GALAHS LOOKING FOR REAL ESTATE...

I was heading home from Maleny Precinct a couple of weeks ago and spotted a couple of galahs in some almost dead trees along the way...

 

so stopped for a closer look because it'd been a while since I'd seen any galahs. They were checking out the middle tree at the time.

I realised they were looking for a nesting spot around the back of the tree...

Noticing the heart shaped hole in the tree later I thought it was a shame these love birds weren't looking at that as a potential nest. Perhaps someone else had already put down a deposit...

How fitting would that have been?

Not sure if the bird trying to enlarge that small hole is the male. They were too far away to check the eye colour (female's having a pink iris) but it seemed like one was urging the other to try harder. They flew off shortly after, perhaps deciding against that bit of real estate.

IT IS MY NATURE...

Got to love the unexpected on a walk...

Not sure who got the biggest shock... I was watching for this platypus along the creek bank where I'd already snapped it, when it popped up right under me. Didn't quite get the whole bill in frame but gee whizz happy with what I got.

It had been peeking out from the creek side undergrowth...

This photo made me think of the fable about the scorpion getting carried across the river by a frog.  Just some pond weed though...

"It is my nature."

SUNDAY WALK...

To be honest, I've only managed a few Sunday Walks in the 4 months I've been living in Maleny (mainly due to the weather - too hot or too wet) but each walk has been very pleasant. Lots of interesting floral, fauna and statuary around.

I was pleased to find such a beautiful example of Indian clock vine here and it's been in flower for months, prompting me to see if I could find a spot in my own garden for it...

Absolutely love this giraffe left to graze in the front garden of a local doctor's surgery...

When I left this morning with only my phone camera I should have known there would be something for which I'd need the longer zoom of a camera. These wallabies/roos were off in a distant field...

A couple of the amazing camellias that grow in the area...

This blue butterfly flower is a prime example for my Animal Crackers but decided to include it here instead...

I was thrilled to spot a cactus flower and will try to remember to go back this evening, weather permitting, to see if it opens again or if any others are out. The cactus plant itself is huge, growing up into a large pine tree. Maybe it's a dragon fruit... 

 I suppose this one is from the ginger family and is quite common around Maleny;  gorgeous... 

 I have a couple of pots still with nodding violets but think this planting I spotted in a nearby yard is so spectacular, I might replant mine into something similar... 

Strictly speaking this sweet little treefrog is a Saturday photo...

Unfortunately, not all critters found on walks are so lovely. Got this one out of my head, where it had dropped in for a feed... 

UNEXPECTED FLYING OBJECTS...

Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time outside trying to get a photo of some blue triangle butterflies which were dancing around my neighbour's mock orange (Murraya paniculata) but gave up in disgust, seeming to have only snapped vast skies of perfect blue behind the flowers, just missing the subjects each time. But then I uploaded the shots to the computer and after a bit of cropping, it turned out I had caught a lovely dance off, not just the butterflies but including a bee! A joyful moment indeed.

To top it off, I'd also unknowingly captured a dandelion seed heading off to parts unknown... But that meant I didn't get to wish on it.

SUNDAY, BUGGY SUNDAY...

Today I seemed to notice more insects than usual on my walk and in the garden (perhaps because I got stung by a wasp yesterday), but my favourite was this graphic flutterer dragonfly! I'd never seen one before but it was the fluttering that gave it away. I found him hard to photograph because it was so skittish, the slightest movement on my part and it would flutter off and because it's so small it was difficult to focus on with a background of flowers and foliage. Luckily, I was able to move slightly to put the house wall behind it. I would have loved to see it's face but alas, that would have meant trespass! I think it looks like a bi-plane... "Chocks away, Ginger!"

Not the best shot of a blue banded bee, but I'll take what I can. They don't land for long on flowers (in this case some comfry), not as long as a honey bee anyway.

This pretty ladybird spent at least 2 days on the chive flowers; must not have heard the call to "fly away home". Such a tiny, shiny little bug, dulled only by the pollen. On a side note, Pam told me you can eat the chive flowers (seems logical now I know) and I munch away on them whenever I'm watering the garden.  The buds thrown in a salad would give a little garlic hit.

I think this is a hoverfly. Difficult to tell with its head shoved into a basil flower.

March fly I'm thinking, too high up to get a look at its head front on and I didn't want it landing on me anyway.

[edit 11/3/17 - Found this shot taken a few weeks ago of a March fly on the clothes line which is much sharper and shows its face!]

