Blissful, Enchanting April ~ Part 2.

April 30, 2013 Joanne16 Comments

“Suddenly to be transported to that place where the air was so still that it held its breath, where the light was so golden that the most ordinary things were transfigured – to be transported into that delicate warmth, that caressing fragrance…..” ~ The Enchanted April, Elizabeth Von Arnim (1922).

The month of April really has been the most enchanting month, with the sun’s rays losing the harshness of summer, yet the cooler winter air has not yet arrived. More and more flowers are breaking out in bloom as each new day arrives, the breeze is the gentlest I have felt it in a long time and the birds flittering around the garden are just happy to be alive.

I’m happy to be alive; I wouldn’t want to miss out on a single day spent in the garden at this most beautiful time of year.

“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.” ~ Lindley Karstens.

A favorite in the garden, my Tibouchina tree.

The bees are buzzing, the butterflies are fluttering, and oh how I love to get my hands in the soil. I can feel a trip to my local garden centre is imminent, and I’ll probably arrive home with way more plants than I intended, but that okay, there’s always room for just one more beauty in the garden.

During the last couple of weeks I have made two Lemon Meringue Pies, which is Ben’s favourite, as my lemon tree branches are overloaded, almost to breaking point, with huge, juicy lemons.

If there’s one thing I enjoy as much as gardening, it would have to be picking freshly grown fruit and vegetables straight from the garden and bringing them indoors to devour with my family.

“In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.” ~ Abram L. Urban.

Tomorrow, when the month of May is here, I expect the weather will begin to cool down somewhat and by June we will all be wearing warm jumpers again for perhaps two or three months. These photos belong to April though, and needed to be shared before we bid April goodbye again for another eleven months.

This has been the most Enchanting April I can remember, ever. Did I say that about last April? Perhaps. But that’s okay. I will probably go into raptures over my garden and the wonders of nature all over again next April as well.

“….April came along softly like a blessing, and if it were a fine April it was so beautiful that it was impossible not to feel different, not to feel stirred and touched.” ~ The Enchanted April.

I’ve spent so much time in the garden lately that I have hardly found any time to read at all. I have come across more books written by Elizabeth Von Arnim though, including “Elizabeth and her German Garden” and “The Solitary Summer”. Being the keen gardener that she was, it is little wonder that Elizabeth was able to describe the beauty of the gardens at San Salvatore in “The Enchanted April” so poetically.

Mind your manners now.... — Mind your manners now….

“It pleases me to take amateur photographs of my garden, and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look professional.” ~ Robert Brault.

All of my regular feathered friends continue to visit me for their breakfast and dinner each day. Their little in-built timers tell them all to arrive at around 7 am each morning, then again at around 4:30 pm. The Kookaburras dominate, the Magpies seem to rank second in the chain and my sweet little Butcher Birds are left to clean up the dregsy remains. (We don’t let the Kookaburras and Magpies know it, but I usually take out a little something extra for the Butcher Birds after the others have left.)

My hours spent in my garden will always be blissful. It doesn’t matter at all whether I am watering the garden, feeding the birds, digging out weeds or planting new flowers, my garden transports me to another world, a blissful world, an enchanting world…..

…..an Enchanted April.

If you missed Part 1 of my April gardening photos, you will find them at “Three Hours of Gardening Bliss ~ Part 1”.

Australia · autumn · blessings · gardening · photography

Three Hours of Gardening Bliss ~ Part 1.

April 26, 2013 Joanne15 Comments

A Noisy Miner bird, watching me gardening from the safety of the lemon tree branches.

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” ~ May Sarton.

Mother Nature has waved her magic wand over our autumn days here in the Tweed Valley during the past week and today I have spent three hours in the garden, achieving much, yet feeling more energised at the end of the toil than I did before I began.

Miss Tibbs adds even more meaning to my time spent in the garden.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero.

I would change the above quote slightly, to read, “If you have a garden to share with a fury friend or two, along with a few feathered friends, you have everything you need. If you also have a library, where you can sit quietly with a book whilst your aches and pains disappear after the gardening, with a hot cup of coffee, you are doubly blessed.”

Another recent regular visitor to the skies above my home, a Brahminy Kite.

The blue skies were dotted with clouds of a million-and-one shades of white and grey today. A pair of Brahminy Kites flew silently overhead, but I could only get one at a time in a photo. You’ll have to take my word for it, there were definitely two Kites here today.

Massive balls of cotton wool, floating overhead.

“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” ~ Gertrude Jekyll.

There were a few grey clouds among the white balls of fluffy cotton clouds, yet the sun continued to shine all day long.

Look at that intense shade of blue in the sky!

Looking up at the expanse of blue sky with the explosions of white clouds can be absolutely breath-taking on a day like today.

Miss Tibbs so enjoys her time in the garden.

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Miss Tibbs and I are totally on the same page when we are in the garden together. I can completely relate to the way she rolls and rolls over the grass, with the sun shining and warm on her silky fur, showing her absolute delight in the garden.

When I crawled under my Tibouchina tree to remove a few weeds (and as my hands were playfully grabbed by Miss Tibbs), I came across this magnificent red flower. Actually, there were more than one of these flowers on the plant. It may be a Bromeliad, but I’m not absolutely sure.

My Camellia is covered in precious pink flowers this autumn, so delicate and beautiful. Even the fallen petals still look absolutely glorious.

The overseer of all things garden related.

“What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.” ~ Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871.

