Cee’s Share Your World ~ Week 18.

May 4, 2013May 4, 2013 Joanne18 Comments

My indoors girl, fourteen year old Phoebe.

When my blogging friend Carol answers the questions to “Cee’s Share Your World” each week, I really enjoy reading what she has to say. Sometimes her responses are definite, usually they sound as though she is thinking out loud as she comes up with her answers, and they are absolutely always fun to read! After Carol has shared just a little bit more about her world, at her blog “Wanderings of an Elusive Mind”, I realise that through her simple replies to Cee’s random questions, I have got to know Carol just that little bit better.

For quite a while now I have been “bumping into” Cee around the blogging world and have often thought I would like to join in with Share Your World. This morning, after seeing the questions and reading Carol’s answers, I have decided that today is the day, no more procrastinating. I’m not sure when the “week” begins and ends for Cee, so I’m assuming that Week 18 began on the day that Cee added her post with the questions, which was Monday, April 29th, allowing me a couple of days still to join in. If I have the rules wrong, I do hope that Cee will set me straight.

So here goes ~

What is your favorite animal?

Oh, that is an easy question. Even though I love many different animals, my ultimate favourite is most definitely cats. During my entire life, I think I have only been without a cat (or cats) in my world for a total of three years. To me, a house is not a home without at least one cat to share it with. My children have often joked that as I grow older, I will probably become the crazy cat woman, with cats all over the house. You may be right, kids! 😉

Miss Tibbs enjoying the sun this morning.

What is your favorite comfort snack food?

Chocolate! No question about it. And if the chocolate is dark (my latest delicious discovery), coffee or mint flavoured (or both!) all the better. 🙂

What subject would you like to study in depth, if given the time to do so?

Linguistics and English literature. I love reading, books, crosswords, the context and meanings of words, the written word. I even love pens, pencils and paper, being the instruments with which to write those words. And when computers and the internet became readily available, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! Words and writing fascinate me, I love written communication of any kind and I enjoy the play of the meanings and context that words can be used in. Gee, I could write a blog post for that answer!

Just one of the many bookcases in my home.

What object do you always have with you when traveling and why?

It took me a minute to think about that. My initial response was a camera, although thinking back, I haven’t always owned a camera. So, when I cast my mind back and thought about what it is that I always place in my packing pile first, when preparing to travel, it’s a book, or books. I have never in my entire life travelled without a book. Why? I can’t travel with my cat! Cats and books are my two absolute essentials in life.

Well that was fun, thanks Cee! Now I’m wondering why it has taken me so long to Share my World. 🙂

blessings · ducks · friends · gratitude

Quiet Sunday Morning.

February 10, 2013 Joanne11 Comments

It is around 8 am Sunday morning, as I linger over my beloved computer, amid the messy desk where I have dropped opened mail for over a week now. I’m stealing just a few moments, catching up with a few blogging friends, knowing that soon I must leave again.

Work beckons. I thought I had completed making most of the school uniforms (that is my business, I make school uniforms for a few local schools) for the children starting the new school year at the end of January. Apparently not. Sales of school uniforms this year have increased drastically from the last few years. Schools have under-estimated the quantities they would be needing. Which is a good thing really, as it suggests that the economy has improved in my area.

“Quack!” What was that I heard? Am I going quackers? Being so engrossed in reading about snow storms on the other side of the world, I almost missed the visitor I had in my own back garden!

"Is anyone awake yet? Where is everyone?" — “Is anyone awake yet? Where is everyone?”

Mr and Mrs Duck disappeared a few months ago. I’m positive that somewhere out there, they now have a cute little family of ducklings. I haven’t seen their family, but I have seen other Australian Wood Ducks around, who have cute little ducklings trailing behind. I see them often, toddling along the banks of the creek, which I pass on my way to work.

My own ducky friends returned at the end of last month. Both Mr and Mrs have been here a couple of times, but this morning it was just Mrs Duck, perched upon the side fence, quacking away to….who exactly was she quacking to? She didn’t say….

The day has begun so quietly, everyone in my house is having a Sunday morning sleep-in, and even the birds are quiet. It seems that in the bird-world, as well as in the people-world, one or the other is having a sleep in. Mr Magpie came for a visit, Mrs Magpie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's my breakfast?" — “Where’s my breakfast?”

The sun is shining, the air is still, and I must leave for work again.

