A comment like this shouldn't go without a reply. Saying "sorry for your loss" always seems inadequate, so here's a brief recollection instead. A few months ago

A comment like this shouldn't go without a reply. Saying "sorry for your loss" always seems inadequate, so here's a brief recollection instead. A few months ago, in one of the covid lock downs when social distancing was a thing, I was walking in a park. About 200 metres away I noticed a woman walking a small dog, possibly a puppy. The woman had stopped to watch the dog, something was going on. Then i realised the dog was playing with a magpie. The magpie would hop up to the dog then flap off when the dog bounded over. Then the magpie lay on its back and let the dog sniff it before kicking its legs and flapping its wings, making the dog bounce in delight. The woman crouched nearby watching. I've no idea if any of them noticed me. It went on for at least 5 minutes before i had to leave. A wonderfully surreal, poignant moment during the pandemic. Seems like aeons ago now.