A name, ramp, Book Club, trees down and mistletoe birds

Our new home has a name: RIVERSIDE.  Nothing flash or mysterious, simply a statement of the truth.  Brian made the sign for us, using a piece of local beefwood (Grevillea striata).


From our front verandah we've been noticing lots of different birds feasting on the red berries and the insects living within the dense branches of the red pepper tree.  Yesterday a pair of mistletoe birds delighted us with their presence.  While they uttered short high-pitched sounds as they flitted from branch to branch, we admired their red chests and blue/black backs.  These small birds have a digestive system that's supplemented by a duct enabling  the bird to pass large quantities of berries in a short time, and so further spread the seeds of the berries on which the species mainly relies.


Variegated fairy wrens and superb fairy wrens are also living in and around this tree.  So what with red berries and red and blue birds, it's a colourful sight.


When Doug, Cecil and Marlene chopped down the three trees that were blocking the sun from our sun room, a family of 12 apostle birds complained noisily, clearly showing their displeasure.  Sorry about that, apostle birds, but we'll plant lots of medium-sized nectar-producing shrubs to replace the trees.

On Thursday evening six of us met at the Courthouse for our monthly Book Club meeting.  A spirited conversation and discussion -- centred around the books 'The Reader' and 'Norwegian Wood' -- was enjoyed by all.


Doug's back ramp construction is progressing steadily, but it's cold there in the mornings, especially as the temperature has dropped as low as -6°C on some mornings.  Warm sunny days follow though, so I'm not complaining.