Death, rivalry, tension – that’s my garden mid-afternoon | Tim Dowling

There isn’t much tranquillity where I live right now. The cat’s on the prowl and the dog’s become a rabid vermin hunterHave you seen my fat balls?” said my wife. She was pointing out of the window into the garden at her newly installed bird feeder, which brings the total to four. There is one devoted to peanuts and one specifically for the sunflower hearts, which are meant to attract goldfinches. And now the fat balls. Her new hobby may have tipped over into obsession.&ld