Mum's garden is spectacular. It is a floral wilderness at the moment and an intriguing mix of classic English flowers, local flowers that verge on being called weeds and natives plants that upon hitting water threaten to overwhelm the entire garden. Wandering though the undergrowth, you're never quite aware of what you will stumble upon; be it a forgotten fruit tree ready to be harvested, an unusual and expensive native that surely died last summer, or the lemon scented gum that decided to remind you of its fragility by sending a branch crashing down upon the rest of the garden.
Where-ever you wander, there is sure to be something to marvel at. And because it is such a treasure trove it is filled with a superb mixture of the local bird life, all of whom torment the cats and ensure that these four legged predators are aware that they are not the masters of this small patch of paradise. We have always had the wattle birds testing the cats' agility and patience, and the baby magpies who cry pitifully for their parents to feed them... again, interspersed with the lorikeets and kookaburras who flock overhead and warble down at the dramas enacted below.
However recently we have acquired two newcomers: Curled up at the breakfast table enjoying the morning's cup of coffee it is not uncommon to see a sacred ibis tiptoe through the herb garden just outside the side door, foraging through the leaf litter for a tasty treat. They are graceful creatures who have habitually combed the neighbours’ lawn for years now, but obviously decided that this garden looked far more enticing. As morning tea time rolls around this ibis stalks the surrounding gardens aerating the soil before hydrating themselves from the lilypond at the edge of the path.
Our other guest is a beautiful little black and white kingfisher who has a taste for fish (probably frogs) and the largest worms that the garden can produce. This later guest is a delightful visitor as he hovers near to the kitchen window and is more than happy to be subjected to the gaze of anyone and everyone - provided he gets the worms he so desires. Unfortunately it makes for a bit of a standoff in the garden for Mum is fond of her worms, as she is of the coconut matting the magpies pinch for their nests, and does not take to seeing the kingfisher extract plump worms from anywhere in her garden.And when you venture out into the garden, he hops up on a hanging basket and watches you through a glistening black eye, wondering what you are up to, and ensuring that you are thinking the same of him. That is until the time it decides that you have ventured onto it's turf and are thereby classified as an intruder. It is delightful to hear as on this occasion the kingfisher was in complete uproar for the simple fact that Mum was in the garden fossicking through her pile of potting mix.
But the birds have the run of the garden, for the poor cats have been quelled into submission, though they'd hate to be told that.
Where-ever you wander, there is sure to be something to marvel at. And because it is such a treasure trove it is filled with a superb mixture of the local bird life, all of whom torment the cats and ensure that these four legged predators are aware that they are not the masters of this small patch of paradise. We have always had the wattle birds testing the cats' agility and patience, and the baby magpies who cry pitifully for their parents to feed them... again, interspersed with the lorikeets and kookaburras who flock overhead and warble down at the dramas enacted below.
However recently we have acquired two newcomers: Curled up at the breakfast table enjoying the morning's cup of coffee it is not uncommon to see a sacred ibis tiptoe through the herb garden just outside the side door, foraging through the leaf litter for a tasty treat. They are graceful creatures who have habitually combed the neighbours’ lawn for years now, but obviously decided that this garden looked far more enticing. As morning tea time rolls around this ibis stalks the surrounding gardens aerating the soil before hydrating themselves from the lilypond at the edge of the path.
Our other guest is a beautiful little black and white kingfisher who has a taste for fish (probably frogs) and the largest worms that the garden can produce. This later guest is a delightful visitor as he hovers near to the kitchen window and is more than happy to be subjected to the gaze of anyone and everyone - provided he gets the worms he so desires. Unfortunately it makes for a bit of a standoff in the garden for Mum is fond of her worms, as she is of the coconut matting the magpies pinch for their nests, and does not take to seeing the kingfisher extract plump worms from anywhere in her garden.And when you venture out into the garden, he hops up on a hanging basket and watches you through a glistening black eye, wondering what you are up to, and ensuring that you are thinking the same of him. That is until the time it decides that you have ventured onto it's turf and are thereby classified as an intruder. It is delightful to hear as on this occasion the kingfisher was in complete uproar for the simple fact that Mum was in the garden fossicking through her pile of potting mix.
But the birds have the run of the garden, for the poor cats have been quelled into submission, though they'd hate to be told that.
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