In a Purple Tree

Alrighty. As you may have noticed I've been missing from posting blogs for... possibly a month or more. That would be due to the fact that I'm not here on a pleasure trip (although I would love to do that. Just a long trip and travel around Australia), I'm actually here to get a BA degree and possibly find a job somewhere in the world after that. So I've been studying, taking exams, completing assessments, getting migraines and generally trying to survive a different type of school environment. It's not all bad. I've also attended several really good stage performances and hung out with really cool people. Tried new foods too. :) 

So... anyway, in the small area outside my window, there used to be a giant stick of a tree.... And then, spring came around and the stick turned into this. Its a Jacaranda tree, and they flower first before they get all their leaves in. There's another tree on campus that was covered in fire red flowers when I first got here, and every bird in the area was all over it, eating nectar or the flowers themselves. It's totally covered in green now, so all the birds moved on to other flowering trees. Which means I've got an aviary in this tree. I see almost every type of bird in it... although they usually fly away before I can get the camera ready to go. Just as a note of interest, both these pictures were taken from my room. I love my camera! The close up ability on it is really cool. I know, I know. Every photographer out there is going,"Yeah, yeah.... there's a lot of cameras that can do that...." But honestly, this is cool for me. 

Okay, onward. Since I really haven't gone anywhere, I figure I'll just show you what comes to me! And that means a lot of birds. Sorry. I'd show you other things, but.. no one really wants to see the cockroach I found on campus right? Or the grocery store I shop at? Yeah... thought not. 

This, is a Red Wattle Bird, and he's a honeyeater, which means that he doesn't eat honey, but eats the nectar from the flowers. Handsome little stinker isn't he? Actually this could be a she, it's difficult to tell with the birds here because most species sexes look like each other. Anyway, it was checking out the stick tree in September, but no luck. The only reason I knew he was out there was because he makes a sound like a mini-shotgun being racked. *Ka-Chack* Not a pretty sound, but very identifiable. The first time I tried to photograph him he flew off as soon as I got back to the window, so when another one came back later I snuck back to the window with the camera and got this shot of it, which I thought was pretty good! It's holding still, and not hopping around in the branches like a monkey, so you can really see that red-brown eye and the red wattle that it gets his name from.

.... and then, it saw me! Or the camera more specifically. I'd gotten sneaky and had lowered the shade on my window, so only a slit was left where I could rest the camera. Of course it freaked out and flew off after making alarm calls. I guess the camera reflected or something. It only freaked out when it saw a camera, but not with me just watching it. Camera trauma in the past? 

I'd see a Wattle Bird in the tree from time to time checking things out, but they never stayed long. The tree wasn't flowering much, and I suspect it had things it needed to do. Like eat. These are fairly common birds here in Perth, and throughout most of the south, wrapping all the way back around to the southern eastern seaboard. Their main diet is nectar, as I said, but they've also been seen eating small insects off plants and in midair. These aren't terribly small birds. They're probably a bit bigger than a Stellar Jay from back home. 

We see a lot more of them now that the Jacaranda tree is blooming like mad. And there is the wattle bird doing what it does best. Eating nectar... and in this case, clinging to the tree for dear life. The reason the picture is blurry is because there was a storm going on that day, so it was pouring rain, and it was -really- windy. With the tree swinging around in the wind, and the rain pouring down the window, it's amazing that the picture came out at all. This was in mid-October, so the tree is in full bloom currently. Although with the past few storms it's flowers have taken a bit of a pounding, but the birds don't seem to care.



And then there is the monkey routine where is hang upside down on perilously small branches to reach what it's after. It also gives you a nice shot of the little yellow tummy. Again, sorry about the blurry picture, but I love the colour pattern and the yellow patch. And the bird being a complete and total clown while getting his lunch. Looks like it's 6 in the evening there, but it was more like noon when I took it.  Believe it or not it was blue skies and warm 20 minutes later. 5 minutes after that there was another monsoon. Crazy weather, but I certainly enjoy the feathered neighbors. Even if they are camera shy. I've got more photos of birds... and since I've only got one exam left, maybe I'll actually be able to go somewhere and take pictures of ... oh, I don't know, perhaps a landmark??? It's a thought I'm seriously considering. 

If you want a little more information about the Red Wattle Bird, you can look on here.

