Easily Distracted

This week has been wet. It's also been overcast - but mostly it's been wet.

Wet here apparently involves huge drops of moisture alternating between pelting down manically, flooding guttering so that it overflows drenching humans, pets & plants within minutes, & stopping suddenly leaving a person wondering where the heck it has gone. The saving grace is that it is also warm - with temperatures still being 24° - 29°C ( 75° - 84°F those of you stateside).

Given that the rainy/storm season has finally arrived I had made plans for the days when I couldn't be working outside this week. They involved a little painting &, more importantly, unpacking the rest of my glass now that I finally have more storage sorted. Or so I thought.....

Right up until the time that I stopped to make my first cup of coffee & looked out the kitchen window...

This little guy was sitting on the patio railing. Now don't get me wrong there is nothing at all unusual about Rainbow Lorikeets in the garden - apart from the fact that they don't usually venture up to dog & cat territory. Just as well the dog is a rain wimp & was curled up in a pathetic wee ball on his beanbag - with the cats doing similar in the bedrooms.

This particular Lori wasn't at all afraid of the human that, feeling sorry for them that the bird feeder had just received an impromptu clean out & was now a water bowl, ventured out with a freshly peeled lychee & two slices of mango. He just sat, not even a foot away along the rail, & watched me - then when I backed off  he invited his friend up.

What happened next was as funny as a play! Straight off he knocked the first piece of mango off...
It really doesn't need a dialogue but I couldn't resist.

"Oh darn, Ethel - that's one down."

"You go for the next thing, Archie - I'll just keep an eye on 'er over there!"

"Easy there Archie - don't scoff too much, you never know what it could be."

"Hmm, Ethel - I'm not so sure about that one...unusual texture."
"Careful Archie - you nearly knocked me off!"

"You sure it's not some sort of egg?"

"Oopsy, seems it just joined that other thing."

"This isn't so bad - you hold that end & make sure it doesn't fall."

"Grr - I said hold it Archie!"

By the next downpour the mango & lychee are forgotten as my latest distractions take refuge in the tree right next to the deck & groom each other in an attempt to dry off.

 

 

These birds are so entertaining to watch - gregarious & unafraid, for the most part, of humans. They did go down onto the patio & eat the fallen mango between showers - but left the lychee for the ants. 

Just as well really - it could become time consuming peeling lychees for the Loris ;)

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence….

Or in this case, the ditch. …..in fact sometimes the grass can be a crispy brown – so crispy that it’s like walking on shredded brown paper. Hot, shredded brown paper.

The grass isn’t always greenest where you water it either – especially if there are water restrictions on & you can’t water it at all.

No, this isn’t an analogy about life…it’s a fact. Australian grass is completely different to New Zealand grass. I suspect the fact that it gets so hot here you can smell it heating up & marinating for a bit, before cooking itself, under the sun’s intense rays has something to do with it….along with the type of grass planted.

It’s also high time I posted about my arrival in Australia – something I started to do months ago, but somehow I got side tracked.

Oh yeah, side tracked by a country that is sensory overload on every which level. I’ve been visually distracted by birds so behaviourally bold & colourful that they refuse to be ignored, by dragonflies that resemble helicopters & butterflies & moths the size of small aircraft. 

My ears are constantly assaulted by sound - birds from dawn until dusk with cicadas & crickets adding to the wonderful cacophony on warm days (which is pretty much every day), frogs, possums & owls pitching in once it gets dark.

Perhaps I should save chatting about how easily distracted I am by the readily available tropical & sub-tropical plants that thrive in this climate for another time…. & about how excited I was to find a stand of Blue Ginger among the bush & weeds down the back or how I was hooked when the neighbour threw the first Bromeliad over the fence…..

And all of the above distraction is before I even leave home!!

 A few quick snaps from today in the garden ....
see what I mean about distractions!

This is city full of huge glitzy malls accessed by large busy highways bulging at the seams with loads of BIG cars (& even bigger trucks) often driven by people wearing maxi dresses…the cars that is – not the trucks! Just thought I’d throw that in there while using nouns relevant to size.

