rainbow bee-eater
Dear Ciara,
The weather has been phenomenal this week. Long, endless days of sunshine. My garden is thriving. White cosmos flowers are blooming between the thick tangle of tomatoes, sweet potato and sunflowers in the back garden bed. There are some zinnias now too that I hadn’t noticed until recently, almost ready to burst with colour. I’ve given up on attempting to control the spread of the sweet potato vine: it is scrambling along the lawn, up the fence, over into the neighbour’s yard — it’s even about to grow into the pool. Yesterday, I told my landlord that she can mow over it if she so chooses. It won’t take long for it to bounce back and begin scrambling again.
There are so many gorgeous birds about at this time of the year in Tropical Queensland. Our favourites are the rainbow bee-eaters, which we often spy resting on the powerlines out the front of our house. They are striking birds, with slim curved bills and long tails with distinctive “streamers”. They’re an almost incandescent blue-green, catching the sunlight like a suncatcher.
Another favourite are the friarbirds chortling in the callistemon trees. Last year, The Organist and I saved a baby one that had fallen out of its nest. We gave it to a local lady who nursed him back to health until he could be released into the wild. Her rescues never drift too from her property, though. The mango tree in her back garden is full of her rescued birds.
We plan to have a relaxing weekend, soaking up the sunshine and studying the birds. How do you plan to spend your weekend?
The song for today is:
Country — Samia
I love this song. It always makes the end of my fingertips tingle. Sing it loudly in the kitchen. I promise you; it will make you feel good.
Love, The Gardener