Naturally, the garden is alive with spiders and I will keep running into the webs around the place. Ugh, many a "spider dance" accompanied by requisite shrieking done around here. This guy is so tiny, and prickly looking.

This fellow was busy bundling up his lunch (of decaying bugs by the look) this morning. I went back later and he, and it, had gone. 

There's always something happening in the garden if you look.

It is common knowledge now that we depend on insects for our continued existence; that, without key pollinators, the human population would collapse in less than a decade. John Burnside

ODDS AND SODS...

Someone said to me recently they thought I often took photos of strange things others wouldn't even notice or think to photograph.  To me, that's half the fun of photography, seeing things others pass by.  Here is a bunch of oddities I noticed when on holiday last year (I have lots more).  

Above, are a couple of soldiers guarding the entrance to a restaurant in Singapore overlooking the Straits of Johore.  The area was once part of a British Naval Base but is now part of Sembawang Park.  Perhaps more amusing than odd.

  Pont Neuf in Paris and some of the 300 caricature sculptures of French noblemen which adorn it. Apparently, King Henri 4th thought it would be funny... And perhaps it is in the daylight. In the dark it's a tiny bit scary.

 We thought this would be Napoleon when we first saw it but it isn't.  When Hermes started manufacturing, it was saddlery they made, not very expensive scarves. This statue is from those days it seems.

 Like in a lot of museums around the world, one does see some very strange things in the Louvre.  These 2 statues in particluar tickled my fancy.  On the left is apparently the world's first selfie (and I have to ask what the heck is it if not a mobile phone?) and on the right, the guy seems to be perplexed about where he left his trousers.  Again, more amusing than odd.  Perhaps I should change the post title??

In Amsterdam there were a lot of oddities.  I loved the cement ducks (or maybe they're bronze, difficult to tell) and saw a few different ones around about.  But then we saw a purpose built duck house which I thought was very odd. Why would a duck need a house???

I loved this little mermaid I spotted across a canal during a walk around a small town. 

We laughed out loud when we saw this auto repair shop on our way back to Amsterdam.  I can't read Dutch though so not sure what sort of shop it is...

Not a real puss in case you wondered, but just another wall decoration in Amsterdam. Why? Perhaps I just wasn't feline it...

 Now this one is definitely odd. And if I hadn't been sick and unable to join the first few tours after we started our cruise I wouldn't have seen it at all.  I noticed that bridges in Europe often had quirky little things sticking out from the sides. This one was in Cologne. Not sure if he's scared because he saw a seagull or is about to squash it!

SUNDAY BIRDS AND INSECTS ...

The tiny Silvereye is one of my favourite local birds and they have a sweet song. Because he is backlit, it's difficult to see the olive green of his feathers.  He was so busy preening himself in between flitting from branch to branch, it took me ages to finally get a usable photo. I nearly packed it in but patience is a valuable tool for a photographer I've found.

 The aggressive noisy miner is not a favourite of mine at all, especially since I've read that they are multiplying faster that most other native birds and competing with the pesky/pesty Indian myna to chase away my favourites.  They have an annoying "twit, twit" call. But this guy caught my eye, seemingly curious about what I was doing.

 I have posted a photo of this kind of butterfly before although this photo is sharper.  It's called an Evening Brown (although I took this in the morning) and they keep to the darker parts of the woodlands which makes it difficult to focus on them. Again, I was unable to get a snap of the inside of the wings which are very pretty with more autumnal colours; too fast my old eyes.

I love the "face" on the back of this spider, looks a bit like an African mask.  Once I'd stopped doing the spider dance after I'd walked into its web, I was able to appreciate it more.

IT'S KNOT SUNDAY AGAIN...

What a happy chappy, despite being trapped in a fence, upside down! Only a mother could love that face.

 Who's a pretty Polly then?

And a cutie pie to finish off. Wonder if I'll ever stop seeing faces in fences??

IS IT KNOT SUNDAY? OR PERHAPS I'M SUFFERING FROM PAREIDOLIA...

Look at this sweet little doggy face I found down the road....

 There may not be a man on the moon but apparently there's a lady on Mars (hence my reference to pareidolia). I, however, have discovered many trapped critters in the local timber fences.  Eeeeeeeek!  

 Ewok comes to mind when I look at this one....

 An alien or a ghost? Whatever it is, those are haunting eyes...

And check out sly Mr Fox.  You can see him can't you??? 

Now, here, I have to confess to a litte photoshopping to get an eye where I wanted it for this lovely bear.

 I seem to have run out of Animal Crackers so am starting up Knot Sundays.  Stay tuned, I predict it will become an obsession.