Andrew asked what the postie was delivering yesterday morning that wasn't a pair of white runners (they belonged to someone else!). It was this ...
Our house gets very cold. I think it's the combination of a concrete slab and lots of tiles and no sun getting into the living area. This is a happy hoodie (a knock off of Oodies and much cheaper). I bought one with cats on as a bit of a joke and Himself loved it. I then decided that I was getting bloody cold, too, so I bought him this one in a tradie fluro colour and I have taken the cat one. They are very warm and light to wear. I thought I would hate it but, no. This is from their website, sadly, not Himself modelling it.
This morning we did another really long walk along the waterfront and here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. Biggerise the photos for the best affect.
It gets quite warm when the sun is out.
I am not sure what this bird is but it was pretty cool.
Our ubiquitous black swans. I believe swans mate for life and the dappled ones would be from last year's hatchings. Teenagers if you like. Not sure if this is mum or dad but whichever the partner wasn't far away catching things to eat.
The constant changing shore line is always a delight. I love the patterns the water has made in the sand.
A honeyeater having a whale of a time in a native bush
And the noisy, destructive sulphur crested cockatoos. This is only a small part of the flock as they flew away from us. You can see the yellow tinge to their feathers. They look amazing in flight but I still loathe them. The damage they cause is devastating.
It was a very long walk and by the end my hips, knees and back were not happy but my brain was so all good.
Last night we put Jinx in the cone of shame as it seems she licks at herself during the night. We will do it again tonight. I hope she breaks the habit soon.
It is getting cooler so time to don my happy hoodie and burrow in for the night.
I have an oodie and I can’t wear it for long. I get too hot
ReplyDeleteI’ll definitely take it with me on the next camping trip. Maybe I’ll be able to keep my back warm
Love the swans.
You have an open fire! We are trying not to use the heating if we can help it. But I imagine camping would be awesome in an oodie.
DeleteCockies can do terrible damage and their squawking can be so annoying, but they are such fun birds too.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos.
Cold inside, turn up the heating.
The bird is a heron of some variety.
I loved them until I witnessed the damage they can do.
DeleteWe are poor self funded retirees - we can't afford the electricity!! Actually we choose to try to limit it but it does make me very mindful of those who really can't afford it.
It's so strange that a bird which is a terrible pest on one continent is a prized and expensive pet on another -- in the US.
ReplyDeleteCockatoos of various breeds are very demanding birds as pets, and it takes a lot of willingness to handle them, beautiful as they are. And noisy. I had a few clients in my petcare business. They typically love women's voices rather than men's, so I never had biting problems.
But I can see how that personality, i multiplied by a flock in the wild, would be like roving bands of gangsters.
When you get hundreds in a flock they can strip trees of leaves and houses of anything timber (like window frames and balconies) in no time at all. Your likening them to gangsters is spot on!
DeleteYes. A heron of some sort, as Andrew said.
ReplyDeleteSome of your shoreline reminds me so much of ours here. We do not have wild cockatoos though! They would be considered so exotic to see in the wild. Instead we have the gulls which are a problem on their own but they are not as destructive as the cockatoos.
Hurray for you for these good walks!
We have gulls too, but they seem more intent on stealing food from unwary tourists. Our birdlife is beautiful and we are fortunate that not that many varieties are destructive.
DeleteI think your mystery bird is a white-faced heron?
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-faced_heron
I can't imagine hating cockatoos. I only know them as pets and they're so fun. But I guess any bird in a large flock can be too much of a good thing -- especially when they're smart and have big beaks!
A talking cockie in a cage was a common thing in many touristy places. Thankfully this practice is rarely seen. They are lovely birds and very communal. It saddens me to see them kept as pets for amusement. And to be honest, they only "destroy" things that humans consider valuable. Like houses!!
DeleteI should look into the happy hoodies, I am frequently cold inside and resort to using the aircon though the sun is pouring in through the window.
ReplyDeleteYears ago when such things were allowed, my mum had two sulphur crested cockatoos in huge cages on one side of the back yard, each cage had a tree in it for the birds and they had plenty of room to fly. I love them but dislike the destruction they cause.
The dappled young swans are pretty to look at.
They are very warm.
DeleteCockatoos are lovely birds and look amazing when they fly in a large flock I just wish they had a prettier call!