BLUE IN THE FACE

Spring is here, although it is more like summer now with the temperature at 35C or 95F. With Spring comes lots of new baby birds, how sweet they are UNTIL they start squawking to be fed at 4:30am. Then they are not sweet any more in my mind, as I'm trying to sleep.

They have a monotonous TWEET, TWEET, TWEET, TWEET call. It is an annoying sound. like a tap dripping. I go outside and call to them to be quiet until I am "blue in the face" but they ignore me and keep on tweeting. However, they are quite cute in an ugly way and I really love birds so I took the camera out to observe them.

I think this is mother bird. She is on the look out for danger from other birds.

I think this is father bird. He is a Blue Faced Honey Eater. He's probably gone blue in the face telling the chicks to be quiet.

He is finding food for the little ones from the Banksia flower, it is full of nectar.

Both mother and father have just fed the chicks.

Mother is keeping guard over the chicks while father has gone for more food. Throughout this whole process the smallest baby continued with its boring Tweet, Tweet.

A few days later I spied the biggest baby trying to feed itself....hooray. It had trouble trying to keep balance.

Then the smallest baby arrived. The bigger baby fluttered to another cone, Father is in the background and the little one continues to squawk to be fed, while sitting right next to the flower providing the source of food. I'm thinking..."C'mon kid get stuck into it and stop whinging"

Mother turns up but they all start preening and scratching, while baby continues to squawk

It finally had a little nibble and then both babies had a nap. Peace for a few minutes. It is fun watching them but I hope they hurry up and grow up and leave the nest. In the meantime I put in ear plugs at 4:30 am. The rest of the day I put up with it. At this very moment the baby is sitting next to the flower and it tweets and then pecks at the flower for a bit then tweets and eats and tweets and eats. I'm thinking...."Just eat and never mind the tweets." I can see them from my study window over the top of my computer. I actually photographed them through the glass.

A Blogalk in Brisbane City

Last week caught the train to Central and walked along Ann St to collect a Photobook that I had printed of the photos I took on our Kimberly Top End Holiday. We were very pleased with the book. Then we walked to King George Square, we passed The Palace Hotel......

...with its ornate wrought iron lacework balconies.

Then I spied this lovely old building squashed between the high rise offices. It is the School of Arts. The postman is pushing his cart in front and the little green vehicle is a gum cleaning machine.

A bit further along this beautiful church is dwarfed by more high rise.

.....and another one

...and another one.

The old Treasury building is now a casino.

The Petrie Tableau sculpture in King George Square. Made by Stephen Walker in 1988 for the bicentenary in honour of the early Brisbane settlers. It depicts The Petrie family and aboriginal neighbours in 1842. They are saying good bye to Andrew Petrie who is departing on an expedition to the west. The boy, John, holding the horse became the Mayor of Brisbane.
I found a kangaroo to cuddle.
Bill found a pretty girl to cuddle. She was promoting a beer.

A Blogalk by the Lake

We walk through the suburban streets for 20 minutes, passing by a Jacaranda still in flower.

Then we take a path through a small park which leads us to the edge of Lake Dennis. It is...

a very small man made lake. It was made by a pioneer called Dennis, who made the dam to hold water for his cattle and crops back in the 1800's. The land has subsequently been sold and developed into housing estates and the Dam donated to the council for the people.

We walk along the dam wall to the other side.

Admire the gracefulness of a vine crawling over a stump.....

...and some ducks busily foraging instead of posing for the camera.

Now we are on the other side you can look back across the lake in the other direction.

Admire the lily pads and the artistic fall of a dead tree before climbing a steep hill back into suburbia for a different way home.

BLOGALKING in DAISY HILL

I have invented a new word: "blogalking". Now I have to think of a definition...mmmm... It means blog walking, like when you follow someone on a walk on their blog....mmmm... or....A virtual walk in blogland. Anyway I'm going to take you on a walk through Daisy Hill Conservation Park.

We walk along the ring road for a while then.....

....take one of the many walking tracks.

Stop to admire the plants (I think this might be an imported one that has become a weed.)

