Light …
… as far as the eye can see, and beyond …
… to inner space. … The light plays on the water tossed by the cold wind. … A lovely sunny winter’s day by the sea. … Moreton bay, seen from Victoria Point at the northern boat ramps.
Corella, they roost in the tall gum trees by the ramps and travel in gangs. Waves of white, swooping and shouting as they go. A bold boisterous lot they are.
Curious and fidgety too, the flag pole ropes might need replacing soon.
A young blue faced – green in their youth – honey eater. They are more present in the garden this winter.
Noisy Miner, also a honey eater. One greets me as I leave the kitchen with my breakfast. Struggles to hover for a couple seconds, til its had a bite of my bread.
Stranger visiting, the usual magpies disappeared for a few days and another family came and went.
A female I believe, from the shading in the white at the back of the neck. A different character to the usual resident.
I went to the car and a masked lapwing went berserk. They do that, make a big noise, to distract any present wildlife – me – from noticing their chicks. Not a very intelligent strategy, I’d say, but it works well enough.
When the parents call out the chicks got to ground, literally. They freeze stock still and pretend there’s no danger. Almost invisible, it would be so easy to step on one. Could be just a couple leaves on the ground, but once you see them …
Kookaburra, what can I say … They come and they go, there’s no telling when. But they are always welcome at the table of my back door.
This young butcherbird doesn’t seem to want to grow up. Keeps coming back and crying out as if I’m his mum and he wants a feed. Anyway …
The mum just ignores him, as mums learn to do once the young are old enough to know better.
Will have to take my cue from mum. But it’s cold now, and there’s not a lot to eat in the garden, maybe when spring arrives …
© Mark Berkery … Click on those pictures for a closer look …
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Collected Works …
… not of mine, I just take the pix.
In no particular order … but the order they arrived in.
Butcherbird, so called for their practise of skewering or hanging ‘meat’ prey up to cure or dry. That hook on the point of the beak is for tearing up its prey.
Flower of the tomato. Would still be growing and fruiting if I hadn’t removed it in favour of the butterfly bush it shares a pot with recovering through the winter sunshine.
Ant, farming a field of mushrooms. Or just wandering in time.
Colourful fly inspecting his field of fungus. There’s forms of life everywhere engaging with other forms of life.
Spider – don’t recall its name. Casting a loose web under a cloudy sky. Not an easy mouthful for a hungry bird, with those thorns. And red would be a warning too, ‘eat me at your peril’.
Looking good, 0ne of my friendly Kookaburras …
Another one, another day, another picture.
Goanna, Eprapah remnant rainforest. She watched me a while before taking off up a tree. Powerful claws for climbing. … I’ve heard say, if one runs at you thinking you’re a tree, lie down quick to avoid those claws. … But how to know what it’s thinking? If it’s running at you it’s thinking you’re a tree to climb up … if thinking they do at all.
Red flower in the garden. Striking colour against the black of night. Found in the forest, now living well in my garden.
Another flower, found out in the bush, not a native, an escapee. Has a place in my garden too.
And another escapee, also found out in the bush or forest, now in my garden. Stingless bees love it, and it flowers two or three times a year here.
My oft mentioned Crucifix orchid, also in the garden. A native I think. This one has a few bugs in it, if you look close.
Begonia, yet another garden dweller, over six foot tall now. I like to colour in the garden, nourishment for the little creatures is part and parcel. Love to watch them come and go.
Picked an orange from the tree a bit early, staked it in the garden to see what may come. Here’s one egg laid, we’ll see what may be.
Seagull down by Victoria Point jetty, searching out crabs in shallow water.
Also at the jetty, a fearless magpie … foraging for what may be.
It suddenly turned to winter here in Brisbane, from mildly warm to downright cold overnight.
But it also went from constant wet and cloudy to dry and sunny, so no complaints. Just facts.
© Mark Berkery … Click on those pictures for a closer look …
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Nature's Place 
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