With No Place To Be...

With no place to be I found that being in the garden surrounded by an abundance of life was the perfect celebration for me today. 

Not one to get into the madness of the festive season with the media pressure to overspend and overeat, The wastefulness that is created during this holiday always makes me sad, the amount of paper wasted in particular, I think of the trees and how many have been killed so gifts can be wrapped.

 Appreciating the joy of nature and the nurturing the garden gifts me each day also deepens my awareness to the forests, jungles and bushlands around the world. Thoughts also go out to all the creatures of the world, the oceans and the rivers, for without each being playing their part in the cycle of life we would not be here today.

Staying home and relishing this little healing grove I have cultivated into existence and the endless array of wildlife that either lives in the garden, or flys in to feed and refresh themselves with the fresh water bowls throughout the garden. 

During the night I noticed that the possums have been back, I feel that I would like to make a feeding station for them high up in one of the trees. I also want to get a bat house for the micro bats that dwell in the area. I haven't seen the bobtail goannas for awhile, but know that they are about, they tend to keep out of the way when I am in the garden. 

So grateful for the abundance I have.

The chicken folk had plenty of company enjoying the rice and oats given to them for breakfast. The bronzewings in particular love these yummy treats. The two young ducks are still spending part of the day in shady nooks and seem to like to stay close to the chickens. The trees are full of the little honeyeaters, yellow rumped thornbills and paradotes, it is difficult capturing them on film though as the canopies of the trees are so lush.

There are still flowers appearing and it does surprise me how some plants thrive in the heat. Keeping everything hydrated is a daily ritual at present. I have had to cover the vegetables in the raised bed though as the heat is withering them so. The tomatoes and corn are thriving in the full sun and the fig tree has so much fruit slowly ripening. Hopefully this year I will get to enjoy a few, the parrots love figs and normally beat me to them. I don't really like netting trees, plus I don't mind sharing.

Charlie was enjoying a spot of bird watching himself  and was completely mesmerised by something he was watching. It is nice to see the cats stimulated by the wonders the garden offers. The chair at the front door is Charlie's favourite daytime place, here he gets a birds eye view of all the comings and goings throughout the day.

One of the ring necked parrots had its fledgling chick with her, they were chattering to each other as they waited in a tree. They normally like to feed on the rice and oats with the other birds and chickens, maybe having her baby with her mum thought it best to wait until the feeding rush had died down a bit. 

A morning of true appreciation of what is truly important to me, the bounty of life that surrounds me. Birdsong filled the air and as the sun began to heat up the fragrance of the two different jasmines in the front garden drifted on the faint breeze, the perfume gets stronger as the temperature rises...