Outdoors Calling With Fennel Nutkin

[Rags]

Hello Fennel and everyone ,
The grevilleas are flowering at the moment with honeyeaters visiting from dawn till dusk,
but they don't keep still long enough for me to try to get a picture of them, so here are some of the flowers.
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Also, New Zealand Xmas bells are in full show.

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The Blueberry Ash has the most georgy pale pink flowers and
bower birds go bananas over the fruit it produces.

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And the stunning Callistemon "Candy Pink"...
only short flowering period but such a beautiful sof colour.

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[fennel]

Not sure about today but yesterday we nudged 42 Celsius. Felt like posting, we have your visiting leaders and how would you like them done? Rare, medium or well done?

Medium rare, please.

Holee buckets, that's hot! Really, the hottest we get here in WI during the summers is 37.2, usually accompanied with miserably high humidity...42 sounds beyond miserable!

As we speak, the temp here is -13.8...going to soar up to 7.2! Theses sorts of temperatures do not usually occur until January, so I am glad that I heeded my instincts and got a LOT of wood set up at the cabin.

[fennel]

Happs, are you near Brisbane? I have heard that Russian warships are off the coast...that must be a sight!

[fennel]

Rags, those flowers are so beautiful...they look so delicate! Honey eaters are birds, I'm assuming? Going to go and google them. I really like the pattern of the N.Z. Christmas Bells, but the grevilleas are also eye catching! They are all gorgeous.

Does it smell like earth? Meaning soil? I love that smell in the spring. There is a garden show that takes place in February here (while we are still in the deep freeze) and I go just to smell the soil, LOL!

Do those flowers have scents? Sometimes the most colorful ones appear to attract pollinators on color alone!

[fennel]

Ahh...honey eaters are not one particular type of bird, but a group of different nectar eating passerines. Got it!

About Bower birds...once, I was watching a David Attenborough special- there was a poor little bower bird who'd decorated his bower so beautifully, with perfectly selected eye-catching bits of foil, plastic, clothespins...a lady came to visit and he did an attractive dance for her in front of his bachelor pad, and she cocked her head appraisingly...then took off! I will never forget how crestfallen the little guy looked. :concern:

[Rags]

Rags, those flowers are so beautiful...they look so delicate! Honey eaters are birds, I'm assuming? Going to go and google them. I really like the pattern of the N.Z. Christmas Bells, but the grevilleas are also eye catching! They are all gorgeous.

Does it smell like earth? Meaning soil? I love that smell in the spring. There is a garden show that takes place in February here (while we are still in the deep freeze) and I go just to smell the soil, LOL!

Do those flowers have scents? Sometimes the most colorful ones appear to attract pollinators on color alone!

The grevilleas don't really have a scent, but lots of other stuff in my garden does.
We haven't had soil spring scent as it's just been so damned hot.
I'm about 550 miles south of Happs at 34.5 degrees south and we're copping hot weather too.
To-day will be OK but tomorrow it'll be about 38 C.
I leave marital aids out by the pond for the male bower birds.... blue bottle caps from milk cartons. And the occassional blue peg.
Soon as they see them they swoop down and carry them off.
There's a bower fairly close to our house but I haven't gone to investigate as I don't wnt to disturb it.

On a slightly different note, check out the rifle bird. They are up near Happs.
Bear with the video. The dance and mating is pretty impressive.
Check out birds of paradise when you have time too.
We have 4 species in tropical Queensland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i641Fat32Dc

[fennel]

Rags, I have NEVER seen anything like that! How wild...that weird "capey" thing he does with his wings, and it doesn't scare the female bird off. I guess she's expecting it. Maybe it triggers something in her circadian something or other.

[fennel]

Laughed at the marital aids remark...who else would consider a milk bottle ring or a clothes pin as something inflame passions?

[mama bear]

hi Fenny....miss you
Hi Rags

[fennel]

Hi, mama! :heartbeat:

[NoraC]

I'm going to have some pics to share soon! We are going to a timeshare at Carlsbad beach this weekend and then over Thanksgiving. I can't wait!!!

[fennel]

I'm going to have some pics to share soon! We are going to a timeshare at Carlsbad beach this weekend and then over Thanksgiving. I can't wait!!!

Nora, I can't wait to see your photos! :heartbeat:

[Lizann]

I'd love to see them too, Nora!

[Lizann]

Rags that was so pretty!

[fennel]

Okay, as cold as it is here (single digits, again)...it could be worse. I could be living in Buffalo, New York!

http://time.com/3596869/buffalo-snow-winter-storm-new-york/