“There was no sign of anybody, no sound of voices or feet. Tubs of arum lilies stood about on the stone floor, and on a table flamed a huge bunch of fierce nasturtiums. Spacious, flowery, silent, with the wide window at the end opening into the garden, and the Judas tree absurdly beautiful in the sunshine, it seemed….too good to be true.” ~ The Enchanted April.
On the last day of January I wanted, no, needed, to remember the joys of this month, as this, the middle month of the most harsh season of the year draws to a close.
I had spent the day alone, at home, with not a soul in sight; no sound of voices or feet. I don’t know why I looked outside when I did. I am so glad I did though, for there, just outside the door of my home, were my two old friends the Australian Wood Ducks, regular visitors to my garden who I haven’t seen since early September.
In that moment, all of the heat, rain, floods and cyclones of January didn’t seem to matter any more. Seeing these two creatures, so absurdly beautiful, having returned to my garden at long last, was truly enchanting. I had almost forgotten how beautiful they are, but only almost.
January is the month the ducks returned; January will remain in my memory as being an enchanting month.
“Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscle
I said, “Do you speak-a my language?”
He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich…” ~ Land Down Under, Men at Work.
A whole two years ago I wrote about our beloved Australian icon ~ Vegemite. (Was it really two years ago? Wow, that time flew by awfully fast!)
How could I write a series of posts about Australian Icons without mentioning it again?
And I still enjoy my Vegemite sandwiches as much now as I did back then. The main point that I really must emphasise about eating Vegemite, be it on a sandwich or on toast, is please do not add too much! It has a very strong flavour, so use sparingly!
See, you only need add a thin layer of Vegemite to your toast. Less is more! 😉
Have any of my blogging friends from overseas ever had the opportunity to taste Vegemite?
If you haven’t tasted our famous National Icon, would you try it, if given the opportunity?
You may have heard this Australian “anthem” of sorts before, “Down Under” by Men at Work, as it was released in a number of countries throughout the world back in the early 1980’s. It was also the theme song of the Australia II camp, during Australia’s successful challenge of the Americas Cup in 1983.
Oh, and it was also played by “Men at Work” during the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games, held in Sydney, Australia.
Vegemite is mentioned in this song as well, so go on, have a listen. Does it sound familiar to you?
Post Script ~ After Sybil asked in her comment whether Vegemite is similar to Marmite I made some further investigations. Whilst they are very similar, the taste is different (well, to the palate of an Australian it is!) I have discovered that Vegemite contains malt extract, which is made from barley. Apparently, Marmite (an English product) doesn’t, therefore I will take this one difference in ingredience as confirming that my taste-buds are right!
Another interesting fact, the birth of Vegemite took place in Melbourne, Australia, in 1922. It was first made by the Fred Walker Cheese Company but it took a while to catch on, as Aussies were used eating Marmite on their morning toast. In 1937, Fred Walker decided to promote Vegemite by holding a limerick competition, offering substantial prizes, and from that moment on, the Aussies have been smitten. Fred Walker knew that Australia needed a brand new Australian Icon, obviously! 😉
The entire story of the history of Vegemite can be found at vegemite.com.au. I’ve even discovered that the old Vegemite advert, which I remember seeing on television as a child, is on You Tube!
Who would have known that there is so much information on the internet about Vegemite? I’m learning so much myself from writing this! 🙂
“Well it’s a happenin’ thing
And it’s happenin’ to you
Full moon and thunder
Ribbons of blue
Ice on the window
Ice in my heart
Foolin’ with thunder
Every time we start…” ~ Rain, Marc Hunter and Dragon.
“I’ll have to get rid of those new bunches of seeds off the palms, or we’ll have them dropping into the pool”, announced my husband a couple of weeks ago.
“Don’t cut them down!” I protested. “When they are ripe enough the birds will want to eat them!”
So they stayed , and this morning the Honey Eaters discovered they were ready for the picking. What a lovely time they had, dangling from the berry branches as they ate breakfast in the rain! We can clean the pool up later.
Another wet and gloomy day for the humans, but the birds don’t seem to mind.
The rain hasn’t stopped all day, with warnings of treacherous weather frightening many people into staying indoors. Shop owners are closing the doors to their shops, the streets have hardly any traffic and the beaches are all but empty. The temperature has dropped to twenty-four degrees celsius and the humidity is ninety-four percent.
