Category: My Garden

The crazy Costa Rican …

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Now, I have to admit that the Costa Rican Butterfly Vine was one of my most optimistic-masochistic purchases.  It was an impulse buy, I actually bought it for its attractive leaves, and I really didn’t expect it to survive its first winter.  But amazingly it did.  So I was quite pleased when the first flower appeared …

Then more flowers appeared, what a bonus I thought …

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Then I zoomed in on the actual flower hiding behind the purple bracts …

The front view
The front view

Oh My God, it looks like something someone on an acid-trip would dream up …

The rear view
The rear view

Apparently the yellow ball is a resin gland which is attractive to bees, who use it to build their hives.  This is another bonus as I am expecting my native bee hive to arrive any day now and I’m hoping that Aussie bees like Costa Rican resin!

A venomous breakfast …

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There are at least four species of snakes in the general area of my garden. The Diamond Python, Coastal Carpet Python, and Common Tree Snake – all of which are non-venomous.  Then there is the Red-bellied Black – which is not.

I see a Red-bellied Black from time to time sunning itself or wandering slowly through the garden, but as they are non-aggressive it doesn’t really bother me.  Anyway, I always assumed they were just on their way to somewhere else.  So a few mornings ago when I found a dead baby Red-bellied Black on the lawn I was a bit surprised.

One of the Kookaburras that frequents the garden will respond when I make Kookaburra-talk (not hysterical laughter you understand – just a coo-coo-coo sound!) So I called him down for a breakfast treat …

Now how do I handle this?
Now how do I handle this?

After throwing the baby snake around in the air a few times and trying to swallow it, the Kookaburra flew off with it into the trees.  No doubt to bash it into manageable pieces.

Now, the question is, was it dropped by a night-time bird of prey, or is there a little clutch of Red-bellied Black eggs somewhere in the garden ??
I don’t think I will go looking…

 

 

 

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Lazy birdwatching …

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I’ve been on a couple of bird-watching expeditions and had a great time. I remember being particularly impressed with a National Parks & Wildlife ranger who produced a freshly baked cake and a coffee plunger from the back of his car!  But I hate ticks and leeches, and my distance eye-sight is not the best, so I’ve decided that traipsing through the bush hoping for a momentary glimpse of a disappearing drongo is not for me.

Much better that I set up my garden as an oasis for birds, with plenty of water, native flowering plants and small snacks. That way I can sit on the veranda with a coffee (or a glass of wine), a camera and my bird book and wait for the birds to come to me.

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Yes it’s lazy, and so far it’s working quite well. On a hot day, there’s a queue of birds waiting for their turn in the bird bath.  You’ll have to take my word for it that this is a Satin Bowerbird …

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Satin Bowerbird taking a bath

 

And there’s a constant procession of birds dropping in at the feeder to check if there is anything there that they fancy.  Sometimes it’s a bit of paw-paw, a piece of bread (wholegrain of course!), a sprinkling of seeds, a dead bug or a piece of sweet corn – not enough to make them dependent though.

As of today the count is at 34 confirmed species, and a few manic birds who won’t stay still long enough for me to identify them let alone take a photo. Visit my Bird Gallery which I update as I identify new bird species.

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Another visitor …

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More evidence that things are tough this winter …

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Probably a Swamp Wallaby – note her damaged right ear

This is probably the wallaby I see from time to time in the bush at the back of my house.  I’ve never seen her in the front garden before, but the lure of lush green grass and fresh water was probably too much for her to resist.  I watched from the veranda for a few minutes before she hopped off across the garden.