As I sat on the bench in the sunshine, a buzzard wheeled and dove, pursued by a single acrobatic crow chasing him away from a stand of trees that echoed with parental caws; nearer to the ground, swallows nested in the old wooden arch of an entranceway, sleek bodies rocketing in and out of the rafters. My cold continued as the hours counted down to departure, but for the moment the sunlight felt warm and soothing on my face.