And here we are, smack bang in the middle month of summer, on our Australia Day weekend!
When I began my week of “Australian Icon” posts I hadn’t bargained on this horrendous weather taking hold. How can I show you photos of the golden beaches of the Gold Coast in this weather? I’ll just have to extend my Australian Icon week for a day or two, or until the sun returns, whichever comes first.
High tide at the jetty.
High tide was around 11 am this morning, so we went to the jetty to take a few photos, then drove around the corner to the deserted park. Every weekend during summer the park is chock-full of families, picnicking by the river. Today, there was not a soul in sight.
I felt so sorry for the seagulls in the park. They know this is the place to go to be fed, but today the feeders were nowhere to be seen! I guess they’ll have to hunt for their own dinner today.
The Crested Tern ~ mother and son perhaps?
Keeping the seagulls company today were a couple of other birds that I haven’t seen before, one of which I have identified as the Crested Tern. The Tern is closely related to the Seagull and the cousins intermingled together in the rain swept park and along the edges of the river.
Australian Pied Oyster Catcher.
This funny looking long-legged fellow is an Australian Pied Oyster Catcher. I’m surprised not to have seen him in the park before. There are oyster beds in the mangroves nearby, so they should be able to help themselves to an oyster or two any time they are feeling peckish.
Too wet to leave the car, this photo was taken looking through the windscreen.
My son Adam wanted to see how the surf was, with the waves reported to be higher than usual today, so we took a drive up to Point Danger to have a look at Duranbah Beach and the mouth of the Tweed River.
Fierce choppy waves at Duranbah Beach.
As we had expected, the surf looked pretty ordinary and only the brave, or the very foolish, were out for a swim. We counted the grand total of two people swimming at this very popular surfing beach.
Dangerous conditions.
The mouth of the river is hazardous at the best of times, even for boats and fishing trawlers. Today, the rough seas were crazy.
My Australian song for today is, appropriately, “Rain” from the Australian/New Zealand band Dragon. The sun is predicted to return by Tuesday. I wonder if it will? Probably “yes”, as that is the day the work week begins again…. and I suppose you have all heard of “Murphy’s Law”!
I had some fabulous ideas of the photos I would take to show you all our beautiful sunshine, the beaches, and the way so many Australians in my beachside area celebrate the anniversary of the first day of English settlement in our land of sunshine. You would see photos of families enjoying bar-be-ques at the overcrowded beaches and the Australian flag flying proudly against the brilliant blue sky, fluttering in the breeze. Can you just image it?
Deserted beach.
So what happened today? It rained, all day, so I had to resort to Plan B and you will all have to be content with imagining the blue sky!
But that’s okay, we Australians are used to making the most out of a less than perfect situation. You’ve all heard the stories about the days when the first fleet of eleven ships arrived in Sydney Cove, on the 26th of January, 1788, headed by Captain Arthur Phillip, haven’t you? The one thousand, five hundred and thirty people who arrived on those ships, seven hundred and thirty six of whom were convicts, had to make the most of the inhospitable conditions they were faced with upon their arrival.
I wasn’t the only person out taking photos today. Another blogger perhaps?
“Farewell to old England forever,
Farewell to my old pals as well,
Farewell to the well known Old Bailey,
Where I used for to cut such a swell.” ~ Lyrics, Botany Bay.
Keen to catch a wave.
All I needed to work around today was a bit of rain. Well, it was quite a bit of rain actually, so I took my planned photos between the showers. And it was nothing compared to the less than ideal conditions the first fleet had to deal with!
Roads and car parking areas, usually with cars queuing up for miles whilst waiting for a parking spot, were almost empty in comparrison to previous summer’s days.
Adventurous Pup!
I did spot a couple of interesting sights, besides the very keen surfers, who were prepared to brave the rain (they get wet swimming anyway!) despite the weather. This little pup seemed to enjoy taking a bike ride with its owner….
And I also saw a man, wearing a fluorescent shirt, unicycling along the beach side path at Kirra Point.
On a bicycle built for…one?
Our “Australian of the Year” was announced today and this year it is Australian media icon, Ita Buttrose.