As we enter the picnic area we bump into some wallabies having breakfast.

This one has a Joey in her pouch.

Many people like getting married in the forest and they hire this bush chapel with its rows of log seats.

Then back out onto the ring road to the exit, but before that, admire........

...the morning sun shining through the wattle seed pods. Then walk home for breakfast.

Keeping in Touch with Teaching

Although I retired from teaching after 33 years, I still get offered short contracts at my old school. I rather enjoy these short times back in the workforce to keep me on my toes and the old grey matter ticking over, not to mention the extra money to go towards our travel fund. A few weeks ago I was asked to replace the teacher helping kids with difficulties, while she was away. It was interesting to see the changes since my last visit in April.

The hit up wall has gone from this concrete pad as it might fall down and squash someone, but the netball, basketball and tennis court is still there. The grounds are still looking nice.

This playground is still here.

Wow, and new play equipment and artificial grass has been installed between the buildings.

A brand new hall and offices are being constructed.

Many schools got new buildings this year as part of the government's plan to give the economy a boost and provide jobs. It seems to have worked as we are on the way out of the slump and we never fell into recession as deep as other countries, thank goodness.

On the last day at school I had finished all my jobs half an hour before the bell. I went into a Year 2 class to see if they needed any help. I helped them make a Chinese lantern. When the children had finished they could choose a free choice activity for the last few minutes of the day.

I was fascinated with this group of girls using the new interactive white boards. We never had them when I was teaching full time.
The teachers had to do an inservice course to learn how to operate them. The kids were having fun with an educational game.

This group opted to model with play dough or construct with Lego.

Some used the computers.

Sadly no one chose to read. However, many of them are still learning English.

BIRTHDAY BEAR GOES WHALE WATCHING

(If you are unfamiliar with our Birthday Bear tradition read about it HERE.)

Yesterday it was Ann's birthday and Helen and Paul's turn to dress Birthday Bear. Ann and George have been recently on a holiday on the Gold Coast. They were in a high rise apartment and could watch the whales from their balcony, migrating north to the warmer water for the breeding season.

So Birthday Bear came to the birthday lunch in her seaside gear and binoculars for whale watching. She had her mobile phone, camera and a curled up sun hat just like Ann's. The whales were frolicking in the sea too.
Ann was happy to see her bear. She said how much fun it is when you know its your turn for Birthday Bear and you are wondering how it will be dressed.
The birthday lunch was at the Gem Hotel at Jacob's Well. We all had a big roast lunch except Bill who had a delicious Barramundi grilled fish with lemon sauce.

On the way home we called into the Prawn Farm for some ultra fresh prawns.

They are grown nearby on the Logan River (This is a photo of a photo)

Birthday Bear checked out what was for sale in the little kiosk. Besides prawns there were..

..pumpkins and...

Kitch figurines made out of beer cans. The sales assistant asked us if we had a sense of humour and proceded to lift up the figurine's shirt to show us it was in fact a male (if you are easily offended please don't scroll any further and hopefully no children are looking over your shoulder.)

Birthday Bear! What are you looking at?

IT'S RAINING or is it?

I welcome the sight of rain clouds gathering overhead, hoping, hoping that they will drop plenty of well needed rain on our parched garden and brown grass. We have had a few showers over the last few days but not the amount needed to soak into the ground.

Hopefully this time it will last longer.

Yes! Here it is, I hope it stays and doesn't blow over.

The leaves and trees love it.

I love it!

My neighbour loves it!

Look! Real raindrops, as precious as diamonds.

Alas! I no sooner came inside and it stopped.

The clouds disappeared and back to our beautiful blue sky. (It is very unusual for us to see plane vapour trails in Brisbane as the air is usually too warm. Maybe because it had just rained is the reason this one occurred but if you look closely it has stopped and the plane is heading for the corner of the photo without its trail.)

The birds are all excited now that they can find water easily. They are singing and chirping like mad and in the case of the parrots, screeching noisily. It is great to hear they are all happy.

The Magpies are warbling and squawking for food.

The Butcher Bird is singing for his supper and

I am wishing for more rain.