Finding joy in the everyday

I thought I would share some photos of the Sulpur-crested Cockatoos that are current in our neighbourhood. Opposite our house is a tree covered in seeds, these birds just love the seeds and on some evenings there can be up to 10 to 15 birds all trying to get their share of dinner. They aren't even afraid when I walk up close and they take no notice of Charlie Cat (they are way too big for her).   These are highly intelligent mischievous birds that can problem solves and do the naughtiest of things, such as eat anything wooden on your home or drop sticks on your head!  These are the ones that can talk, if taught and are often found in captivity. However I much prefer to see these in the wild like this. They can live for more than 70 years - a big commitment if you have one as a pet! When a group they can make quite a noise as they "chat" to each other.  Interestingly, whilst they can talk "human" (if taught), they will never copy the sounds of any other b...

DON'T PANIC STAY CALM Here is a beautiful and peaceful painting of butterflies to get your mind off the heading. Why am I talking about spiders today I hate spiders especially big spiders If one enters my home, it dies. But there is a purpose to this story . . . for some reason, perhaps because we have an increase in bugs this summer we have many more spiders in the garden . . . not the large ugly ones (well some only a mother could love) . . . and not nasty ones.  And what is incredible about them is their webs - they are building huge webs between flowers or trees to maximize their catch. Each evening the spiders repair or rebuild their webs and wait and see what they catch, most are doing very well - they have incredible patience when you think about it.  One particular web would be similar to me building a massive bridge on my own in just a few hours . . . it is an engineering masterpiece and I can't help but marvel at the skill of webmaker.  The only time I re...

I mentioned yesterday that I planned to learn something new (or many things) this year.  Well, my lesson started on Sunday morning when an echidna strolled into my garden and wanted to stay. What do you do with an echidna in your garden when the Parks and Wildlife rangers won't come and rescue it from suburbia.  For those not familiar with the echidna - they look a bit like a hedgehog just bigger  - covered in course hair and nasty spines - a mammal that lays eggs ( monotremes *) and can live for over 40 years.  When scared they roll into a ball, covering their head. They are native of Australia and can be found across the continent from the tropics to the mountains.  Echidnas eat ants and termites and use their sticky tongue to catch them. According to one website they are "not very bright". The first problem with our echidna - it wouldn't stand still.  It enjoyed eating some ants (must have been breakfast time) then it thought it would have a wander an...