It will be a productive day. I know that. How could it be anything other, when I started the day so beautifully? 🙂

blessings · challenges · friends · gardening · new beginnings · photography

Weekly Photo Challenge ~ My 2012 in Pictures

December 31, 2012December 31, 2012 Joanne20 Comments

The people at WordPress have challenged bloggers to search through their photographic archives for the last Weekly Photo Challenge for the year and for me, it hasn’t been easy to decide on which photos to choose for my final post of the year. I wonder how other bloggers have made their final choices and what has tilted the scales in favour of one photo, against another?

My main deciding factor has been to try to choose photos that I haven’t published this year, something perhaps just a tad different, although I must admit that I am a creature of habit. Nearly all of my photos could be filed under perhaps six headings ~ birds, my pets, my garden, sunsets, natural views and my family!

When I searched back to January, I had forgotten about the floods during that month! With the humidity of our Australian summer in our sub-tropical climate always present, January is not one of my favoured months weather wise, although the flood waters in our valley do make for a different view.

When the sun took a peek at the garden in February the flowers were thrilled, breaking out in bloom all over the place! I love these little trailing violets, a beautiful ground cover between the larger shrubs.

The humidity continued into March and the day I took a drive to Tyalgum, a small village about an hours drive from my home (and away from the coastal breezes!) the heat was almost unbearable! Some beautiful scenery along the way made up for the heat and it turned out to be a very pleasant trip after all.

During April, a visit to Fingal Beach was definitely a highlight of the month. This small child also appears to be enjoying himself, exploring the rock pool between the volcanic rocks along the beach.

This is one of my favourite photos of my Indian Ring Neck parrot, Charlie. When we brought Charlie home to live with us we had no idea whether Charlie was a he or a she, so he or she needed a name suited to either sex. I have recently reached the grand conclusion that Charlie is a she, as I’m sure she would have developed a brightly coloured ring around her neck by now, if she were a he. I love Charlie regardless, although the rest of my family don’t share my love for her. I seem to be Charlie’s “chosen person”, so she coos are tweets at me, allowing me to pat her and tickle her neck. It’s another story if another member of the family gets too close for comfort though! My little angel can be quite the devil at times!

During May, the photo-bug had set in big time for me and I had become the proud owner of my new “best friend”, a wonderful new Canon Powershot SX40 camera. The camera went with me everywhere (and usually still does!) and I enjoyed many an hour at the beach, taking photos of anything and everything. I love the simplicity of this long-legged bird walking through the ripples in the water.

Like I said, mid year I would photograph anything! I loved experimenting with anything that may (or may not) look good in a photo, trying out different angles, in varying light throughout the day. Standing between a clump of palm trees in the middle of the day, blue sky above, seed pods shimmering in the sunlight, turned out to be one of my successful photos!

Through experimenting with photos I have also discovered that certain birds are very photogenic, with our beautiful kookaburras being some of my favourite subjects. I’m sure they pose for me when they see the camera!

And speaking of posers, here is my adorable little garden helper. She also helps around the house, with the washing, making the bed, washing the dishes….but even an enthusiastic little helper needs to take a break some times!

My gorgeous friends the magpies are another photogenic subject. Not a day goes by without they visit my garden for some scraps of food and I am always rewarded with their happy, chortling song.

This little Butcher Bird is a fairly new visitor to my garden and he and his little mate have made themselves right at home during the latter part of this year.

How did the year come to an end so quickly? As I finish writing, it is a mere twenty minutes to midnight and I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! May 2013 bring you many blessings, happiness, good friends, loving family, and prosperity in everything you do.

Australia · friends · happiness · new · old house · photography

As “life” interrupts my dreams, of old loves and new….

December 23, 2012December 23, 2012 Joanne20 Comments

“Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” ~ Napoleon Hill

Really and truly, I must have rocks in my head to think I can consistently blog, on a regular basis, when I have so many unexpected interruption out in the “real world”!

At times, I do wonder which world is actually my “real world”, after I return to my blog, begin again to visit the blogs of my friends, and feel the warm and inviting sense of friendship and belonging which exists here in the Blogosphere. Do you feel it too, the friendship and caring that exists between the thousands of miles that span the world, when we visit with friends we have yet to meet? It’s the feeling of meeting up again with old friends, friends who mean the world to you, friends who you could not imagine life without, now that you have met.

