The Birds and the Bees

Andrew & I have just been watching some of the local birds. The birds in the bush tend to be large, and often colourful. There's a variety of parrot-types -- cockatoos, galas, some bright red ones, and the jewel-green multi-colour birds. I don't know all their names yet, but they are fun to watch. Some visit frequently, some buzz through the yard like fighter pilots, and others visit on what appears to be a seasonal schedule.

We'll sit and enjoy the view, and then suddenly run and grab our cameras. I suppose the locals must think we are bit mad, since they've seen these birds all their lives, and the cockatoos can in fact be a bit pesky. But to us, these birds are exotic.

It's interesting, that term "exotic". Usually it is applied to diseases we'd rather not get, or food we are not quite sure we want to taste, or very expenses artwork that we find rather strange. The more fun exotics include beautiful plants, or animals we don't normally see. Andrew experienced this already: bears, deer, racoons. Odd isn't it? Now we both are seeing exotic flora and fauna -- kangaroos, wallabies, ring-tail possums, gum trees. Then again, we're the ones with accents here. We try to fall into the "fun" category!

Families and Gardens

My sister-in-law, Coleen, reminded me that I hadn't updated the blog in while. It's been "one of those weeks" and of course time travels onward, even if our to do list stalls. I thought I'd better catch up on a few tasks. It's Saturday, which traditionally is the day you work on the garden (or lawn). This is a world-wide phenomenon, started by someone who couldn't leave well-enough alone.

Andrew's mowing a bit of lawn, to make the area around the house presentable. I've just been starting our brand new compost heap. I felt obligated to do this, because the pile of leaves meant to go into it has been sitting at the bottom of driveway for weeks, and friends and family are coming over tomorrow for a barbecue. I guess our instinct is to have our compost together when family visits!

Well, I am very thankful for family and friends, because they help us out by bringing over the extra set of tableware, or subtly push us to remember to keep the garden and the house tidy. Or even remind us to update our blog...

It's a Rainy Drought This Evening

We had a bit of rain tonight. We sat at the dining room table, opened the french doors wide, and watched the rain dance on the porch about 2 metres from where we were sitting. It reminded me of camping. Although, when you're camping, you usually try to close everything up!

We're always thankful when it rains, because it means the flowers will perk up, the trees will soak up some water, the grass will grow, and the car will get a "wash." For the many Australians who have rain barrels or tanks, it means a bit more extra water.

We are fortunate to live in an area of Australia that does get a bit of rain, although the problem is getting enough rain in the cachement areas. So, despite the green and the wet, we are still in drought, and I've entered a world that Andrew's known all his life -- one of using water carefully.

Cruising Down the Cultural Highway

We've had some very pleasant evenings entertaining lately. Tonight we enjoyed the company of some wonderful guests who were (for me) fellow northern hemisphere expats. Interestingly enough, we didn't commiserate about lack of snow at Christmas as much as I thought we would. I guess the first shock is over.

There are still cultural bumps. My instinct to flip light switches up for on and down for off is still strong. I still can't get into the office first thing Saturday mornings -- and then I remember that the door opens inward.

Some things are really rather clever. The power points (outlets) have switches on them, so you can turn off appliances at the source, rather than unplug them. It's not strange to Andrew, but I still find this fascinating, unless of course I've forgotten to turn the outlet on...