Just one of those days..erm mornings!

This morning has been a mad one! 

I have to share .... one of my crazy days! Lol

(Yep looked like me at 2.30 am)

Dogs barking crazy at silly o'clock ok 2.30 am to be precise, 

then a mad buzzing flying thing ...flying around the kitchen,

I tried to keep it contained in the kitchen and shut the door

 but it escaped into the living room

....how I have no idea!

Oh the dogs went crazy, Geezer caught it in mid air and 

I admit even though I do not like to kill insects this one had to go,

my green handbag was the only thing in sight during the mad panic....and that was that.

(yep just like that one!)

Nope that was not to be the end of my crazy early morning adventures.

Now awake I started to Pin ( terrible addiction)

..suddenly out of nowhere a spider nearly landed on my nose!!!

I took his web-spin and placed him on the floor to freely scatter off. (My good deed).

Now I was WIDE awake.

Later in the morning, yep the sun came up, 

I looked out of my kitchen door and a single magpie was on the tree ...

Never has one been seen in my garden.

Well after my morning turn of events I crazily said

'Good morning Mr.Magpie, how's your misses'

I read once that is what to say if you see a single Magpie.

Gotta admit it's worth the saying if superstitions are true, 

rather not take any chances if you know what I mean ;0)

So dear blog world that was my morning,

 fingers crossed (yep another superstition) that the day improves.

Although the whole shenanigans in the early hours is quite funny when I look back at it, 

apart from my weakness in the help of finalization in an insect passing.

Anyway..moving on below is the old Magpie superstition here in the UK.

Its funny people will say that they are not superstitious

 but once something happens no-one wants to tempt fate, 

so they do the balance out/cancelling thing..hee hee just like moi!

So here we go the origins of the lore:

"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies.

According to an old superstition, the number of magpies

 one sees determines if one will have bad luck or not.

The rhyme has its origins in superstitions connected with magpies,

considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures, and in Britain,

at least as far back as the early sixteenth century.

The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in John Brand's Observations

on Popular Antiquitites on Lincolnshire with the lyric:

One for sorrow,

Two for mirth,

Three for a wedding,

And four for death

One of the earliest versions to extend this was published,

with variations, in M. A. Denham's Proverbs and Popular Saying of the Seasons (London, 1846):

One for sorrow,

Two for luck; (or mirth)

Three for a wedding,

Four for death; (or birth)

Five for silver,

Six for gold;

Seven for a secret,

Not to be told;

Eight for heaven,

Nine for [hell]

And ten for the d[evi]l's own sell!

On occasion, jackdaws, crows, bluebirds, and other Corvidae are associated with the rhyme,

particularly in America where magpies are less common.

Blackbirds have also been used in place of magpies (probably due to their coloring), though they belong to the family Turdidae.

Counteraction:

1.Tip your actual or imaginary hat and say morning/afternoon Captain. 

It is supposed to stop bad luck and bring good luck.

 2. Salute it and say "good morning mr magpie wheres your lovely wife today"

However usually if you look around there is usually more than one magpie

at any 1one time as they mate for life awww.

Like many other birds, magpies mate for life. The pair will stick together and where you see one,

 you'll nearly always see the other nearby. Genetic studies, however,

show that females are not averse to a little bit of spice in the herb garden

with the result that about one in 15 baby magpies is not the child of the male of the pair.

Gangs of magpies in breeding season often consist of a happy couple along with a lot of hopeful single males.

Magpies build strange nests of twigs with a domed roof on them to protect them from predators.

The female incubates the green speckled eggs, but both parents provide food for the chicks,

 who remain in the nest for about a month.

For the rest of the year, magpies tend to hang around in large groups,

sometimes as many as 100.

These appear to be extended families living together and helping each other.

Origin of the Name

The word 'magpie' comes from 'Margaret Pie'.

Mag is a shortened form of the name Margaret.

Pie comes from the Latin name for the bird, pica.

The words 'piebald' and 'pied' (meaning of two colours, especially black and white)

both come from the word 'magpie'.

Other Magpies

The name is also used for some other related species of long-tailed birds;

Blue and Green magpies of Asia: Cyanopica, Cissa and Urocissa.

The Australian Bell-magpies (Gymnorhina), are unrelated,

being called magpies because of their black and white plumage.

They are, however, short-tailed and sing with a musical voice.

Source(s):

bbc.co.uk and Wikkipedia

Well that's my bit for today, mad & interesting I hope in a crazy sort of way :0)

Here's wishing you all see two magpies x

(on blog tee hee)

Love, peace & light

Trace

xoxo