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This is the back garden...

There are an uncounted number of animals waiting to pounce on you and demand that you feed them... ha ha.

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There's something very Zen about that...

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There's an old man bird with an enormously long hooked beak who visits when he pleases...

There's no guarantee I'll see him two days in a row, though...ha ha.

Just because he's an infrequent visitor doesn't, in his mind, mean that he shouldn't receive the very best service while he's here...

One... Oh, okay... Two handfuls of sunflower kernels for you.... here on the table because that's where you're demanding that I put them you'd like me to put them... ha ha.

He got his kernels and I went to annoy feed some of the other birds...

I couldn't have been away more than a few minutes and when I got back to the table he was waiting for me, patiently... "I ate all the food... Is there any more?", ha ha.

It's incredible how much he can eat, but then again he does like the food so I can't fault him on that... ha ha.

Yes and  no, he's spoilt, ha ha...

But when it comes to the wattlebird he pales in comparison...

"But I want to eat the possum bread...".

It's a strip cut from a slice of bread... and is almost bigger than the bird is... ha ha.

But the bird tries to pull pieces off it, anyway...

It was standing next to the strip of bread, one foot on it, tearing at the bread with it's beak...

There's a picture of near frustration determination, ha ha.

So, this evening, I cut some pieces of bread, very finely, for the wattle bird to enjoy...

Enjoy?

Could coming here get any better? ha ha.

Is there anything better than "special" bread cut up into pieces that are just the right size to eat?

If there is, don't worry, we'll demand it... ha ha.

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Mum and Dad had a plant growing beside the house that I could see from the window of the little flat....

A "Four o'clock" or "Five o'clock", depending on who it was that said "Oh, it's a One of them!" plant, ha ha.

The flowers would open about four in the afternoon, once the shade had come over, and an ordinary enough green leafy shrub would transform into a mass of pink flowers... ha ha.

Walking up the path, past it, often meant taking a detour to the other side of the path to avoid the cloud of bees drawn to it.....

It was a very useful plant... All I had to do was glance out the window and if there was a sea of pink then it was time to toddle up the house and spend some quality time with the folks and their surprisingly good Scotch... ha ha.

Don't forget to switch the lights off and lock the door...

Once you're up at the house Mother's going to insist that you stay for dinner, and Dad's going to produce a bottle of red, and oh well, why not... ha ha.

It was a good time...

It is one of the great sadnesses, to have known people in their prime, and to watch them fade...

They grew old, and the plant, long after they were gone, to my knowledge, kept flowering in the afternoons...

And the bees still came...

And from under a broken concrete slab, occasionally, a blue tongue lizard would appear, and wonder where that woman who would bring it cubes of lamb, or mincemeat, had gone...

So you see, the world didn't end when they did.

Sometimes it feels like it, though....

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omg ecar , the water works are on full flow here 

what a lovely post 

Thank you, Ooak... 🙂

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The next time a bloke offers to sell me a border collie when I'm drunk, I'm going to say No... ha ha.

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The bird seed block is a mixture of grains and seeds.

That sounds good to me...

Apparently it also has added sultanas, currants, pineapple, papaya and honey.

Great... now the birds are getting more of their "Five serves of fruit and veg a day" than I am, ha ha.

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