On the farm where I lived as a child, there was an old tank stand next to a rather large dam on the property. All day the little swallows would gather mud into a ball and build nests it seems for years on end until there was barely room to move or even add to an existing nest. The whole colony of swallows flourished, babies were raised, water was ample and mud, even in a drought for these little birds to survive.
Years later I painted the swallows nests as a reminder of the wonderful years at our family farm and all those little swallows who lived their best lives in this flourishing community of birds.
The swallow community were Welcome Swallows which I was totally amused by. They were a metallic blue/black colour with a rusty red breast and belly and a splash of the same colour on their heads, quite an attractive bird indeed.
