Mid afternoon we noticed a different species of duck in the dam. It turned out to be a Pacific Black Duck – actually brown in colour. This species is pretty common around most of Australia, but as far as we know it is the first time it has visited us. We were pleased to see … Continue reading Pacific Black Duck
Author: fifteenacres
New A – Z Native Species Index Pages
I’ve added an alphabetised index of the native species of birds and animals mentioned in my blog posts for easy reference. Birds dominate at the moment, but you will also find a few kangaroos, reptiles and insects too. I’ll keep adding to the Index as I create new posts, so check back from time to … Continue reading New A – Z Native Species Index Pages
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Yesterday in Waiting for the End of Summer I lamented that nothing much was happening around here. This morning I woke earlier than usual and found an Eastern Grey Kangaroo feeding on the long green grass growing over the septic tank outlet pipe. The Australian Wood Ducks like this spot too. It’s certainly lush, and … Continue reading Eastern Grey Kangaroo
We have a Greenhouse!
With the exception of the front door, the greenhouse is now built. To put the door on, we need to dig out the area immediately in front of it – the land rises and prevents it from swinging open. The next step will be to build the raised garden beds inside it.
Waiting for the end of Summer
I’d imagined Summer would be a hive of activity, with new birds arriving for the water in the dam, flowers appearing everywhere, and an active planting season in the vegetable garden, but I’ve come to realise Summer is a time of waiting and watching. Waiting for the vegetables to grow, waiting for each high fire … Continue reading Waiting for the end of Summer
Lotions, Potions and Soap
If you have ever made a mayonnaise for a salad, then you are already familiar with the basic process involved in making body lotions. Home made body lotions are essentially emulsions of oil and water, with added ingredients to provide fragrance and longer shelf life. This week I set aside time to restock my bathroom … Continue reading Lotions, Potions and Soap
Blackwing Currawong: race Melanoptera
Just before midday, I collected the mail and walked toward the dam to see if any birds were active. Nothing moved. A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, then ceased. All was still. Except I could still hear bark clattering high up in the tree. Looking toward the sound, I noticed the black head of … Continue reading Blackwing Currawong: race Melanoptera
Australian Magpie – Race Hypoleuca
Magpies are so much a part of an Australian landscape, both in the city and in rural areas, that it is easy to look past them to more exotic species of birds. It would be very remiss of me to leave them out of my species list. I have always loved magpies. Their carolling voices … Continue reading Australian Magpie – Race Hypoleuca
Getting Back to the Greenhouse
This week, we are preparing to construct the greenhouse. After a busy couple of months, we are finally able to focus on this. The timing will be good as it will allow time for seeds to emerge and take root as we come into Autumn. So far, we have the front and the back section … Continue reading Getting Back to the Greenhouse
Swamp Wallaby 2: Ornamental Plum Breakfast
Our bedroom window faces East. Yesterday morning, I had to get up earlier than usual, and I was greeted by a brilliant terracotta coloured sky at sunrise. I got the camera out, intending to capture this brilliant colour, opened the door onto our decking and came face to face with a Swamp Wallaby in the … Continue reading Swamp Wallaby 2: Ornamental Plum Breakfast
Tonal Landscapes
If you are an artist, I’d value your opinion on the suitability photos in this post for a tonal landscape painted in oils. I have not painted since I was a teenager and my skills are very limited. A good friend of mine suggested I start by doing tonal landscapes where the focus is on … Continue reading Tonal Landscapes
Laughing Kookaburra
Lately, a bedraggled Kookaburra has been sitting in trees near the house in the afternoon. When we first spotted it, the bird’s tail feathers were completely missing, and it looked like it had been in some kind of skirmish. Even now, with half-grown tail, it looks very scruffy compared with many beautiful Kookaburras I have … Continue reading Laughing Kookaburra
Five minutes of good rain
