Owls and Orchids

Black Cockatoo pair

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”   ― Henry David Thoreau,

It’s been a while since I looked through my photos and I realised there were, not just a few, but a lot that I had taken. The term “snap happy” came to mind, but with it came the realisation that I was storing lots of memories of the outings we’ve had. What made it more important was the knowledge that all the excursions didn’t revolve around doctors and tests. Certainly they were there, but interspersed with them were the moments when we could forget that we had been running around “just for that reason.” So I decided to compile a cross section of the things which took me away from the doctors and tests and back into the light hearted day, or night, and revel in the beauty of nature and life.

Yesterday it seemed like a strange way to start the day by grabbing the camera, but Black Cockatoos are not usually seen here, yet there they were sitting at the top of the tree watching us get ready to leave for the day. Since it’s the first time I’ve seen them here it was a great start to the day.

Top Knot Pigeon sings

Kookaburras

Golden Kangaroo Paw

Red Kangaroo Paw

Crows on lookout

Gardenia Radicans

The Top Knot pigeon singing his song on the rooftop was so quirky I couldn’t let it pass. The beautiful Kangaroo Paws have been  providing such a beautiful display for months I thought they deserved to be included, and who can go past the beautiful scent of the gardenias.

Sulphur crested Cockatoo

The Coucal returns

Very noisy honey eater

Dancing Lady Orchid

Playful whales

The Coucal revisits

The yellow on this Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is so brilliant, like a splash of sunshine on his ‘fascinator’. Our friendly Coucal keeps visiting which is unusual and so he gets two photos. They make the most unusual noise so are very difficult to miss. The honey eater is even weirder, at times he sounds like a dog barking and for a small bird, so loud!  I love the one of the two whales, flippers in the air. I couldn’t decide if they were playing together (probably were) but it looked as if they were waving to us.You know I love orchids and this one has been flowering for months. The yellow is so bright – another reminder of the sunny days.

Magpie, beak full of cake, Crystal Castle

Cockatoo ready to eat

Wildflowers

Clivia

Trumpet Flower

Ginger plant

I mentioned how funny it was watching the magpie attacking the cake at the Crystal Castle Cafe.  He managed to get most of the icing off his beak but he really didn’t want to leave that cake behind. Despite their reputations he didn’t get upset when I moved the plates away from him either. A mixture of photos of flowers from the area and at Crystal castle. With so many nectar producing plants it’s not surprising we see so many honey eaters. I couldn’t finish off without one of our regulars, the Galah. Here he is just waiting to pounce on the feeder. When there is some room it’s everyone for himself, or herself.

Gallah waiting to eat

Breakfast anyone?

Night flowering Cactus

“A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.”   ― Leo Tolstoy

This then is my little corner of the world. I hope you enjoy a little peek into it. I am grateful that with a little reminder I have been mindful of my gifts from a bountiful world. Sometimes it’s difficult to realise I am Being present with my world and these pictures show me how much I have changed.

Blessings.  Susan x

© Susan Jamieson 2013