Cucamelons (or mouse melons – Melothria scabra) were all the rage there for a year or two. For those who missed it, they’re little, melon shaped cucumbers. Very cute. And very, very prolific.
The figbird is not the only one nesting in our pecan tree, just off the verandah. The wagtail makes such a classic, neat nest. Come on baby wagtails. Hatch in time to knock out the cabbage moths.
It’s a great year for mozzies. This week they seem to have all metamorphosed from wrigglers at once, and for the first time we have had to start putting the mosquito net over our bed down of a night. Up until now, the control measures for mozzies have consisted of what we don’t do.
I’ve ticked off one of my New Year’s Resolutions. We’ve just come home from a week in wild weather at Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island – one of the most beautiful wild places on earth. I went swimming in the surf every day, collected seaweed for my seaweed brew, and walked around North Gorge every morning.
Can you see her? This fig bird and her mate have built a nest in the pecan tree just metres from our verandah. Males and females are supposed to take turns sitting but she seems to have been doing more than her fair share. The nest has been riotously buffeted in a big storm, the noisy minors have taken noisy offense to the gentrification of the area, a goanna has…
This post is full of contradictions. I’ve spent my Easter Saturday holiday getting very scratched and itchy, bitten by ticks and leeches, tired and sore, clearing lantana just so we could get to the worse weed – Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia). I had a wonderful morning doing it in a group with friends, really satisfying to see the difference we made in one session.
Spotted on my morning walk, a fine fat fellow looking very relaxed in a tree right next to our driveway. It is easy to imagine if you live in a city that wildlife is happily safely securely flourishing “somewhere else”. You hear about extinctions but maybe you don’t get just how profound it is.