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Dad's Day
I'm not a big fan of birthdays and stuff, so when they ask what I wanted for Father's Day, I said I wanted a happy family. Which is true enough. If I got a box of chocolates or Turkish Delight, I'd feel obliged to eat a couple, and Lord knows that nobody buys me books, for fear that I've already got several copies.
I went for my run. I've finished Prodigal Summer, and I'm now onto a military book called Bonaparte's Sons, which reminds me strongly of Delderfield's Seven Men of Gascony.
A lovely day. The weather here is warming up, and we get clear blue days that are just beautiful. Still some chill in the air, but that will pass. Wattle is flowering, and all around are confections of green and gold with that delightful wattle smell.
DD and I went out to an art shop. She's been feeling guilty about using my brushes and paints. And well she might when she uses a watercolour brush for acrylics and then leaves it sitting until the paint hardens. Humph.
I bought a scrapbooking primer there. TexasWren wants scrapbook pages of Fort Worth and I don't have the foggiest how to go about it, so I want to get some knowledge before lashing out on papers and stuff, all of which seems to cost about a million dollars.
I also popped into the hardware shop. The new bed came with castors, which sit it up about 10 centimetres higher than our old bed, and also allow it to roll around, neither of which we feel comfortable with. I asked for flat feet to screw in instead of the castors, but they didn't have anything quite the thing.
Kerri took me out for dinner at a Turkish restaurant. She wanted the pides, you see, a sort of Turkish pizza, but I'm a nut for this sort of cooking in general. I love the spices and the vegetables and the seared meat. Totally yummy!
The kids enjoy it too, and we all rolled back to the car, pleasantly stuffed.
That was Sunday. Monday I managed to find some feet, and as a result our new bed is at the height we are used to, and it doesn't roll around when you jump into it. Did I mention how pleased I am with it?
I've mentioned the birds around here before. I saw a group of five black cockatoos flying over on sunday. They are very large and impressive birds, similar to their boisterous sulphur-crested cousins, but black instead of white, and with "squared off" wingtips. They have a different screech to them and they are more reserved and dignified. Whereas it is common to see twenty or so white cockatoos feeding on a patch of grass by the side of the road, the black cockies linger in tree tops and are quite hard to see unless they are actually flying.
I've mentioned fairy wrens as well, and I was lucky enough to spot a few yesterday. They are insectivores, and Kerri used to see them at work, where they'd patrol the spider webs outside her window, plucking morsels from the webs. Until maintenance came around and removed the webs, and the wrens don't visit no more. Hard to photograph here. They arrive unannounced, bounce around like little feathered golf balls for a few minutes, and then depart. Shy creatures, they won't stand still for a man with a camera, so the trick is to be in position before they arrive and hope to click a few shots off as they pass by. If you stand motionless, they ignore you.
A male wren. They are delightful creatures in their bright blue feathers. This one is lighter than most.
The rather more plainly camouflaged female.
Claude stalking through the area a few moments later. End of photography session!
I went for my run. I've finished Prodigal Summer, and I'm now onto a military book called Bonaparte's Sons, which reminds me strongly of Delderfield's Seven Men of Gascony.
A lovely day. The weather here is warming up, and we get clear blue days that are just beautiful. Still some chill in the air, but that will pass. Wattle is flowering, and all around are confections of green and gold with that delightful wattle smell.
DD and I went out to an art shop. She's been feeling guilty about using my brushes and paints. And well she might when she uses a watercolour brush for acrylics and then leaves it sitting until the paint hardens. Humph.
I bought a scrapbooking primer there. TexasWren wants scrapbook pages of Fort Worth and I don't have the foggiest how to go about it, so I want to get some knowledge before lashing out on papers and stuff, all of which seems to cost about a million dollars.
I also popped into the hardware shop. The new bed came with castors, which sit it up about 10 centimetres higher than our old bed, and also allow it to roll around, neither of which we feel comfortable with. I asked for flat feet to screw in instead of the castors, but they didn't have anything quite the thing.
Kerri took me out for dinner at a Turkish restaurant. She wanted the pides, you see, a sort of Turkish pizza, but I'm a nut for this sort of cooking in general. I love the spices and the vegetables and the seared meat. Totally yummy!
The kids enjoy it too, and we all rolled back to the car, pleasantly stuffed.
That was Sunday. Monday I managed to find some feet, and as a result our new bed is at the height we are used to, and it doesn't roll around when you jump into it. Did I mention how pleased I am with it?
I've mentioned the birds around here before. I saw a group of five black cockatoos flying over on sunday. They are very large and impressive birds, similar to their boisterous sulphur-crested cousins, but black instead of white, and with "squared off" wingtips. They have a different screech to them and they are more reserved and dignified. Whereas it is common to see twenty or so white cockatoos feeding on a patch of grass by the side of the road, the black cockies linger in tree tops and are quite hard to see unless they are actually flying.
I've mentioned fairy wrens as well, and I was lucky enough to spot a few yesterday. They are insectivores, and Kerri used to see them at work, where they'd patrol the spider webs outside her window, plucking morsels from the webs. Until maintenance came around and removed the webs, and the wrens don't visit no more. Hard to photograph here. They arrive unannounced, bounce around like little feathered golf balls for a few minutes, and then depart. Shy creatures, they won't stand still for a man with a camera, so the trick is to be in position before they arrive and hope to click a few shots off as they pass by. If you stand motionless, they ignore you.
A male wren. They are delightful creatures in their bright blue feathers. This one is lighter than most.
The rather more plainly camouflaged female.
Claude stalking through the area a few moments later. End of photography session!
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...oh Claude!
*giggle*
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The little male wren is beautiful. All the wrens here (both male and female) are brownish. I've never seen a blue one.
Claude is very handsome. I like his colouring.
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It's gardening time here. Everything is coming out. Little shoots of green, the first flowers...
It hasn't been a hard winter (or maybe I'm growing accustomed to it) but it's always pleasant to move on to the warmer months. Spring and autumn are the best times here; summer is hot and dry.
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Well, no, but they are a very glossy black.
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And I got to see a picture of a white crow today. So pretty!
I have hummingbirds in my back garden, too.
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Don't spend a fortune on scrapbook stuff. They don't have to be spectacular!!! ;-)
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The wrens tend to travel around in small family groups, and they are rarely far away from shrubs, hopping through the branches and darting from thicket to thicket.
I was very lucky to get a photograph - I was about four metres away, standing rock still.
Birdies
I am glad you enjoyed your Father's Day. ( have email my father.......
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