S is for surfeit of swallows and South Australia

 

tree full of swallows

I have to share my good/bad/horrible swallow pics as these little creatures are hard to capture!

four small birds on a branch
These tree martins were in Swansea and were settled in for the evening. Scott took this pic. I have my contacts set for reading distance/computer work and Scott has his set for further out. He does a much better job at finding birds and focusing correctly on the more distant ones. I have prescription sunglasses set for further distances. They work much better for finding birds but not at dusk! I was essentially out of commission once the sun set. Lesson learned. I let him do the spotting. 
swallow in flight

swallow on end of boat

These were from our houseboat trip. We had two ducks and two swallows follow us around. The swallows attempted to nest on the boat. I actually got one in focus while flying (thank heavens for digital cameras that don't mind hundreds of attempts)! Then they started hitchhiking on the rowboat. Cute little welcome swallows. 

white breasted wood swallow on light post
This guy was not a welcome swallow but a white breasted wood swallow. He was hanging out watching things at one of our stops on the way up the New South wales Coast. 

tree martin on branch
This guy was also in focus, for a change (tree martin).

We have been exploring the Alexandrian bird trail. We spent most of yesterday north of the pet sit house and walked through a lot of scrub filled with New Holland honeyeaters (we have seen plenty of those before) and not finding the birds we hoped to see. The honeyeaters are very territorial and likely shoved out the others. 
Of course, we found a great birding spot on the last road of the trip, the short trek as we headed back to the truck! We found hooded robins, elegant parrots, treecreepers and other little wrens. It is also spring time and we watched nest building and chick feeding.
Here is a mistletoe bird mom feeding the chick (at a fair distance and they move fast!) Scott managed this shot:
bird feeding chick on basket type nest
Here is an elegant parrot - also very flighty so happy to get one that held still!
green parrot with blue edged wings and tail

We are staying in Goolwa for another week and then will drive home to "move in" to our Cobargo house just before Christmas. To be ready, we headed down the coast to grab sheets and towels so we can sleep comfortably in our new house once we are done here. It is amazing to drive along the coast and see open land vs spaces crowded with houses. Scott pointed out the better match between population numbers and coast line. Hope the coast line stays visible and accessible.

We had a visitor at the house two days ago. A lovely and confused older lady showed up at the window and asked if I knew her. Scott was napping at the time. She was not terribly lucid and carried a towel, slacks and other folded laundry. Obviously I didn't know her.  She asked to come in but I was worried that someone would be out looking for her and not find her inside the house. I offered to walk her back home but that wasn't well received so we sat on the window ledge for awhile. Eventually she took me back to her house so I could be a "witness" that they were holding her hostage. Meantime, Scott had contacted the local police station. She did live two doors down with the "grey man" that claimed to be her husband. Once we got back to her house, she seemed to snap back to more of herself. Her husband was dressed mostly in grey and seemed lovely. I was able to find out that Dec 14 was her birthday so we returned yesterday with a small cake and joined them for a toast. They have been married for over 30 years and she has been fading for a couple. They are off to see the kids and grandkids in a couple of days. Must be hard on both of them to have these challenges. It is a very quiet neighborhood and very safe for a wanderer. It is too quiet for her liking, so she wanders to find company! She sent us back with flowers


Our current responsibility, Jazz, adores Scott and will only walk for short distances with me unless he comes too. With him around, she can walk for miles. 
A storm came through a few nights ago and she got stressed. Scott moved out to the living room and she now sees him as her savior.
man on couch covered by blanket, small white dog tucked in next to him
Currently waiting on Scott to get out of the shower

Hope you have someone in your life that feels this way about you! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Arrival in the Land Down Under

Image
  view from Long Point St across the park to the inlet We are here! We landed in Moruya on Thursday Aug 14 , after leaving Seattle on Monday Aug 12. It was a 2 hour skip to LAX , a long jaunt to Sydney (crossing the international date line ), another 2 hour skip to Merimbula and then a super short hop to Moruya where Scott's Mum was waiting with the car.  I took the picture from just down the hill from the house where Scott's parents live along with his sister and her partner. Currently it is just the four of us as Kristy and Pete are white water rafting guides and away for now.  Our mailing address (although this would be a silly move) is 11 Long Point St, Potato Point, NSW, 2545, Australia This shire is south of Sydney, and on the coast (note the blue of the inlet above).  Map of Potato Point We had lots happening the past month and I will attempt to fill you in on that later! We left Matt is his new house in Roseville and spent a few days visiting Casey in Seat...
Read more

Our ship is coming in (slowly)

Image
  The Maersk Biscayne  (Panama flag) holds our container of goods. It is due into New Zealand about Sept 5 and then should make its way to Sydney, with any luck.  We loaded the trucks for the container on July 23 and then mostly moved into Matt's new house. His stuff was moved out the Saturday beforehand. After that it was goodwill runs, care corners drop offs and a dumpster bag! Habitat for Humanity now has our house and is fixing it up. They say it is ideal for a multigenerational family and love the welcoming neighborhood.  It may be a year before it is lived in again but hoping the new family finds it as good a home as we did! For those of you out of the loop, Matt moved to a smaller house a few blocks away. He has a 50s rambler with 3 bed, 1 bath and a large basement. No real dining room but a nice airy living room. Great neighbors and even closer to Culvers.  We helped do some minor fixing up while there. Please admire my kitchen cabinet work! The individ...
Read more

Potato Point

Image
  This is Potato Point from the view down the beach. There is a path winding up the hill at the far end of the beach. About three houses up the street is 11 Long Point St. Not bad! Whale watching /imagination occurs off the point and on either side of the point. More pics on that later.  Potato Point is somewhat of a weekend retreat. The internet definitely gets more sluggish on weekends with more users! There are now only about 3 vacant lots that I have identified but many houses are quiet during the week. Most have wallabies or kangaroos snoozing in them. There are still a couple of houses for sale if interested; unfortunately the third just got marked "sold".  The house is set up well for a shared home. Kitchen in the middle with two beds and one bathroom on either side. Each side also has a living space. While the living spaces and kitchen are open floor plan, it still feels divided. There is a "fenced" off backyard (no 'roos) with lots of flowers, herbs and...
Read more