My only complaint about gardening is the aches and pains I feel in my body when I return indoors. If the discomfort is there whilst I’m gardening, it wasn’t noticed today, although I have become familiar with a few previously unknown muscles tonight! But it isn’t really a bad complaint. Gardening wouldn’t be gardening without the excercise.

My beautiful Tess came down to the garden with me today too. She’s ten now and she hurt her front paw a couple of years ago, which has left her walking with a limp. Tess doesn’t venture too far from the house nowadays, but she did enjoy her time in the sun today.

Always alert, always the Protector of Family and Home, Tess doesn’t rest for too long, but a word of reassurance had her enjoying her place in the sun again before long.

Is there any Chai tea left for Miss Tibbs to share?

As I headed back towards the house, Miss Tibbs sat on my garden seat, next to my empty mug. Was she telling me it was time for another coffee break?

“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.” ~ Mirabel Osler.

I don’t know if I smile when I am spending time in the garden. I’m not conscious of physically smiling, but I’m always aware of smiling on the inside!

“In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.” ~ Dodinsky.

I have more photos to share of my time in the garden today and will add those here next time, but for now I will end today with a photo of the beautiful moon I saw tonight, smiling down at the front door of my home. 🙂

Do you see the face of the man in the moon? :) — Do you see the face of the man in the moon? 🙂

Australia · gardening · photography

A Touch of Paradise ~ The Kookaburra Kingdom

January 25, 2013 Joanne8 Comments

“~~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.

kookie 2 — 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 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!" — “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.... — 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. 🙂

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 · blessings · gardening · gratitude · spring

September

September 29, 2012 Joanne15 Comments

“Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.” ~ Try to Remember lyrics by Tom Jones.

I believe that September may very well be my favourite month of the year, a month when the cooler days of winter are almost over, the nights are pleasantly cooler and comfortable for sleeping and the garden is springing back to life after a few dormant months.

Having said how much I enjoy the month of September, I may contradict myself by proclaiming another month to be my favourite at a later date! It all depends on how I have spent that month in question, and I have to say, I have found something delightful in every day of this month, especially in the garden.

The new plants in my garden are growing beautifully, most looking as if they have been well established in their positions for months, even though they are very young.

I’m not much of a shopper, but let me loose in a garden centre and that’s a whole other story! Over the years I have had to teach myself some discipline, only buying plants that I know I have the room for in the garden.

On my most recent shopping trip for plants, I actually took a shopping list with me, just as I would if I were going to the supermarket. I’m very pleased that I had a place prepared for every plant I came home with.

Tomatoes are one of my favourite edible plants. Shop bought tomatoes lose their flavour after being stored in the refrigerator; not so with home-grown tomatoes, which can easily be picked when needed and enjoyed at room temperature.

Poinsettias are at their best, with equal amounts of light and dark throughout a twenty-four hour period, and last Saturday, the day of the Spring Equinox, my potted poinsettia looked stunning!

One thing I’m not looking forward to as the weather warms is flies! I’ve spotted the odd one or two, but not too many just yet. I did find one though, unexpectedly, perched on the petals of one of my newly planted flowers!

During the late mornings and early afternoons, the birds have taken to singing the most joyful spring songs, high up on the branches, among the thick foliage of the tallest of the trees! I’ve zoomed my camera in on a few birds that I didn’t recognise, and have discovered that we have had a few unusual visitors lately.

One of the birds, a Spangled Drongo, has tail feathers which look like a fishes tail! He seemed to be alone when I spotted him, dangling from an unopened palm leaf.

Other new visitors, known as a Figbirds, arrived in their multitudes! I only managed a decent photo of the female Figbird, although their were males here also. The main difference between the two was the red ring around the male’s eyes.

My faithful regulars, the Magpies, have a nest nearby and when the adults collect food and fly to the nest, I have often heard the tiny cheap-cheap sounds of the baby birds! I’m looking forward to meeting the new babies, when mama and papa bring them to visit, as I’m sure they will do eventually.

As I feed the adult birds, I wonder if they are he same baby birds I have become familiar with in previous years, who have grown up, losing their mottled black and white feathers, and now having the developed their predominant shiny black feathers.

The little Noisy Miners have already brought a baby or two to visit. I love the soft, downie feathers of the baby birds. Imagine how soft those spring baby feathers must be.

This month has also seen the arrival of some bright green frogs! I really, really enjoy the sound of the croaking frogs when it rains! They live in the rock walls around our house and I love catching a glimpse of them every once in a while. They are rather shy creatures though. I think this one that I found, sitting among my new plants, must have been a grandfather frog! He was one big froggy!!

Another sign of the changing season has been the sugar cane fires and the harvesting of the sugar cane. I managed to zoom in successfully on a cane truck the other day, way down in the valley, where the fields of cane had been harvested and the trucks were being loaded with the cane, ready to head off to the sugar cane mill in nearby Condong.

Another bonus of the warmer weather is being able to sleep with the windows open! The warmer nights of September have allowed us to leave some windows open, and the fresh and gentle scents of the outdoors are wonderful, wafting in on the nighttime breeze. Miss Tibbs, however, prefers to sleep outdoors, under the foliage, when the weather permits.

The swimming pool is ready for us to jump into when the hot summers days reach us. None of us have been brave enough to try the water this early in the season, although my two boys did go to the beach last weekend. They didn’t stay too long though, and came home with stories of the surprisingly warm water for this time of the year.

I think that the last word for September should go to the Kookaburras, those happy little chappies who laugh all year ’round, no matter what conditions the weather brings!

“Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.”

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