I'm sitting in my study looking out the window and I see this pretty bird sitting on top of a Banksia flower busily nibbling away at the flower. I'm not sure if it is eating nectar or insects. So I grab my camera and sneak outside to take a shot but..........
.....it flies away every time I try. So you'll have to imagine a middle sized bird with olive wings, a white breast and a bright blue head (that is Mr Bird, Mrs Bird has a black and white head). So until I get a camera with a decent zoom I don't think I'll be able to get their pics taken. I don't remember it's name. Lizzy can probably tell us.
Then along comes Bush Turkey, so once again grab camera sneak outside but it sees me and starts running away. Crikey its lost it's head.
I'm not sorry to see it disappear across the road as it digs big holes in the garden looking for ants and termites. I don't mind it eating the termites but I wouldn't like it making a mound. It lays eggs and then covers them with a huge mound of leaf litter and makes a right mess of your garden.
I found this interesting native grass plant in the garden. It is a volunteer (it grew by itself, I didn't plant it)
Pretty but I'm not sure if they are poisonous.
Then the rain came. We have been having some fierce storms this Spring, with many suburbs getting shocking damage. Many houses lost and a few lives too. Luckily we have missed the fury but still get a torrential downpour, just to reminds us we live in the sub-tropics.
Water rushing down the gutter after only a few mins rain.
The tank is overflowing as the exit drain pipes can't cope with the volume of water in such a short time.
.....it flies away every time I try. So you'll have to imagine a middle sized bird with olive wings, a white breast and a bright blue head (that is Mr Bird, Mrs Bird has a black and white head). So until I get a camera with a decent zoom I don't think I'll be able to get their pics taken. I don't remember it's name. Lizzy can probably tell us.
Then along comes Bush Turkey, so once again grab camera sneak outside but it sees me and starts running away. Crikey its lost it's head.
I'm not sorry to see it disappear across the road as it digs big holes in the garden looking for ants and termites. I don't mind it eating the termites but I wouldn't like it making a mound. It lays eggs and then covers them with a huge mound of leaf litter and makes a right mess of your garden.
I found this interesting native grass plant in the garden. It is a volunteer (it grew by itself, I didn't plant it)
Pretty but I'm not sure if they are poisonous.
Then the rain came. We have been having some fierce storms this Spring, with many suburbs getting shocking damage. Many houses lost and a few lives too. Luckily we have missed the fury but still get a torrential downpour, just to reminds us we live in the sub-tropics.
Water rushing down the gutter after only a few mins rain.
The tank is overflowing as the exit drain pipes can't cope with the volume of water in such a short time.
I often have the problem of camera shy people and critters every time I pull out my camera. My dog, Allie, takes one look at the camera, and she turns her head. I have had to learn to be very sneaky to get some cute shots of her.;)
ReplyDeleteIs that tank beside your house similar to the ones you showed us at your school?
Those blueish purplish berry like things are pretty.
Happy First Day of December!
God Bless,
Amy:)
Funny with the turkey. I'm going to come down there and live just to be able to say the word 'crikey' as often as I can. Your rains look so nice. And your deck. I could sit out there and just watch it. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteYou must post more pictures for me. I just love wildlife and plant life..it's fun to see stuff I can't see here. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCheeky little bugga`s aren`t they....Come in to your yard without permission, you would think they`d have the decency of letting you take their picture...:)
ReplyDeleteWe aren`t getting much in the way of rain here...Seems to be all up the top , not the bottom.....
Are you still on water restrictions where you are????
Morning Diane
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know that I do visit this site from time to time. I am currently a little limited due to the pain in my arm so do not leave comments, or even add to my own very new Blogger site. I am struggling to find a suitable template and to work out the different system so have not advertised it at this time. Was going to transfer Posts from BB but have decided not to.
I will respond to yoursweet comments on BigBlog a little later in the day.
Now if I can just work out how this works I will be doing well..
Amy,
ReplyDeleteWe had been in drought for about 4 years and the dams that supply Brisbane were drying up. So the state government encouraged everyone to install rainwater tanks. Most people use them for the garden but some use them for household water too.
Mandy,
Yes, we are still on water restrictions even though the dams are about 45% full. The desalinatin plant on the Gold Coast is starting to produce fresh water next week and the recycled water plant is ready to go but there was a big outcry from the public about using recucled water now that it is raining again, so the premier has put it on hold for the moment.
Lucy
We love our deck. We have breakfast out there every morning in summer. Lunch and dinner too sometimes, if it is not too hot.
Sassy,
You asked for it I'll bombard you with pics of my garden and the critters who visit. They will be old pics as my camera is in hospital getting fixed.
Hello again Diane
ReplyDeleteWould love to follow up your comments on my blog regarding your son. If that is OK with you?
Think this may be the plant you have:
Dianella tasmanica 'TR20'
Ornamental flax lily with beautiful contrasting foliage solour. Its red winter foliage is an outstanding feature of this variety. Even in warmer months the lower parts of the leaves display distinctive red tones.
Blue flowers in spring followed by purple berries.
We have put them in our Memorial Garden however have not yet seen them flower.
Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Lucy.... I want to learn to say "crikey" too. Culture differences do fascinate me! And I'm insanely jealous over the fact that it's spring in Australia!! Miserably cold and blowing here today :(
ReplyDeleteCheeky Tukeys!
ReplyDeleteCheeky bandicoots!
Cheeky Scrubhens!
Cheeky Cockies!
Cheeky Wallabies!
There is a common denominator here amongst the QLD critters.....
Brian and Lucy, we learn to use American words so you can use Aussie words...start the trend.
ReplyDelete"Crikey mate she'll be right, fair dinkum."
Try that one for starters.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! It looks like you all have as much rain as we do here in Guam!
Hi Diane, Just catching up with your blog. I won't be on BigPond for much longer myslef, so I will keep up with your blog from time to time through here. I have the same problem when I try and photograph birds, by the time I get the camera out they have moved on. Cheers
ReplyDeleteHi Diane,
ReplyDeleteCheeky all right.......the rain has been wonderful...the purple berries grow along the creek bank in amongst the granite rocks...and do see where the flowers have been... very tiny
A scrub turkey chick turned up some years ago and I initially thought it was a little grass bird and it grew into a monster who would rake the garden into a big pile....and created havoc...it would hang out with an old pet chook and when she died took off in a huff....back to the scrub where she belonged and where a boyfriend lurked...
My my, those berries looks delicious, they doo look good enough to eat. Do you get much rain there on the whole?
ReplyDelete