AS usual Rog and Micky were already ensconced in the pub when I arrived and, funnily enough, I got there just in time to buy a round. I must be just lucky.

It had been thought that Micky was out injured, but he struggled there manfully, apparently. The injury, he quickly explained, occurred when he was getting out of bed.

Sympathy oozed out of Rog in between the obvious mirth. Pulling a muscle getting out of bed - seriously?

Micky was at pains to explain his foot got tangled in the sheet and, trying to free it, he overexerted and, twang, there it went. He showed me a photo of what I think (hope) was his calf, but luckily his photographic skills aren’t great, so it was pretty blurry, thank goodness.

Getting over this, I chatted to Rog, who is walking here, there and everywhere in retirement - he’ll be as thin as a lathe at this rate.

We are both glad spring is looming and I told him that, on the way back from London, the rooks were busy refurbishing their nests.

I do like rooks, the way they have their untidy nests in what can be very big rookeries that can last for generations.

They are similar birds to crows, but distinguished by the white face, the fact that they walk rather than hop and they are gregarious, where crows are loners.

Some birds will roost in the rookery in winter, but it’s generally springtime when they start the repair process.

The nests are mainly made of sticks and there’s always a lot of squabbling as birds try to pinch their neighbour’s supply.

They are very useful for farmers, about half their diet is insect larvae and worms. Birds live about six years on average.

With rooks nesting, it’s a sure sign of spring. Now we just have to improve Micky’s bed hopping techniques to get him ready for the warmer season!

• Fred Knobbit is a nature blogger. He grew up in the Pennines in Lancashire on the edge of an industrial town but is now safely in Cornwall. You can read his archive at www.bodminblogger.com