Regular readers of this blog, if indeed such things exist (I could have been talking to myself for the last 3 years) will know that I like to write about ‘firsts’. That is to say, things that I have seen or done for the very first time. Take today for example.

In fact it all started yesterday afternoon. I had cut the grass, in front of the house, with the Flymo for the first time this year. Any further grass cutting is held up whilst the oil leak on the big mower is fixed.

When I’d finished I was shattered, not being match fit, so wasn’t too pleased when Peter decided he was going to cut the bit of the hedge at the back of the house that hadn’t got cut last year.

This involves me fetching, carrying and picking up hawthorn trimmings. Needless to say the clearing up operation when he’d finished wasn’t thorough, so this morning I went out to finish the job.

I had been raking and sweeping happily for about half an hour or so, despite severe aches and pains from yesterday, and had just stopped for a short breather leaning on my brush when I felt something hit my elbow.

As I looked down there on the ground was a peanut rocking gently as it settled into a nick. Presumably one of my feathered friends had dropped it whilst flying overhead.

So there we are. I can add ‘being hit by a peanut dropped by a bird’ to my list of ‘firsts’.