Anyway, I'm back for a bit, although not sure how much time I'll have. I've got some friends who want to drag me around to see things, which will be cool for picture taking, but probably not so cool for actually having the energy to blog! But I'll do my best. :)

Halloween... again!

Okay, so I've been just a bit busy with end of semester stuff and haven't had the time or the energy to get on my blog and update everyone. Hopefully starting next month I'll have a little extra time to post pictures and tell stories. Granted most of the interesting stuff is few and far between, and the pictures are mostly of birds that are in the Jacaranda tree outside my window. How do I know it's a Jacaranda tree?? Well... lets just say that it gives itself away in spring, and spends most of the winter masquerading as a giant dead twig sticking out of the ground. Anyway, I'll get you pictures so you can see. I suspect however they they won't do it significant justice.

So, right now back home its my favorite day of the year! Halloween! The other holidays are nice and all, but I truly love Halloween. The weather has turned cool and crisp, fall leaves are being shuffled along the ground in every direction, and there's this sense of anticipation. I can also breath during the fall, because all the pollen is gone and I am not dealing with allergies that make me sleepy. Which is probably why I feel so alive in the fall. That's my best explanation. Anyway, above is my pumpkin from last year. Usually I get more creative, but I hadn't done a traditional jack-o-lantern in a really long time, so... out came the triangles and the goofy grin. I like him. 

  Happy Halloween! 

P.S. I had little spinning pumpkins, but they ceased to spin, so I removed them when they became nothing but boxes inhabited by questions marks. Apologies. ;)

The Aglet Nibbler.

A couple of weeks ago, while I was sitting at a bus stop in Joondalup this little fellow decided to pay me a visit. Actually this isn't the same bird. But he's a good stand in. This, in it's broadest name, is an Australian Ringneck. The name is something of a catch all for 4 sub-species of parrot that live in Western Australia... and probably other parts of Australia, but I hadn't really investigated that deeply into it. I tried looking him up in a bird book, but he didn't quite match with the Port Lincoln, or with the description of the Twenty-eights. Which means I was hunting down what he was online. Apparently he's an intermediate, which means he's probably an off-spring from a Port Lincoln and a Twenty-eight. (I can't remember the last time I used so many hyphens.) It's a result of habitat destruction. In other words, these birds moved into the city, because where they used to live is gone. And now that they don't have their normal stomping grounds, the social structures of the sub-species are starting to merge. This is the result. I'm guessing there is probably quite a bit of variation in colouring from nest to nest.

Anyway, I didn't get the best resolution because he was really far away. If you enlarge the picture it's pretty darn fuzzy. Ah well... did the best I could. So, back to what I was saying about the bus stop. I was sitting there reading a book. Shocker; I know. As I'm reading I saw this parrot fly down and land in a nearby scrubby tree. There aren't any wild parrots were I live so he become the object of my undivided attention, which he noticed because he started staring right back. To my surprise he flew down from the tree, landing about 10 feet away from me, and then ambled up to my shoe with a swagger that would have made John Wayne proud. He peered closely at the aglet on my shoelace, and like a 2 year old who has encountered something new and exciting, stuffed it into his mouth. The nibbling continued for about 2 minutes, the whole time he's got his head cocked looking up at me as if contemplating my existence. I was certainly contemplating his, so I didn't bear a grudge. Although I was becoming concerned that he was going to eat the aglet, which would leave me with an unraveling shoelace and the bird with an impacted crop. Neither of which sounded appealing.

Thirty seconds later he dropped my shoelace, stared at an approaching student, and decided he'd had enough fun teasing the human and left. He didn't go too far. Just across the street to a big old tree and was joined by several more similarly coloured individuals of the parrot persuasion. I'd say they were all the same, but I couldn't tell from the distance I was at. And alas; no camera. Curses. For those of you worried about the state of my shoelace, it suffered no damage, although there may be future psychological issues from having experienced a parrot mouth.

Yes. I just anthropomorphized a shoelace. :)

Morning Window

Several weeks ago, I think I threatened to put up items that I can see from my window. It's all 5th floor view up here, which makes it easier to take pictures of things. It also helps that I have a really nice camera now that lets me focus on items of interest from varying degrees of distance. All the bird shots were taken from quite a ways off.

