Red sky at night sailor’s delight. And indeed after last night’s fire red sunset it is a lovely morning. And quiet, as it usually is here. Though we do hear two or three gunshots. Presumably because hunting season consists of a number of Wednesdays and Sundays through the winter. It’s not legal to hunt in the village, but we’re not far from mountain roads and trails where it should be legal.
And what gets hunted? Wood pigeon, wild pigeon and woodcock. Sounds normal. Also crow and magpie. Our friends, though admittedly we haven’t made friends with the local crows. True, crows frequently not beloved of farmers, though they don’t seem particularly interested in the orchards around here. Can understand regarding them as a nuisance. But - there are instructions online for cooking crow. Not Turkish instructions. American? Quite enough to make me vegetarian.
And also song thrush. The fact that they’re songbirds is sad in itself. They are also hunted in the South of Cyprus as well as in Spain and France. In the South it’s legal to hunt them but not to trap them. Illegal but not unusual. They are frequently trapped by using sticky surfaces - which of course traps any other birds that land there too. The payoff is that they are regarded as a delicacy and secretly served at restaurants to select clientele. The hunters and restaurateurs charged if caught. Have no idea what the law is here in the North - other than that hunting them is legal.