered the thrill of feeding wild birds by hand I dropped by a couple of likely spots. The boys were a little quarrelsome today, chasing each other off.

I had a little competition too as there are some brilliant red sumac berries available to birds. They have a velvety texture that I love. It was quite cold and I suppose some of the normally cheeky chic a dees were already hunkered down for the evening.

The clouds were lovely, dark above and lit by the sulky sun from below. By the time I turned and went home they were pink and yellow. In summer it can be very hot at the end of the afternoon but that is now a faint memory. It will be a lot colder tomorrow and the little birds will have to stick to red berries. My bare hands just can’t take low temperatures and wind. I’ll be back on Wednesday. The sun may be in charge but the wind gives him a run for his money.