Last month

The "interesting" phenomena continued, when the next day the webcam died after we had left for work (OK, I can handle that), but then miraculously came good at lunch time with no intervention. Then the plumbing started talking to us, first the kitchen sink saying, "gloop, gloop, gloop" as we were preparing to leave for work. Next morning, it's the second toilet making even louder (similar) noises. So I called the sewerage people, who came out that day & left a note to say that their main run was clear & the problem is on the property. Next morning, even louder noises & even shorter showers, & the plumber came out & stuck an electric eel down the drain. The bill he left indicated that the blockage was 2 units (about 100 feet) down from us, which fortunately makes it on the common property for the units, not our place, which means paying the bill is not our problem either.

In keeping with the various bits of weirdness going on around here, Kelly has started to sit under the bird feeder whenever the female Crimson Rosella is around. We're still trying to figure out whether it has something to do with the vet sticking a finger up his arse, or because the female is in season (with no less than 3 males "after her feathers", as Julie puts it) & he can smell something, or maybe because he did in fact maul the dead one & wants to try again. He sat there quite happily all afternoon.

And this morning, we had a new visitor to the garden - a male King Parrot, a stunning red & green combination. Haven't seen one of those in a backyard since we moved out of the house in Deakin. I have also acquired 2 more more cameras, of which one is now directed close in on the bird feeder. The other will see the return of the view to the north-east from the kitchen window to capture cloud movements, sunrises & sunsets. But first I have to acquire a USB 2.0 card to go in the server, as the images currently coming out of it are just horrible. Meanwhile, the spring bulbs are coming up & the fragrance  of the Daphne bush is starting to pervade the whole yard & house. I have had to remind Julie that we need to just sit back & watch what the garden does for a full year's cycle before we rush into making any major changes.

Update - this afternoon, the King Parrot returned with his mate - the light was all wrong for photos, but we got some. We think they are young ones & the male was obviously unused to negotiating his way down the branches to the hanging feeder - he was upside down at one point. We also captured Kelly sitting patiently in the garden. The next morning, it was bloody cold out there & we caught the 2 new arrivals sitting high in the tree, with several others, catching the sun. Then the next morning, I asked Julie to "come & look at this", & there was a sulphur crested cockatoo (aka a cocky) sitting on the fence. That is one BIG bird! You don't usually notice it because you don't usually get quite that close to them. You normally see them in wide open places like telephone wires, not close-in corners like the one we have, so we watched as he eventually gave up trying to get down into the feeder.

Saturday - Julie has been going gaga all afternoon. There has been an interesting battle going on, with the cockatoos moving in on the territory & pushing the others out, although some of the galahs & rosellas tried to push their luck against the bigger birds. At one point, Queen, the female King Parrot, decided to get in on the act too, while King watched from up in the tree. At another point, I was taking pictures as I moved in on one of the cockies & got within just a few feet of him before he (or she) finally flew away. There will be some very interesting photos & movies on the photos page later tonight - I'm putting pretty much the whole sequence up there. Julie is absolutely blown away at the chance to be so close to real live wild birds, right here in our own back yard. I think it's kinda cool but no huge deal, but then I've grown up with them. I'd be the same if it was deer & squirrels. I should also add that these birds are not ones that you would normally mess with. The powerful beak can do some very nasty damage to a finger.

We have also given some of the regulars names. There's King & Queen, as mentioned above. The new courting pair of Crimson Rosellas are Fred & Mary (prince & princess), while the 2 younger males are William & Harry. We thought about calling the pair Chuck & Di, but considered that was "bad form", as Captain Hook so eloquently put it.

More excitement this afternoon in the back yard. I heard the dogs barking more than usual & went to investigate. There was the Galah that we had seen on the webcam, going to sleep on the basket, defending himself with loud squawking. Got the dogs inside & locked their door & went out to check it out. OK, looks alright but doesn't seem to have the strength to fly & when he stumbled, I knew he was in trouble. So got dressed in Julie's motorbike jacket & winter gloves, & went out there to capture him. Placed him in the tree & he just sat there looking very unstable. So, captured him again & wrapped him in the towel that I had already brought outside, & put him in the bedroom with the curtains closed. Then when Julie got home, we called the RSPCA & took him down to their wildlife rescue area. They said he was extremely thin & had a dose of a kind of flu that they get. No it's not THE bird flu!

Wow. It's been a very busy week. We left Canberra on Friday at lunch time to get to Wangaratta in time for dinner with Des & Helen, a couple that we met 2 years ago on an overnight stop on the way to Melbourne. Ask Julie sometime for the story about the orgasms. We had a great night & had to finish it up early to get a head start on the rest of the trip on Saturday morning. We rocked in about an hour before Simon & his entourage, so we had time to look around & meet the various folks as they arrived. Simon & his buddies looked resplendent in their suits & the bridal party was equally dazzling. The ceremony went off without a hitch, although I think Lisa nearly lost it a couple of times & Simon wasn't much better. In the absence of Lisa's father, who died a few years ago, she was given away jointly by her mother Lyn & close family friend Geoff. And the mothers did the speeches at the reception, while Geoff acted as the MC.

During the evening, Julie happened to be passing by someone who was saying that he smelled the stink of American military, whereupon she told him that he must be smelling her & that she had served for 30 years. Paul's partner Brooke chimed in that she is still in the reserves & the guy turned away & tried to ignore the 2 women who were all ready to deck him on the spot! She was very proud of the way she handled it. Then again, what are the chances of standing there complaining about US foreign policy & getting overheard by an active member of the US Armed Forces!

Sunday morning was a pretty laid-back breakfast, as no-one was up for much frivolity! We hit the road again & Julie did most of the driving after we had cleared the mountains & back country roads. We got home around 6 pm, to a very enthusiastic welcome from the dogs. Poor buggers, we're away again this weekend, visiting a former Boeing colleague who is visiting her husband on assignment to Brisbane. And thank you to Dorothy for phoning me to ask, "Where are the photos?" & prompting me to get moving.