Since I started feeding the wild birds who visit my garden, on a regular basis, word must have got around among the Feathered Friends Kingdom that easy to come by food is available in the backyard where the magpies congregate.
When Kathy from Lake Superior Spirit paid me a virtual visit the other day, she told me that she would like to hear a kookaburra laughing.
Well Kathy, rarely do you ever hear just one kookaburra laughing! Even if you only see one kookaburra in the garden, as soon as one begins to laugh, before you know it you have a whole symphony of Laughing Jackasses (the largest members of the Kingfisher family) going hard at it! The whole family is never too far away.
Some days I have eight kookies perched on my clothesline. They prefer meaty treats, but also seem quite content to settle for sharing the bread with the magpies, and various other feathered visitors.
I found this link to the laugh of kookaburras, which sounds true to the real sound. You don’t want to be too close to them when one of them cracks a joke, because their laughter will deafen you!
What’s so funny, eh?
I had intended adding more photos of my other, not so loud, birdie visitors here today, but will save their photos for tomorrow, (or Thursday), for the simple fact that the kookaburras prefer to steal the limelight!
I’m sure all the other birds will thank me for allowing them their own moment in the spotlight, without those comedian kookaburras overshadowing them! 😉
How does a “non addictive” personality type become totally, utterly, completely, ridiculously addicted to taking photos?
“My name is Joanne, and I am a photo-holic”.
Do you think that may help me to overcome my addiction? I’m not so sure myself. Photography is such a fulfilling pass time, so why would I even consider “getting over it”? And it is a well-known fact that to make the decision to change something, you have to want to make the change!
And you know what? I don’t want to give up photography!
I do have one teeny-weeny problem though, that my addiction to photography has created; my blog is suffering, and that is something that I do want to change!
So tonight, even though the hour is late, and all good photo-holics should be taking themselves off to bed, to curl up, keep warm, and read some more of the new book they have just begun, here I am, adding a photo or two here, because they are too beautiful to not share.
We have seen some magical sunsets over the last few days. Perhaps not the stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks type of sunsets, with the brilliant dazzle of reds, oranges and golds, but more subdued sunsets.
The sky has just a subtle hint of colour, the air is cool and the fireplace is keeping the house comfortable and warm. They are the kind of nights when all you really want to do is get up close, as close as the heat will let you, to the fireplace, curl up in a ball and go to sleep.So here’s the plan ~ even if time does not permit, even if all I want to do is curl up in a cosy ball with my really good book, even if I’m tired, I will take a few moments to add some photos here, most days.
Perhaps not every day. Some days become crazy and I really need forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four. Don’t we all have days like those?
Oh, but before I take myself off to “cozy book reading land”, here’s another photo of the sky. Doesn’t this winter moon look incredible? My new camera is just the best gadget I have ever owned in my life!
It was back in February this year that I first introduced my pair of very welcome visitors to my back garden. They have been the most elusive couple, and extremely camera-shy, but I recently had the opportunity of encouraging them so stay just a little longer.
Each morning I feed the birds when they visit my garden. The visitors, including kookaburras, magpies, minors and honey eaters, have all become progressively more and more trusting of me, these days congregating within a metre of my feet as I drop a few crumbs of bread for them all to nibble on.
Out of the corner of my eye a few mornings ago, I noticed a flash of “something”, followed by a huge splash! into my swimming pool. The ducks are back!
Mr. Drake
Needing some form of encouragement for the ducks to stick around, while I quietly dashed inside to grab my camera, I flung a few chunks of bread down to the pool area, which the ducks noticed immediately.
Exploring the yard.
The camera I have used during the past month has become my new best friend. I’m totally obsessed with photography since getting this camera about a month ago. (Obsessed to the point of neglecting my blog, you may have noticed!)
Sharing the birds bread.
The zoom on my new camera is brilliant! There are so many options available to play around with that I’m feeling like quite the photographer these days! My camera is rarely far from my side, and it’s not unusual for me to take at least fifty to one-hundred photos each day.
Well, the chunks of bread throw into the pool area did the trick, the ducks lingered, whilst I clicked away, photo after photo, from this angle and that. Even when the cute little couple waddled down further into the garden away from the pool, pecking at the grass, I still clicked away, the result being around eighty photos of, well, just the ducks!
So close to the house.
