Yesterday, it was blowing a hooley (a phrase I learnt from a blogger in Cornwall)
We have many very big Eucalyptus trees all around Canberra, and it is nerve wrecking watching the wind blowing through the trees. Today, apart from plenty of fallen branches and leaves, everyone but me is out raking leaves!
On a lighter note, we always know spring has arrived, when we see the bright yellow blossoms of the Wattle tree (Acacia family), all over Canberra.
These flowers herald the beginning of spring, and sunshine, they provide food for birds and insects, and they can re-generate after bushfires. For this reason Wattle trees are often seen as a symbol of renewal, hope and resilience.
Many years ago we planted daffodils along the path to our house. They have endured windy cold days and they continue to blossom cheerfully.
Spring is also time when birds appear from everywhere..
This tiny bird is an Eastern Spinebill and he flies into the Pineapple Sage shrub as soon as it begins to flower. He has been visiting us for a long time now, and we call him Spiny.
Despite his acrobatics, he is always on the alert and disappears as soon as he sees another bird.
The King Parrots are having a wonderful time because the Camellia bushes and flowers are in abundance….
This year many birds have been nesting early, and some even have young chicks, (way too early!)
These young parrots, are making their way into the world, they all have a Juvenile look about them I think..
For many years, the local birds have been flying to the high electrical post in the corner of our back garden.
This juvenile cockatoo was watching us as we were gardening, and I wondered if it was the fledgling cockatoo that found its way into our garden before it could fly. (just before Christmas) Hopefully so. Despite not flying, his mother was very diligent in feeding him daily. He looks well and he did manage to fly to the highest post in the garden.
As spring continues we will be able to see some of the growing plants from our windows and the deck. Two of my favourites in this part of the garden are, the bright yellow flowers called Bulbinella …it is a haven for the bees and turns bright yellow in the morning light.
A fellow blogger, Anne ( Something Over Tea) has mentioned the Bulbinella, and its healing qualities..
Another favourite plant of mine is a Leucadendron. It is part of the Proteaceae family and tolerates drought and frost! Perfect for our garden!
We live in a quiet street, and know most of our neighbours. Our close neighbour, Lois, and I often find ourselves chatting as we stand in our quiet road. As time goes on we move a little towards Lois’s garden as she has such good views of the sun setting over the mountains. We always find reasons to talk about the mountains….they change colour in accordance with the weather, and the time of day. If a bird flies across the landscape we guess which one it is , the distant cockatoos look like shiny silver trails in the sky.
This photo was taken at sunset….time to get cracking and catch up again another time!
Best wishes to everyone, and may the sun shine where ever you are in the world…
Lovely signs of the changing seasons. Will you be going to Floriade?
We will miss Floriade this year, as we are going to Palm Cove (near Cairns)….we decided on a short break away from this long winter! Have you been to Palm Cove? Lovely walks along the beach and lots of nice restaurants.
Your beautiful birds always bring a smile. Lovely blooms as you move into spring and we move into fall. Handsome view of the mountain also. Enjoy all the wonderful weather and garden time ahead of you as I close mine out. 🙂 I envy you knowing your neighbors. Things have changed here, and people move in and move out and we normally never even learn their name. Sad to say but the feeling of community is a thing of the past here. Good to hear from you!
Thanks Judy, we are starting to spend more time in the garden and it is lovely, after a long rainy winter.(nothing like your winter of course!) The baby birds look very cute at this time of the year. Yes, we are very lucky to have such good neighbours, and we share small pleasures together. Sorry to hear your don’t have that feeling of community, I think we were lucky because we all moved into a new suburb at almost the same time… Long time ago!
Best wishes, and enjoy your autumn gardening!
That top photo is a beauty. I will show it to my eldest daughter, who loves birds as much as I do.
Lots of other bird pictures to admire. And those mountains!
Finally, I am with Judy in admiring your neighborhood’s sense of community. Even though we have nice neighbors, we don’t have a sense of community, either.
So glad you are enjoying the Aussie birds…they bring us lots of pleasure.It is a shame not to have a neighbourhood sense of community. Always hard to know why and how that changes, as Judy said.
Your signs of spring are probably a bit ahead of ours – we need rain to get the plants moving! The birds are in breeding plumage though and some of the doves have hatched already, while other birds are in the throes of courting! It is great to see your garden, and especially your birds 🙂
Usually we have dry autumn’s and we spend a lot of time worrying about bush fires in the coming summer.
I hope you get some rain to get these plants moving!
Beautiful, colourful bird photos as always, Gerrie. I hadn’t heard of a hoolie before. We always said, “It’s blowing a gale.” I like hoolie better. Enjoy your warmer weather and time spent in your lovely garden.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Sylvia, I remember your blog posts fondly. How is your family and have you been back to the UK
/ South Africa recently.
What a cheerful post. Your birds are very colourful compared with ours. I am jealous. I would spend time looking at that mountain view too.
Thanks for the comment, the birds around Canberra are at their best in spring, so it was nice to be able to write a cheerful post at last. I hope your weather is also cheerful and will give you some summer sunshine.