Nature at work

In the new apartment that Altaa and I live in, we have a splendid view of the garden of the property. It is just so relaxing and looking out at the birds hopping and fluttering around. Our downstairs neighbour has put out a circular yellow tray of bird feed. With the red bits sprinkled on top of it, I initially thought someone had lobbed a frozen pizza into the garden. Today, a hierachy among the birds was in evidence.
I'm no twitcher, but while I ate my breakfast, I watched two pigeons land and scare away a blackbird who had taken an interest in the easy pickings. The blackbird hopped away, loitering a safe distnace from the interlopers. As the pigeons pecked away, a punk swooped down, a proverbial cat among the piegons. He had incredible yellow feathery streaks emanating from his eyebrows and sparking right off his head and looked quite streetwise. The pigeons waddled around a foot or two away from the banquet while their vanquisher ate his fill. Appetite sated, the punk flew away and the piegons, allowing a few seconds to elapse to make sure he didn't return, returned to the feast. Eventually, these grey birds decided that they had scoffed enough breakfast and took wing away.
All this time, the blackbird, who had been rooting around in leaves for insects fruitlessly (literally) saw that good things come to those who wait and finally got to enjoy the food laid out for his flying kind.

Yesterday, on my way to work, I saw this Royal Mail van from quite a distance down the road. As I pulled up alongside it, it still had no movement, yet the exhaust was chundering away. Peering into the cab from the pavement, I saw this young driver, head propped up on arm that reted on steering wheel, fully asleep. Now, our immune system needs an average of eight hours sleep to remain healthy. That's nature for you. You can also see why the government is so willing to sell off parts of Royal Mail.

Further along, walking along the verge of the Great Lines, near the radio tower mast, I saw a cat crouching in the grass, poised and ready to pounce. I looked along its line of vision and there, eating his nuts, was a grey squirrel, unsuspecting that he was being stalked. I thought about disturbing both creatures to save the squirrel, but I plumped to allow nature to work its course. The cat sprang into action, through the wiry fence and caught the squirrel in and among the brown leaves (where the cat was actually better camouflaged). A tussle ensued. The squirrel managed to spring itself from the cat's snares - sometimes cats are not ruthless enough, wanting some play first - and darted over the gate, scrambling up a nearby tree with no low-lying branches. The cat clung to the base of the tree with all four paws and attendant claws, staring intently at its escaped prey. Nature doesn't pick sides about who's going to win.