For the last few weeks I have been mostly working, although I have managed to fit in some very enjoyable days, hours and moments. Photos have been taken, time has been spent with “offline” friends, I’ve even managed to fit in a weeks holiday….

About three hours drive north of here, at Noosa in Queensland, there is a resort that my family and I have visited for over fifteen years now. I call it my “home away from home” and we have managed a short break there recently. I love spending time in and around Noosa and thought I had explored every single corner of the area, until this visit.

I fell totally and absolutely in love with a secluded little corner of land, just a few minutes drive from Noosa, which I had never visited before. I didn’t even know this place existed! It is a remote little corner, tucked out-of-the-way of the main roads, with a huge lake and just a few streets lined with cosy little homes. That’s it. No shops. No clubs. No schools. Nothing. Just the lake, with an atmosphere of joy and love and happiness. And promises of time spent strolling along the water, feeling the gentle breeze dancing across your skin and listening to the water calmly rippling over your feet as you stand beside the shore….

….or sitting beside the shore of the lake in a tiny, fold-up chair, just passing the time of day reading, or drifting along in the water in a little boat, which you find hidden away in among the trees.

Such a beautiful dream, which may one day become a reality.

As I dream of my new-found love, Christmas is approaching, there are puddings to prepare, mince pies to bake and Christmas cakes to ice. Yes, the “real world” is calling me again and I must answer her call….

Australia · blessings · ducks · freedom · friends

It’s All a Matter of Trust

July 11, 2012 Joanne18 Comments

adult honeyeater — An adult “Honey Eater”

It was only fairly recently that I noticed a new breed of visitors to my garden. At first I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me, or the varying light of day changed the colour of the birds, as some seemed to have a brilliant blue colouring around their eyes, whilst others didn’t!

With the help of a few Google searches, the mystery was solved. “Honey Eaters” develop the beautiful blue “eyeshadow” when they reach maturity, around the age of sixteen months, whilst the younger birds must stay content with a rather dull beige eyeshadow in their youth.

Whatever did we do before the days of Google for research? (Oh, now I remember, we used books for research! I must invest in a good Australian bird identifier book.)

baby honeyeater — A young Honey Eater. The day will soon come when he can wear the “adult” eyeshadow!

At the end of June, The “Australian Wood Ducks”, who have chosen my swimming pool as their own personal duck pond, were still rather timid, and all the photos I took of this charming pair having breakfast near to the back of my house were taken through the window, so as not to frighten them away.

Well, the good news is, we are now old friends, and they seem quite content to walk around my paved area, pecking away at the bread scraps that I leave out for them, even when I’m out in the garden with them!

These two photos were taken as I sat quietly on the pavers, with the pair of them only about three metres away, taking photo after photo! They occasionally looked my way (especially Sir Drake, who is rather protective of his lady friend!) and continued with their pecking.

mother duck — Mother Duck. Well, she will be a mother one day later this year, when the breeding season begins.

The ducks have become rather possessive of the garden, and seem to think they have first dibs on the bread too. When a pair of “Rainbow Lorikeets” visited last week, the ducks wasted no time in making sure the lorikeets knew who was there first!

The lorikeets rarely visit my garden, and when this pair dropped by for breakfast I had hoped they would return. Unfortunately, they haven’t, so I wonder what the ducks said to them? Perhaps the ducks offended the lorikeets!

Mother and father magpie have visited me for a long time now. This pair are my “old faithfuls” and swoop down to me when they see me walking out of the back door. They are so tame, have their own individual personalities, and bring me so much pleasure with their regular visits.

The magpies brought their three baby magpies to us when they were old enough to leave their nest. I always knew when the babies were in the garden, they made so much noise! My maternal instincts delighted at the sight of the baby birds squawking at their parents, as the pieces of bread were passed from parent beak to baby beak.

3 maggies — The three siblings, who have visited my garden since baby-bird-hood.

If you compare the black of the adult magpies to the black areas of the babies feathers, you will see that the babies feathers are mottled black. The mottling will eventually become full glossy black, but even then, I will recognise “my” babies. They are the birds who know me, trust me, and walk straight up to me when I’m in the garden.

As much as I enjoy using words as a means of communication, and writing words in my blog posts, birds and animals bring something extremely meaningful to my life. It’s a form of communication where no words are needed, yet friendship and trust are developed over time.

All that is needed is a feeling, and a heart. 🙂

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

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