Ita became one of the most recognised faces on Australian television during the 1970’s and 80’s when she began filming advertisements for the magazine which she was then the editor of, the Australian Women’s Weekly. Ita was awarded the title of Australian of the Year 2013 for “her media career as well as her commitment to not-for-profit organisations, including president of Alzheimers Australia.”
In 1980, Australian rock and roll band Cold Chisel recorded their hit song “Ita”, written about Ita Buttrose. In honour of our newly named Australian of the Year, my Aussie song for today is “Ita” by Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel.
Happy Australia Day! 🙂
“Every week, in every home
She got wholesome news for the family
I believe, I believe, in what she says
Yes I do
I believe, I believe, at the end of the day
Her magazine’ll get me through…”
“Flamingos Kookaburras walk, and sway in peace
Seeing this, it makes my troubles cease
The sun is hiding, leaving a pink scar
That stretches right across the sky….” ~ A Touch of Paradise sung by John Farnham.
Regular visitors will have become quite familiar with the next Australian icon I am featuring here, as part of my series of Australia Day posts ~ The Laughing Kookaburra.
Every time a kookaburra visits, it really is a Touch of Paradise in my back yard. Now would be the perfect time to click on the link of the song, written by the wonderful Australian musician Ross Wilson, and performed by John Farnham.
Now back to the kookaburras….
Kookaburras are part of the Kingfisher family, growing to a height on average of 42 cm. They are native to Australia, territorial and mate for life.
Their nests are made in the hollows of trees and both parents share the duties of caring for their young.
From watching the kookaburras each day as they come to feed in my garden, there are certain points I have noticed about their behaviour. Reading through the facts, so as I can tell you all a few actual factuals about these most recognisable of Australian birds, it is interesting to read about things that I have already noted!
Territorial groups of kookaburras flock together.
For example, they don’t arrive on my feeding table in pairs only, I can have any number of kookaburras here, sometimes up to eight at the same time, who intermingle amicably with one another. The facts confirm this to be so, that they do cohabit in a set area, even sharing the responsibilities of their young.
That explains another thing I have noticed about the young kookaburras, they will take food from any of the adults at the feeding table.
A timid baby, still finding its way in the big world.
So who belongs to who? Which adults do the baby kookaburras belong to?
It seems to me that in the Kingdom of Kookaburras, it simply doesn’t matter! The babies are taken care of by the multitudes. I guess you could say they watch out for each others backs!
Creamy coloured babies, like chocolate and milk.
The beautifully pristine and gloriously coloured baby birds are still quite shy when I take their food out to them, preferring to stay on the clothesline and watch me from afar….
….and then there’s Larry.
This is Larry on the left, taking care of his, or perhaps another kookaburras baby. Who knows in the Kookaburras World. They all look out for one another.
Have I mentioned my old mate Larry before? He’s my Ultimate Tame Bird, out of all the birds who visit. I can hand feed Larry, he flies straight up to me and looks straight into my eyes, often with his head tilted to one side, as if questioning me.
If only he could tell me what he is thinking! A penny for your thoughts Larry?
When I asked my daughter Emma to feed Larry for me, so as I could take a photo of him being hand fed, Larry was a tad reluctant. “Who’s this?”, he seemed to be asking!
When I am in the garden there is usually a kookaburra nearby. As much as I would like to think they are enjoying my company, the reality is that they are hoping I will rearrange some earth, disturb a worm or witchety grub, and faster than the bug can say “kookaburra”, it’s been swooped upon, flicked against a hard surface and eaten!
“There’s gotta be a worm in here somewhere!”
Kookaburras will perch patiently on the branch of a tree for hours, watching, and waiting. Their eagle kookaburra eyes don’t miss a thing and once spotted, their prey doesn’t stand a chance!
Watching, waiting….
As the old wives tale would lead us to believe the kookaburras burst out into great choruses of laughter when there is rain about, and in years gone by housewives would swear by the accuracy of this tale, rushing into the garden to bring the washing in when the kookaburras started their song of so-called warning.
The truth of the matter is that their laughter is a warning….for other kookaburras to clear off! They are telling any stray kookies who may be lurking amid the nearby foliage that this area is taken!
Yes, this area is taken, by the Kings of the Bush, who have transformed my garden into A Touch of Paradise. 🙂
In My World 