Our guests left after brekkie. Weather was great most of the day. Had a short squall in the afternoon but got warm straight away. They had a 6 hr drive to Sydney. We took a day off and celebrated Knut way too early. This year will be a healthy year. A big dishwashing and a dip in the creek then some goodies, the rest of the champagne, popcorn and some films on tv. Finally we can go to sleep.
We still have a cikada year. There are about 7 different cikada sound around and they are many and loud. We are on a good way to getting tinnitus. They never stop. Some keep at it through the night!
It´s time for Fatso the kookaburra, whom we fed almost 3 mice a day at one time, to take on the responsibility of uncle and he is very good at it. He has been flying around with his protegé for weeks now and trying to teach him/her the ropes. The poor young one has a terrible laughter. It can only bark. It is sooo funny! owf owf owf! Fatso is going nuts trying to teach the juvie to laugh correctly! But this morning his protegé is getting much better at not barking at the end of his laughing. He is growing up fast now! Soon time to leave the nursery. Fatso himself was left in our garden by his aunt who checked in on him 3 times a day, then twice and then not. So compared to her he is a very good and responsible uncle!
We still have a mouse in the house! It´s not a bat … we are quite positive we think….
Finally we got a good photograph of a pademelon. They otherwise only end up as grey streaks on the camera or we have nothing with us on the way to the creekside to take their picture with. One of them is getting braver and staying to check us out until a couple of meters then it jumps into the underbrush and watches us from there.
Rednecked Pademelon, thylogale thetis
Rödnackad Pademelon, eller nå´t. Pademelonerna är så skygga men en börjar vänja sig vid oss och äntligen fick vi ett bra foto av en. De brukar annars bara bli en blurrig grå skugga på cameran.
Så nu är det vår. Först kom Welcome svalan och flög in i huset och runt omkring. Den blir trött rätt så fort så vi fångade den snart och släppte ut. Men igår kom Willy Wagtail och flög in. Den brukar inte flyga fel. Och den är en virtuos flygare som gör krumbukter i luften och var mycket svårare att fånga in. Vi tillverkade en jättestor håv till slut, av nät och vajrar som vi fäste på ett kvastskaft. Och ut kom den.
Nu är det bara fladdermössen som ska komma in sen är sommaren i sikte.
Det är ungarna vi talar om förstås!
Vi rensade lite i citruslunden och tog bort några Pittosporum och några Kumquatträd så att grapefruktträden ska få mer luft och sol. De ena av grannarna gillade verkligen kumquatfrukterna, man kan ju äta bara skalen och de är SÖTA! Så jag hade lovat några grenar som de kan få att rota sig. Vi tog några av träden som de sen kan ta smågrenar av och få att rota sig med hjälp at rotningsmedel, som de redan har, och körde iväg med dem. Lite snack på deras veranda och plötsligt sitter vi där med 12 ägg från deras hönor. “Vill ni ha en tupp?” Fast det ville vi inte just då. Tänkte inte på tuppen som mat just då utan som blivande pappa. Men vi ska inte ha några djur förrän nästa höst då vi förhoppningsvis har byggt lite hus mm åt dem.
Nu är det Guavaträden som måste räddas. Vad är det som äter löven. Det ena har fått alla nya löv avätna. Vi kan inte se några insekter eller larver och grenarna längst ut är för svaga för att Räven ska lyckas ta sig ut dit. Nätade det och nu väntar vi på vad som ska hända.
Annars är det torka igen. Har varit torrt ända sen i somras. Kom några eländiga regn i Juli men inget att hänga i gran. Vi vattnar och bäcken sjunker igen. Nya eldar i horisonten också men den närmaste är slocknad som skönt är.
Häromdagen har vi varit ihop (inte bott ihop, förlovade eller gifta) i 49 år. Ska det bli 50 månne?!
So now it’s spring. First came the welcome swallow and flew into the house and around. It gets tired right soon so we caught it soon and released. But yesterday, Willy Wagtail came in and flew in. It usually does not come inside. And it’s a virtuoso aviator who makes bumpers in the air and was much harder to catch. We finally made a huge catcher of netting and wire that we attached to a broom shaft. And it came out.
Now it’s only bats that will come in late, everything’s done!
These are the babies we speak of of course!
We cleared a little in the citrus grove and removed some pittosporum and some kumquat trees so that the grapefruit trees would have more air and sun. One of the neighbours really enjoyed the kumquats, you can only eat the peel and they are SWEET! So I promised some branches that they could get rooted. We took some of the trees that they can use. They already have rooting gel, and drove over to them. A little chat on their porch and suddenly we sit there with 12 eggs from their chooks. “Do you want a rooster?” Though we did not want one right then. Did not think of it as food just then but as a dad-to-be. But we will not have any animals until next autumn when we hopefully have built some houses for them.
Now it’s the Guava trees that have to be saved. What is it that eats the leaves? One has got all the new leaves eaten. We can not see any insects or larvae and the branches at the outermost are too weak for the possum to succeed in getting out on them. Netted it and now we are waiting for what’s going to happen.