For the first time in weeks – it seems like a couple of months – it rained here. Well, we had good rain for a whole five minutes. After that, only fine drizzle for a few minutes at a time over an hour or so. The forecast predicts more rainfall over the next couple of … Continue reading Five minutes of good rain
Hot Northerlies, Cooling Southerlies, and Rough-Barked Trees
Over Summer, we’re forever monitoring the wind direction. This is new for us. Living in the city, we monitored temperature throughout the day, but wind direction was just a vague acknowledgement that North Winds were hot, and South Winds were refreshing and cool. Also, when the Southerlies came in on the back of a hot … Continue reading Hot Northerlies, Cooling Southerlies, and Rough-Barked Trees
A Small Plot
It has surprised me that the path to growing all of our own food has been more difficult than we’d imagined when we arrived. The existing vegetable garden is only small, and when we arrived it was newly planted by the previous owners. An entire half of the vegetable garden is still taken up with … Continue reading A Small Plot
Black Kite
I was at the opposite end of the house to Richard when he called out ‘What’s that brown thing in the dam?” Never too far from the camera, I caught a distant shot of a large bird, which we initially thought was a Wedge-Tailed Eagle. This large bird of prey was taking a bath in … Continue reading Black Kite
Royal Spoonbill
Today was a day for unexpected visitors. When I returned home at lunch time today, I found a Spoonbill walking around the dam. I actually stumbled across the bird when looking for orchids. Luckily it didn’t fly away, and I rapidly backed away from it, raced inside and grabbed my camera. By the time I … Continue reading Royal Spoonbill
Australian White Ibis
When we awoke this morning, a small number of Australian White Ibis were wading in, and walking around the dam. We didn’t actually count them, but there were about six or seven all in different locations. It is hard to tell if these were a family of ibis, or a flock of individuals. Males and … Continue reading Australian White Ibis
Lime Curd
At long last one of our fruit trees produced enough fruit to make preserves! Our Tahitian Lime tree is inside the cat enclosure and protected from parrots, so our limes ripened without interference. I used a Lime Curd recipe in a book I was given late last year: Marisa McClellan’s ‘Food in jars: Preserving in … Continue reading Lime Curd
Austracantha Minax (Christmas Spider, Jewell Spider or Six Horned Spider)
Sitting on the twine that supports our broad beans in the vegetable garden was a colourful and (we thought) unusual looking spider. My internet research, verified from several differnt sources, including the Museum of Victoria, tells me that this spider’s scientific name is Austracantha Minax. It seems to have several common names including the … Continue reading Austracantha Minax (Christmas Spider, Jewell Spider or Six Horned Spider)
Off-Camera Moments
For this post, I thought I would move beyond sight, and explore some of the other senses. Twelve things I can’t capture in a photo: Breathing in the scent of peppermint eucalyptus after rain, and feeling it in my body all the way down to the bottom of my lungs. Being drowned out by the … Continue reading Off-Camera Moments
Fallen Fruit: A not-so-happy story
Here the pictures tell the story. Look at the photo’s I posted last week, and compare them with these. I don’t think we are going to get much fruit this year. The fruit trees are only small. From the sharp edged marks in the top of the pears, I think the culprits were parrots. I … Continue reading Fallen Fruit: A not-so-happy story
The Fairy Wrens and the Cat Enclosure: A happy story
In an earlier post, I worried about disturbing the Superb Fairy Wren’s habitat in our back yard. I also worried about our cats killing the wrens if they were able to find a way into the newly constructed cat enclosure. Most of all, I lamented that I would no longer see their cheery form hopping … Continue reading The Fairy Wrens and the Cat Enclosure: A happy story
Too hot for swamp wallabies, and for me too!
Yesterday, the temperature here reached 39 degrees celsius. We were lucky – many parts of the State had temperatures in the low 40’s. Even so, we didn’t feel lucky – high heat, high winds and dry vegetation is a dangerous mix. In our former life, in the middle of a large city, we would have … Continue reading Too hot for swamp wallabies, and for me too!
Fifteen Acres 