Black and White

Four years ago I was walking through some woods when I found a woodpecker feather. It was black with white spots along the edge. I checked a book and it's probably from a great spotted woodpecker. I decided I would make a collection of woodpecker feathers.

I'm not sure this was a good idea because it's a long journey on the train and a bit of a walk to get to the woods.

Since then I've found two other feathers. So now my collection is three feathers. My fourth year is nearly over and if I don't find one soon then my average will drop to less than one each year.

Actually I found two last year. I just think I wasn't trying hard enough in the second year. It's hard to get motivated when you've only got one.

I keep my collection in a small jar. It's an old empty vaseline jar. All the feathers are about the same size, about eight centimetres. Now I realise that I'm not sure if they all have the same number of spots. I must count them soon.