Anyway, back to a morning photo. It's nothing impressive, but I sure do like the colours. :) This was taken just as dawn was breaking. I've got two windows in my room. One faces directly east into the sunrise every morning and I get some spectacular shows when I'm up early. Which is 3 times a week, and sometimes more if I'm feeling masochistic. Otherwise I sleep in when I can.

At night, it's a different story. Especially when it's clear skies and there's a full moon. It lights up the entire area; more so than I remember it doing in the states. I don't think we're closer here. Maybe it has to do with atmosphere. We may never know. Pictures like this make me really love my camera, and I feel a need to apologize to it for not take it out and using it. Homework, readings, essays and projects take first priority however.

In fact I'm procrastinating a bit here with this blog entry. I don't really want to write up and 1000 word essay on logical fallacies. :P But who knows, it might be fun inventing examples for a few of those. If you learn these you will never been able to watch public political debates without either laughing hysterically, or becoming depressed. Depends on your point of view I guess. Up to you. Actually that 'either/or' boarders on a Black and White fallacy. Which basically means that you only have two choices or decisions possible and no other option. Keep in mind though that anything is possible, so try thinking outside a box a bit. :)

In a Tree....

Right outside my window is a big tree. It's not tall enough to reach my window, but it does fill quite a lot of space even without leaves. Currently it's winter down under and most of the trees that lose their leaves have dumped them some time ago. This particular tree did something similar, as it's nothing but a large log with tons of twigs, sticking out of the ground at the moment. All those twigs however provide wonderful places for all manner of birds to sit. Or hide. Or, when there's a storm, hang on for dear life. Or spend all freaking night singing... Here is a picture of the culprit. If you want to hear what he sounds like, try this link. Australian Magpie . Normally I wouldn't care if he was singing or not, because it's gorgeous... but not at 2:30 a.m. and not when you've only been asleep for 45 minutes. The link doesn't really do him justice as he's extremely loud. I mean loud. REALLY loud.

People opened windows and told him to shut up (I'm ad libbing, because the actual phrases used were not truly fit for the ears of mere mortals.) and at some point a shoe was thrown, and is now hanging in the tree, swinging gently back and forth. Meanwhile some extremely stressed student is contemplating, to paraphrase David Tennant while portraying Doctor Who in the proper first episode of season three,".... looking daft with one shoe." My apologies if that made no sense.

In case you're interested they're about the size of a raven. Not a small bird. They are also extremely smart. Just as smart as these I'm willing to bet. This, is the Australian Raven. They're about the same size, but the Raven is all black and he's got a little beard. Well, more like a little tuft of feathers that look like a beard than an actual beard. That little tuft puffs up when they call, and the call is quite mocking. Apparently it changes from place to place. In Sydney, it's a mocking HAAAH Haah Haaaaaaa... Here in Perth, it warbles quite a bit. Try clicking here to hear what they sound like. Sorry, it's not all that great a recording, but it's the closest I could find. The Ravens here, tend to warble a bit when they call, so it sounds mournful, rather than mocking. This particular Australian Raven spent most of the day sitting up there during a storm. I have no idea why he didn't go somewhere more sheltered.

And since I'm rambling on about birds I've seen in the tree outside, I might as well show you this one too. This is a Singing Honeyeater, and is by far the most dull coloured Honeyeater I've seen so far. I really have to go and take pictures of all the different kinds that are crawling all over a tree on campus. Everything eats off that tree... Anyway, this little guy and friends took refuge in the tree during a windstorm that was howling so loud that it was setting off the neighborhood Kookaburra family. Took me forever to figure out what it was because it doesn't really have an bold markings like it's relatives, plus it was hunched up, so it didn't look like a Honeyeater. It looks more like a thrush, and if anyone has a different answer for what this bird is, please don't hesitate to correct me. I was going on what I found in a birding guide I got from the library on campus.

Just one more, and then I think I'm done for today. My food is getting cold. This next one is a Black Faced Cuckoo-Shrike. Again, I could be wrong, but that's what it appears to be to me. The link I attached to the name was really the only one I could find, so, I'm not sure what they sound like. The one in the tree was pretty quiet too. It spent it's time scratching like there was no tomorrow, but it might have just been grooming. It didn't appear to health issues. Maybe he/she was just enjoying a good scratch.

