I've just been watching a baby rabbit & mum on my lawn & the baby was having a ball, challenging a mature thrush . it would rush up to it & mum would round it up & then it would have another go at getting up close to the thrush , which just hopped a couple of feet away . it was great to watch. just a pity that the bloody rabbits are eating my garden!
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 1, 7:04am
The other day there was vast amounts of rustling coming from under our feijoa hedge. Next door's chooks had discovered the loose duff under them and were having a clucking good time scritching it all up. The bees didn't seem to mind, and Ms Coco was fascinated. From the safety of a perch on the deck.
I can't help wondering if they'll be back when fruit drop comes.
Green eggs anyone?
maclad,
Feb 1, 7:04am
I love this sort of thing and it is nice to see others who appreciate it as well.
venna2,
Feb 1, 7:20am
Yes, it might be my advancing age but I do enjoy idly watching the sparrows and blackbirds pottering around, and the neighbours' cat (who seems to have adopted me) following me around the garden and dashing up the cabbage tree to sharpen her claws.
Re the chooks, the feijoas should be safe, shouldn't they? I doubt the chooks would be able to penetrate the skin.
samanya,
Feb 1, 8:24am
My chooks won't eat Feijoas, I've given them some overdone ones & they turn their beaks up at them, so your crop should be safe.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 1, 8:57am
I wouldn't miss any they want to take. Since the guava moth has invaded I seem to be one of the few who doesn't reject them.
junie2,
Feb 1, 9:16am
Lol I'm another nature watcher. We got pullets a few weeks ago and it's been amazing watching them progress. I don't believe they'd scratched before, and that took a couple of days and now they're like rotary hoes. They hadn;t a clue what to do with greens till yesterday when they shredded a cabbage at one go. ( Luckily I'd just cut the heart out.) Not at all interested in the bees at this stage.( Our pet magpie largely ignored them too, but once or maybe twice a year would eat 20 at one go. Sugar fix?) And now they're all laying too. Our super-timid cat has relaxed and "mingles" happily. Ahhh, yes Samanya , nature's grand.
autumnwinds,
Feb 1, 11:41am
Another one, here. Something very soothing about watching the birdlife, especially the nestlings when they first start flying, and watching the seasonal changes.
Same with growing things. there's something quite magical about cutting a part of one plant, striking that cutting, and eventually producing a whole new plant.
Smells are another wonder of nature - I'm reluctant to cut back any more than necessary my wonderful Rosemary plant - it's one of the newer cultivars developed for culinary purposes (and without the heavy camphorous/resiny harshness of the usual Rosemary Officinalis) as I love the "whoosh. " of perfume as you brush past it.
venna2,
Feb 1, 7:13pm
I love the smell of ripening tomatoes too.
And getting back to chooks, I don't have them but my daughter has four, which are allowed to fossick in nearby bush. I love idly watching them scratch up the soil, pecking up little insects or whatever they're finding, and making dustbaths, and keeping each other close at hand with gentle little clucks. And how, at some point in the late afternoon, there's a mutual decision to head back to their chook house.
samanya,
Feb 1, 9:15pm
Nothing like hearing that first cackle or finding the first egg, huh? Quite exciting, isn't it. It may not be to some, but to me it's the little things like that which give great pleasure. I have a walk in berry cage with raspberries, blueberries & currants growing & it's only got a wire mesh between them & the chook paddock & my girls hang around softly talking to me when I'm in there, hoping for a few berries coming their way . & I'm pleased that no one can hear me talking back to them!
samanya,
Feb 1, 9:22pm
haa, I'm a cutting taker, too & often I have too many & have to search for places to plant them out or end up either giving them away. I planted a long ( 130 plants) lavender hedge in a garden bordering my driveway & half f it died into about it's 2/3 season & big oops, I think I may have been a bit careless with the spray on drive weeds . now I'm hoping that the replacements cuttings will take. We have been blessed with rain at the right times this summer , so fingers crossed.
maclad,
Feb 2, 3:17am
No chooks here just millions of aphis on my courgette. Decided to let them go as there are also many, many ladybirds and their larvae. They both chomp rapidly through the aphis and it is very interesting watching on a daily basis. The aphis are rapidly declining and the kids love to go and check on progress each day, me too.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 2, 4:14am
With the big wind this morning I was watching the massive plane tree do its 'ship in rough seas' imitation and spotted the rosellas hanging upside down on the most violently moving branches. I think they were just having fun.
But I don't envy birds in these gales.
articferrit,
Feb 2, 4:30am
The red admiral butterflies here are rather 'enthusiastic' at beating up the monarch butterflies but yesterday I watched a red admiral try and 'discourage' a rather large cicada into getting out of its territory. They eventually went their separate ways.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 2, 4:33am
I was delighted to spot a red admiral in the garden a few weeks back. First one I've seen in Auckland for decades. Lovely things.
We used to get them and the yellow form a lot in Blenheim. More nettle I'm guessing.
junie2,
Feb 2, 6:52am
How do they do that I wonder Venna ? It's like they have body clocks all set to the same time. I thought they'd be reluctant to head in before dark, but some evenings they go in about now, just when I'm enjoying the cool out there.
junie2,
Feb 2, 6:54am
It is exciting samanya! Such a learning curve for us. I'm told they have pea-sized brains, but my, these girls are very quick on the uptake. They tap on the back door, just as our dear old magpie did.
autumnwinds,
Feb 2, 10:30am
Yeah, rosellas do have fun hanging onto branches in the wind - such beautiful, and very comical characters. There's a wild group on another suburb - saw them the other day snaffling peaches off an old tree, making heaps of noise. . Speaking of "big wind" it's "blowing it;s *its off" here at the mo, and I'm in fear of losing more pomegranate fruits of my tree, fruiting for the first time this year. I lost a lot in the last big storm, but this time I have fruit nearly half their fullgrown size. so crossing my fingers. and toes.
Wow . pomegranates, I do hope you were able to save them. We got the winds here yesterday, but nowhere near as bad as some of the country. Had to keep an eye on my glass(plastic) house, but it was OK . I was expecting tree damage, but all was well. My nearly ready corn plants got a battering & some fell over but I consider myself fortunate, compared to what some poor souls got.
junie2,
Feb 3, 8:45am
Same here Samanya, although we were very sad to have lost 90%of the laden ( with second crop ) fig tree over night. Re pomegranates, I think we can grow them here. I tried a few yrs back , with little success, but I know the position wasn't right. Maybe I gave up too soon I think, as I needed the space for something more instantly rewarding.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 3, 9:00am
Those fiends better not spot my peaches! I have about a dozen this year, and I intend snaffling every single one and not sharing any!
venna2,
Feb 4, 5:48am
Yes, I guess they are "set to the same time". One day when they were out in the bush, three of the four started to wander back to the chook house. The fourth became panicky as she'd wandered down to a wire fence and couldn't figure out how to join her friends. She could have easily walked just a little way back the way she'd come, to go around the end of the fence, but she was so focused on getting to the others that it obviously didn't occur to her . My daughter had to go and rescue her.
cameron-albany,
Feb 4, 6:17am
Chickens are incredibly smart in their own little bird-way :-) I just love mine. They provide endless hours of distraction for me. There have been many, many studies done on the "language" of chickens and how complex it is. They have so many sounds that relate to really significant things, the "I've just laid an egg" cackle, the screech to warn others about an overhead hawk (or in my case, the wild turkeys nearby lol), the gentle sounds to guide chicks to food (sometimes not that gentle. it can get really loud like "COME HERE! " when she finds a caterpillar or something. and they all rush over like obedient children). And there's nothing quite so intense as a broody hen - the way they puff up and growl at you is a bit scary !
junie2,
Feb 4, 7:36am
We're just learning the language cameron-albany! And I've seen them behave as Venna describes. We're loving the experience, but must admit I did not foresee how destructive they would be. Ours is an organic patch of soft, easily-turned rich top stuff and it is now spread forever. They dig halfway to China! Hubby and I have just discussed the plan of action; there will have to be a cage for me ( the vege perimeter ) and an extended one for them, so they don't have to be out as much as they currently are. Our non-productive garden of mainly easy-care perennials is the same soil structure but so far not too much harm done and I can sweep the paths.
cameron-albany,
Feb 5, 4:26am
That's a great plan! Yes they are incredibly destructive! Their feet and legs are so strong and their beady eyes just find any little moving bug. Before you know it they've uprooted plants and scattered mulch. Mine are confined to a large area now. it was nice having them clucking around the house but the damage was far too great.
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