Koel

The female koel is the top bird, in the middle are a pair of king parrots and at the bottom the male koel (eating cherry tomatoes). Koels are cuckoos - they lay their eggs in other birds nests, which is why this pair were being harassed by lots of other birds.

Merry Christmas

Hope you are having/had a nice day. For lunch we had ham, cheese and tomato crossiants (not my tomato though I have grown lots so far just cherry and roma). With lots of yummy nibbles, and homemade Baileys for evening.

Transportable factory

So I made the trek to Orange and return without too much adventure (31/48 hours on train/bus; train cancelled due to flooding so had to go via coach Sydney to Orange; mobile phone slipped out of pocket as I got off in Sydney but managed to get back on board and get it before the train left; technical fault with carriages caused an hour delay on the trip home). The houses being built were all bigger than my cabin but got some idea of the construction (steel frame on sturdy beams) and finish. I made the deposit so now they will draw up full elevation/sections and construction details to include in the council development application.

King parrots

A pair of male king parrots checking out what to raid in my garden. I suspect the corn which is nearly ripe looks good, going to try the first cob for lunch.

The cucumbers I planted all didn't germinate but two came up from compost heap and just picked the first two. Tomatoes are beginning to produce what may be a glut. We did plant several lots of tomato seeds weeks apart but the first lots were very slow.