Wednesday 6 December 2017

Advent Calendar Day 6: Robin


Our Thrushes now are silent,
Our Swallows flown away,
But Robin's here, in coat of brown,
With ruddy breast-knot gay.
Robin, Robin Redbreast,
O Robin dear!
Robin singing sweetly
In the falling of the year.


From Robin Redbreast
By William Allingham


With thanks to Pexels for the image.  (All images licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license).

I'm linking with Julie over at Julie's Scrapbook.





36 comments:

  1. Never heard that poem before

    Julie xxxxxxx

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    1. It is new to me too Julie but I rather like it now. xx

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  2. Beautiful words and robin - I had one on my balcony this week, they're always a joy to see. Hugs, Valerie

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    1. We’ve got one that likes to follow me around the garden while I’m busy cutting back shrubs and things. He is happy to sit on my fork, but I can never get a photo of him because he is just too quick. He sits quietly until the second I raise the camera to my eye, and then he is up and off over the fence. He must be camera shy like me! x

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  3. Sweet words - the robin seems to have a lot of love and folklore associated with it.

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    1. They are such lovely birds, and it always lifts my spirit when I see one in the garden.
      I like the story about Jesus being on the road to Calvary when a robin plucked a thorn from his temple, and a drop of blood fell on the robin’s chest, turning it red.

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  4. Ah! The Robin...the red breasted Robin...
    He's quite safe Barbara...(not a lot of meat
    on a Robin)..! :).
    HeHe! I always remember my Dad saying, were not
    having turkey this Christmas..were having a brace
    of Robins...! :).

    Knock, knock!
    Who's there?
    Robin...
    Robin who?
    Robin the piggy bank again...!
    (sorry..best l can do).

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    1. A brace of Robins indeed – thank heavens they don’t have much meat or someone would be sure to eat them (I don’t mean you but someone somewhere would!)

      I like your knock, knock joke! I tried to find another one but could only come up with this, which made me smile.

      Hey, Robin. What’s new with you?
      Nothing much, just bob, bob, bobbing along.

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    2. Strange...No! No! Robin jokes...
      I remember one..About Batman...
      Batman never leaves a bank without Robin..! :).

      And a lovely name for a Robin...Bob! :0).

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  5. Dearest friend, I so adore the robins from Great Britain! Ours are beautiful, but not as small or chubby....teeeheee.....ours our longer, larger and have "wicked looking eyes" - whereas yours have little dots for eyes! Either way, let heaven and NATURE sing the glories of the season!

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    1. I have seen a few very thin robins but never one with “wicked looking eyes." Thank you for making me smile dear Anita. :)

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    2. I agree with Anita, your robins are much cuter!

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    3. Well we love them but then I suppose we would. :-) x

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  6. The English robin, so much cuter and sweeter than our large ones here in the States. Still, I love when the robins visit, they sound like they are laughing at everything!

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    1. Hello Bish, I’m listening to the song and calls of an American Robin as I type this, and I can see what you mean. I was curious as I’ve never heard one.
      In anyone else would like to listen I found it here https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/sounds#

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    2. HeHe! If you wanna listen to a Robin...
      Listen to this one..it's the loudest ...
      'Must be female then'???
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3kr_zoqGyY

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    3. I love that Willie but being that loud it must be male! :-) x

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  7. Beautiful.
    Though I am endlessly amazed at the 'Robin Red-breast' monnicker. I guess robin ochre-breast doesn't roll off the tongue...

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    1. It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it does it? Ha ha

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  8. Wow, our robins aren't that colorful!

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  9. U.S. robins are much different. It appears that early colonists were reminded of your English robin red breast, so named our thrush a robin, too.

    Regardless, I loved the poem, and really love Pexels for images you don't (or can't) find anywhere else.

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    1. Hello Elizabeth, I’m learning so much from my blogging friends, thank you.
      I love Pexels too and could spend hours just looking at all the photographs.

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  10. I've got you some musical accompaniment from Bing Crosby. It's not White Christmas (for a change) and it's not even seasonal, really, but I think you'll enjoy it:
    https://youtu.be/K_YFuGCi5VY

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    1. How lovely is that? I’ve never heard it before, but I absolutely love it – you know me so well! Thank you so much.

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  11. I first heard this song on a second-hand LP I bought in the 1980s, called 'And the Bands Played On' in a version by Sidney Lipton and his Grosvenor House Orchestra from June, 1936. I still have the LP and still love the song - but I'd also never heard Bing's version until today. The wonders of YouTube!

    Thanks for adding it to the post!

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    1. Thank you for sending the link - it is my new favourite old song! I've got lots of LPs in the loft but nothing to play them on.

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  12. What a gorgeous robin photo. Your robins look a bit different than ours and I think they are prettier! Love the song!

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  13. Hello Jeanie, you are not the first person to say that about our robins. I always assumed robins were robins wherever they lived and had no idea there were different kinds.

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  14. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!!! I have to agree with some of your other comments. Your robins are a lot prettier than ours! Big Hugs!

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment. Hugs Barbara

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  15. That is the cutest, roundest robin I've ever seen. And I love Bing Crosby; he's one of my favorite singer/actors from that time period. The video of him and David Bowie singing Peace on Earth/Drummer Boy is wonderful.

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    1. Hi Marcia, thank you for reminding me of that video, I’ve just watched it – wonderful! My parents were huge Bing Crosby fans, and it rubbed off on me.

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx