Whistlers Rest

We were driving down the main street of Kandos today and I was berating shopkeepers for still having Christmas tinsel in their windows now it is February.  I should talk, I had a Christmas post on this blog until right now.  We have visited the block several times since Christmas but it is so dry and uninspiring to photograph at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I love to visit.  I love the dry heat and there always seems to be a gentle breeze rustling the gums trees.  It's perfect to relax in a chair in the shade cooled by the breeze and read. Talking of chairs. I set these ones under the trees right nearly every time I visit and when we come back they are always tipped over.  What tips them over I wonder, birds, kangaroos, rabbits?  We have the same type of chairs in our garden in the mountains and they never fall over.

We spent our Christmas at the Rest.  I added a little Christmas cheer by handing tinsels and baubles to the twiggy bush growth. Christmas day was cold and wet.  Which was nice because for days before there was a total fire ban which would have made it difficult to cook the Christmas roast in the weber barbecue. But all of that rain seems to have had little effect.  We were out at the Rest again this weekend and the ground is again brittle and thirsty.  It is so dry even the weeds have decided not to grow this year -- no St John's Wort to pull. As for the fruit on the trees -- not a single piece of fruit remained when we arrived at Christmas time and I notice the pear tree has now dropped all its leaf.  I think it has decided to give up, it is just too hot and dry. The little wrens and willy wagtails seem happy.  They are hopping about all over the place in the shrubs and the King Parrots and Rosellas remain regular visitors.

Despite the downpour there hasn't been much follow up rain around here, there is a slight sheen of green but still crunchy underfoot. It's been an odd season which has turned up a new surprise.  There are a number of fruit trees on the block, planted by a previous occupant.  Other than the peach they have never shown any sign of fruit and now this season I see all sorts of small fruit on the trees.  I figure they will never turn into anything we can eat, the birds will see to that but it's interesting to see.   Peach Apricot Apple Pear

On Saturday afternoon at last the skies opened and there was a big storm and downpour of rain.  The next time we go out there it will be interesting to see what effect it has had on the vegetation.

We had left a bucket partially filled with water near one the plants we were watering.  This poor little bird must have been  thirsty and took a sip but could not get out.    It was wet and bedraggled but  we found it in a nick of time to save his life.  Here he was after he had dried out for an hour or two. When we arrived out at the block this weekend.  Still no sign of rain.

I'm doing birds because there isn't much going on with the flowers.  It is extremely dry at the moment so the flowers, even pesky plants like the blackberry and St John's Wort are refusing show their faces. The leaves of softer plants have shrivelled up. We have had lots of rain in the mountains for the past couple of days.  I am hoping some of it managed to reach Clandulla.  On the weekend the skies were grey but refusing to drop rain, whereas when we reached the mountains it was raining steadily. This bird is a rosella.

The King Parrots are getting very cheeky.  At breakfast time and dinner time when we are sitting about they fly right in close and eye us off hoping for feed.  This one even strutted right inside. I suspect they do the rounds of the whole neighbourhood. The rest of the day the content themselves with zipping about in the tree tops. Some Rosellas are getting into the act too.