This story gets even better though. (I’m hoping at this point that I’m not the only person in the world who is extremely excited by a pair of ducks choosing my back yard to hang out in!) The ducks came back the next day, but this visit, they came right up to the house, sharing the birds bread, just a few steps away from my back door!
Surveying the yard ~ A new view of the world.
It doesn’t get much better than this. Okay, maybe it could; imagine if they will eventually become so trusting that they would eat out of my hand! Am I being too optimist?After quite a bit of research I have learned that this handsome couple are “Australian Wood Ducks”. The breeding season is around November, when the female lays eight to ten eggs. I wonder if they will one day bring their ducklings to visit?
“If only we lost our minds and arrived at our hearts.” ~ Robert James Waller.
My interest in photography is opening up a whole new world to me. There is such great enjoyment in losing my mind and following my heart, during the pursuit of capturing another image with my camera.
“One day I will go there, when I have the time” has been replaced by “I’ll go there right now!”. And so much for my old way of thinking, when I had imagined that stopping off somewhere, just for a few minutes, would throw my schedule out for the day. Since forgetting about my schedule, real or imaginary, I am finding that the days are not only becoming more enjoyable after my “photo-fix”, I’m actually achieving more overall, throughout each day!
A walk across the bridge will lead to....
This gorgeous footbridge, part of a parkland area in Tweed Heads alongside the Tweed River, is a perfect example of ‘doing things, one day’. For so many years I have admired the bridge, as I have whizzed past in my car, never stopping, but intending to stop ‘one day’.
The Tweed River
On a fine sunny day, just as we have enjoyed during these last couple of weeks, the river to the right of the bridge is simply beautiful….
The canals
….and to left, the river continues on into the man-made canals, which back on to an exclusive residential area.
The first thing you see is the playground...
Heading over to the other side of the river, the first thing you see is the children’s playground. I’m sure that the only time I have ever seen this play area empty is at night, and during a storm!
....and all the activity!
Beside the park is a boat ramp, which can always be seen being used, either by private or day-tripper boats. The bridge in the distance is the main traffic bridge over the Tweed River, which leads into Tweed Heads.
Shade for all, including the seagulls.
The park is full of huge old trees, providing an endless amount of shade. Just across the road from the park is a fabulous fish and chip shop, which I must admit we don’t go to often, as the wait is so long! But they have previously been voted the best fish and chip shop in the Tweed area.
Fishing off the pier.
It’s also a popular fishing spot, where my son and his mates have often spent hours fishing, during their school holidays. (Well, most of the time trying to catch fish, but they don’t mind if they go home empty-handed, which they often do!)
Under the bridge...
When you go under the bridge, there’s even more to be seen, especially if you know what you’re looking for, which I don’t! Luckily for me, my husband does….
....there's more to be seen!
….in among the mangroves, where fresh oysters grow. My husband tells me that mangroves such as these are crucial to the ecology of the Tweed River.
Looking down at the mangroves.
As we head back over the bridge and back to the car, we look down again towards the water. My husband is enthralled by the oysters….
….I see our shadows, and another moment to freeze for all time with my camera. 🙂
“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has the power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.” ~ Eleanora Duse.
Every single aspect of the Point Danger Lookout had the power to move me this week, and indeed, I did rejoice!
A beautiful sight.
And I believe that I was not the only one affected. There were people everywhere, walking, taking photos, or simply sitting and passing the time of day. No one seemed to be in any hurry to leave.
The morning sunlight, glistening across the ocean.
There was magic in the air; filling the blue skies, the crashing waves, and the green grass.
The highrise buildings of Surfer’s Paradise showed up clearly along the horizon.
Surfer's Paradise in the distance.
In the next photo, you can see that even a seagull was flying high! You may have to click on the photo to enlarge it though, to see him soaring across the sky in front of the rays from the sun.
Flying high.
Whichever way I turned I could see, and feel, the gentle energy in the air. Was it the sun? The ocean? The sounds of the waves?
Who cares! It was there to enjoy, and enjoy I did.The car park was full, yet there was hardly any traffic sounds. The “Sounds of Nature” dominated every sense I have.
A full car park, trees and buildings framed by the blue sky.
I took this last photo through my car window, as I was about to leave. I had noticed a couple who had stopped to admire the ocean, and a magpie who had momentarily stopped walking along the grass. As I started up my car, the couple headed in one direction, the magpie in the other.
We were all on our way...
We were all headed off, on our way to who knows where, each having shared just a little touch of magic.
In My World 