Otherwise it’s drought again. Has been dry since last summer. Bring some miserable rain in July but nothing near enough. We water and the water brook drops again. New fires on the horizon also but the closest is extinguished as nice is.
The other day we have been together (not lived together, engaged or married) for 49 years. Will it be 50 months ?!
The year can more or less be divided by the insects.
When we moved in there were not many.
One of the neighbours cows used our paddock as pasture, usually nightly. Maybe that had something to do with the flies we had then.
We did not take pictures of the flies in the beginning because we did not notice the changes until later.
First there was biting yucky flies. They loved blue colour and loved sitting on the wall in the kitchen-to-be-then-veranda. And of course loved sitting on us and sucking blood.
They disappeared and a black big fly with a white streak turned up on the scene. They also wanted our blood but were easier to fend off and kill.
Then they disappeared and a smaller fly turned up for a short time and that´s when we started to notice the insect world.
Then light cockroaches started to fly around. They were everywhere but were easy to kill and did not go into the food. Ca 1 ½ cm long and the colour of toffee.
They started to disappear and the big horseflies flew in with their big green eyes and some other big black thing. Down at the creek another biting fly held court. You could not feel when they sat down on you, just their stinging bite. When it got chilly they went away.
Horse Flies, March Flies March Fly (Tabanidae family )Horse Flies, March Flies March Fly (Tabanidae family )
Up in the garden we got tiny gnats instead of all the flies. They almost went into our mouths and noses. Very irritating and also bit us from time to time. Now they are gone and it is blissfully empty of all but the cockroaches that live under rotting stubs during winter time.
We also have had some moths. Two beautiful moths lived for the longest time in our shed(-to-be-bathroom/storage). Now and then the bat came in search for them but never got them. Or….
Southern Old Lady Moth (Dasypodia selenophora)
Now and then the odd insect will turn up. Some are not good for houses such as borers and others are good such as those who hunt the house eaters.
Not in pics are also termites (none at the moment) and big black ants who live in the termites old dwellings, ticks, cikadas,and the normal bunch of insects. We hope we have killed off the ants but now and then and ant comes crawling along.
There are so many insects and animals living in our house at anytime.
If only we could charge them!
Istället för att räkna månaderna så kan man kolla insekterna.
När vi flyttade in här så fanns det knappt några flugor men sen kom de en efter en. Kanske det hade med att grannens kor använde vår hage som betesmark.
Först var det några bitande rödhövdade små djävlar sen försvann de och det kom större svarta med vita ränder. De var lite lättare att ta ihjäl. De rödhövdade gillade blått och satte sig gärna på köksväggen när de inte ville suga vårt blod.
Sen försvann de ock istället kom några vanliga flugor men de blev kortlivade och istället kom hästflugorna med sina jätteögon och sen kom en annan jättefluga som brummade riktigt mycket. De gillade också blått.
Sen försvann de och en pyttefluga förmodligen knott gillade att flyga runt ansiktet och in i näsborrarna och ibland bet de.
Nere vid ån höll bromsarna hov. Man känner inte när de sätter sig utan bara själva bettet.
Men nu är det vinter och alla insekter är borta. Vi ska hålla lite mer koll när de börjar igen.
Kackerlackorna ja. De kom flygande och svärmade men det tog också slut.
Ute i trädgården bor det kackerlackor under ruttnande stubbar och liknande men de kommer inte in i huset.
I början kom de in av misstag men det berodde på att det inte var rensat under huset utan jorden gick nästan upp till golvet på sina ställen och det var mycket bråte under också.
Vi har också många nattfjärilar. Ett tag hade vi två stora vackra nattfjärilar som bodde i snickerboa. Varje kväll kom en fladdermus och letade efter dem i snickerboa, som inte hade någon dörr, men hittade inget. De kanske blev ätna till slut för de försvann också.
Sen har vi insekter som borrar i träet och termiter (inga just nu) och stora myror som bor i termiternas gamla gångar och insekter som äter borrarna, fästingar, cikador (skinnbaggar) mm av den vanliga floran av insekter.
Hela tiden bor någonting någonstans i huset. Om vi kunde ta hyra ändå! men det tog också slutgillade an kter är borta. Vi ska hålla lite mer koll när de börjar igen.
We have some fruit bats around the house now and then.
This one came into the house once and it made it´s rounds into the shed part looking for the big moths but never finding them. We think they ate all the grapes.
Bats, other animals and insects come around when there is something good for them or just looking for something and then either go away or die off (in the case of the flies).
A couple of mornings we were awakened by an odd scratching sound at the bed headboards. We could not figure out where it really came from. Not mice! Then we located it to the window frame. Mick went outside in the dark and notice that the window frame was a bit loose. Inside there were 4 bats squishing together. Well we made them homeless. Too bad. Pity we did not get a pic of that. If they had kept quiet we would never have known.
They ate all the grapes and tried out some of the Yellow Guavas and since we have not seen them.