On one hand it’s a fast paced city, one that wakes early & ‘appears’ to sleep early too. On the other hand, once one discovers where to look it’s also a city full of beautiful parks, outstanding gardens, speciality markets, farmers markets & a seemingly endless round of entertainment &  fun community events ….often involving fireworks.

It’s a wonderful cultural mix. Locally there are many beautiful Sudanese women – tall & stately with a proud bearing & long slender legs that never seem to end. It’s always a highlight when I see the older women gathered outside a shop in their traditional colourful costume & head wraps.

Vibrant & colourful is the name of another game here too – tattoos. Large tattoos. Large, vibrantly coloured tattoos. Lots of full sleeve & leg tattoos…on woman. I'm pretty sure that I’ve seen more since I’ve arrived here than I have seen in my entire life before.

I’ve been here 7 months & one day. In that time I’ve been initiated into the Australian lifestyle by way of bush fires close by & a couple of good tropical storms – one the tail end of a cyclone. I’ve seen some rather substantial spiders, evicted some messy house geckos (well actually I might have set the cat onto one or two of them), stumbled across my first bearded dragon in the garden, have  killed a *few* cane toads & now drive willingly on that highway that I was never going to drive on – ‘never’ being right up to the point that I discovered a plant nursery that I needed to visit.

I've made new friends, met lampworking friends previously known only online, discovered that I have great neighbours & that tropical storms & flooding can bring about good things - such as enjoying the company of fabulous house guests & forging lasting friendships.

I love it here - even though I have to admit that the settling in hasn’t always been easy. The first 5 months were often fraught with obstacles in getting some of the more important things done such as arranging schooling, medical care, bank accounts, internet & a landline. You know, just the little things. Red tape, more red tape & all that. Now that I finally have myself a Doctor (one quite knowledgeable about thyroid issues – finally, thank goodness) & a bank account. I’m not sure which I’m most thrilled about ;)

Post Script: This post was intended for yesterday – I fell asleep in my chair last night before checking the draft & posting it. Remember those early starts I mentioned?....

It seems appropriate that I post it today though – as it helps me to focus on the positive rather than dwell too heavily on the significance of this date. I feel as if it can’t possibly be two years since that horrific day when  life, as my home town of Christchurch knew it, changed forever… for everyone. But there you have it.

A Brisbane Backyard

Waking to the sound of bird call every morning has to be one the of best ways on earth to wake up.

One of the things that struck me during our time in Brisbane was the variety of bird calls. They ranged from the soft & gentle through to the loud & raucous, & it was all music to my ears.

I was however feeling a little disappointed that, although I had seen a huge variety of birds from a distance, I hadn't seen any of Australia's wonderful parrots close up enough to get a photo of any of them.

Late in the afternoon of the day before we flew home we visited John, a friend of Allan's, & what a treat I got! We sat out on a deck that surrounds the upper level of his home & watched as gradually the birds came in to feed. For me it was an 90 minutes of absolute bliss.

First the Ranbow Lorikeets arrived & hung out in a tree surveying the territory in order to make sure it was safe to go down & feed I expect.

Then came an Australian King Parrot, I held my breath as I watched him almost scared that the 'click' of my camera would scare him away.

No fear of that! He didn't waste too much time in surveillance & quickly went down to feed.

Next the Rainbow Lorikeets got brave & left the safety of the tree, scaring the King Parrot off in the process.

Meanwhile the Galahs had sent a scout to make sure the area was safe before the rest of the team came in to see what was on the days menu.

Every now & then something would spook the birds & they would all fly off, but up on the deck we had no such problem with a fearless & very curious visitor.

 

Back closer to ground level the bird restaraunt was positively humming with a rather diverse clientele of Galahs, King Parrot & Lorikeets.

Then a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo arrived!

When he went down there the Lorikeets took off...

Our friend up on the deck seemed to think he was special & entitled to a more personalised service.

He got it too! 

The Lorikeets gradually came back, bringing a Noisy Miner to the party with them. I guess they felt a little sorry for him - being so plain & all.

With the constant coming & going of the birds I'd almost given up hope of getting a photo of all of them together. Then.....

It appears that John is quite popular with the birds ;)