I think I'm going to have to invest in a bird book, because the one I got from the library wasn't in good shape when I got it, and it appears that traveling home in my backpack hasn't done it any favors. Oh well. I'll take it back to the library tomorrow and see if they slap me with a replacement fee. They didn't on the last one I found falling to pieces, but two times? That's probably pushing it. My poor poor pocketbook.

A Tale of a Double Yoke Banana

There are many mysteries of life out there in the world. Kookaburras that love a good windstorm. A local duck that can't get enough of basil flavored noodles. A ring necked parrot that likes to play with the aglets on my shoelaces while I wait patiently for a bus. However, the very last thing I ever expect to see was this.

Yes, I know, it's a banana and I can hear your mental gears slowly beginning to turn, wondering,"Why in God's name, is she posting about a common fruit? She's in Australia. She could be showing the world any number of amazing things and yet, she picks a banana." But before you really get going about the travesty of fruit upstaging other things of startling colours (no, I did not spell that wrong. I'm in Australia. That's how I'll spell it while I'm here. I shall observe 'proper' English... and because I got scolded by my C&DT teacher...) and variety, I would have you examine said tropical fruit closely. Please note that it is rather oddly shaped, as if perhaps that, inside that lovely yellow skin, there may be something unwholesome going on??

Lets open the convenient natural zipper that bananas come equipped with and expose the truth. Now, I've seen things doubled up before, like eggs. Sometimes a chicken will decide to hold up the whole laying process for a day, and two squishies end up inside one hard shell. Its the miracle of the chicken. One egg, two yolks, although I do pity the chicken that has to pop that sucker out. Ouch. Neat party trick, but the consequences to the old egg chute can be problematic.

Enough nonsense. Back to the matter at hand. When I went shopping I found this among the bananas and got it just to see what was inside. Here is the truth revealed. Yes inside was a double yoke banana! And they were delicious! I had them with oatmeal, fried apples, brown sugar and some cinnamon sprinkled on top just to be sure I had a good case of indigestion by the time I got to class that morning. Actually I'm kidding about going to class afterwards. It was a Wednesday and I stayed home to work on a project for one of my classes. But the bananas were still really good.

In all seriousness, generally when I find a veggie or a fruit like this, they don't taste good, but this one (two?) was very sweet without tasting like it was going bad. Really good with the oatmeal hodge-podge, and thus it must be recorded somewhere for posterity... Not that any self respecting future generation is going to look at this blog. I can hear them now,"You want me to look at a blog?! Are you trying to make me look totally uncool?" That's assuming they're still speaking a language that I can understand.

Little 'bots.

Yes, I know, I haven't been posting, but I'm coming up on a crunch time for school. I've got assessments coming up that need to be done in two weeks. Before you ask, yes, I have started them, but they're intensive for me, because I'm attempting to do a good job, without having even the barest glimmer of what the expectations are. Oh, it's been fun! I can tell you that much.

So, I shall leave you with a picture I took. I'll have to go hunt down something really random, because I haven't been able to go picture taking. Too much school work, and not enough time to run around exploring. So, I'll have to leave you with this to tide you over until I can do a longer post.. which may or may not be soon.

(Sorry. I know the picture isn't all that great.)

I found this little guy in Paddy's Market, all the way at the back and to the right. The stall was the last one on an end which was difficult to see because it faced the opposite direction. To tell the truth I was looking for the bathroom. They moved things around in there, and a lot of the little shops were gone. Kinda sad actually. Some of the newer vendors are -really- aggressive about getting your attention, and it changes the feel at Paddy's. Anyway, I was about to go right on past, but I saw the little robots! Who can pass up a little robot with bendy arms and legs, and little jewel eyes! .... okay, so a lot of you are saying,"Who would want that thing?!" Well, I would. He's got a little zipper tab on his front and everything. I have yet to attach him to my backpack, because I'm afraid I'll lose him somewhere, or he'll get chipped. The black paint you know. Mustn't scratch the paint.

The stall purveyor spoke very little English, and I speak absolutely no ... um... I'm ashamed to say I have no idea what dialect he was speaking. He must have been quite new to Australia. We ended up using a note pad to draw little pictures to each other when it came to actually buying a little robot. I've haggled before in Paddy's, but never using a note pad and pen. It was actually kinda of fun. :)

Anyway, in the end, I got a little black robot with sparkly eyes, bendy arms and legs, and a rather bemused smile. The stall owner got $5.00. I figure it was a deal.