this little fellow was studiously climbing up ?down a Hypolaena plant on a recent trip to the SE. Isn't he a cutie!

Mt Eba sunrise

...my favourite song right now...

Crowded House - Distant Sun

Tell me all the things you would change
I don't pretend to know what you want
When you come around and spin my top
Time and again, time and again
No fire where I lit my spark
I am not afraid of the dark
Where your words devour my heart
And put me to shame, put me to shame

And your seven worlds collide
Whenever I am by your side
And dust from a distant sun
Will shower over everyone

You're still so young to travel so far
Old enough to know who you are
Wise enough to carry the scars
Without any blame, there's no one to blame
It's easy to forget what you learned
Waiting for the thrill to return
Feeling your desire burn
You're drawn to the flame

When your seven worlds collide
Whenever I am by your side
And dust from a distant sun
Will shower over everyone
Dust from a distant sun
Will shower over everyone

And I'm lying on the table
Washed out in the flood
Like a Christian fearing vengeance from above
I don't pretend to know what you want
But I offer love

Seven worlds will collide
Whenever I am by your side
And dust from a distant sun
Will shower over everyone

As time slips by, and on and on

Aren't they gorgeous? This beautiful pair were making short work of my sunflowers this summer - I wonder if they were the same pair who visited the flowers the previous summer? Nothing like coming back for a good feed! Fortunately there was plenty for them and it's well worth losing a few kernels to have these beauties visit every day.

Girl's best friend...

our little fellow...hard to believe this is just before he turned 6 months old. "Such a gentleman" was what the breeder said, and he is. Very gentle, well-behaved and intelligent - but still able to raise merry hell when he feels like it (like spending 2-3 weeks entertaining himself by demolishing 1 pot a day over that period. Admittedly, they had been sitting in the garden for 2 years, empty apart from old soil, and I HAD been meaning to throw them away, but I'm sure he didn't know that!).

He's slipped into our lifestyle so easily, and apart from missing us like crazy when we're at work (which hopefully he'll adjust to as he gets older), he is no trouble.

We wouldn't be without him.

Summer Rains

There's something special about summer rains, whether it's a light sprinkling or a full downpour with serious intent to get everything wet. And something about the size of the droplets conjours up particular images. My favourite is the large fat drop that makes a splodge when it lands. Nothing can compare with standing out in the midst of it, and letting cold drops fall on warm skin...