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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Daphne, Miriam and Broccoli

One of the good things about living in a cold climate is daphne. Just when winter seems like it is going to last for ever, there it is, that wonderful, sweet, fruitloop fragrance that fills the backyard. Every year I think to myself - hmm, I must take some cuttings of the daphne this year, and every summer I forget. In the mean time, there are jars of daphne everywhere - filing up the house with that wonderful smell, and everyone who visits leaves with a bunch, and everyone I visit is gifted a bunch. For a month or so each winter, everything is daphne!


All this leaving for work early and getting back after dark has meant that I have missed many of the regular visitors to the garden. So it was lovely to go out this morning and find Mr and Mrs Kind Parrot up in the box alder. (Mr Parrot is out of sight, stuffing his face with the little handful of seed I put there for them) We used to feed lots of wild parrots, but then the cockies turned up, which was fine, until they started eating our house if there wasn't any seed. So those naughty little vandals spoiled it for everyone! But sometimes, when these two turn up, they wait just long enough to get my attention and for me to give them a little handful of sunflower seed. If you look carefully, you can see the box alder about to flower (yay! its is almost spring!)


And finally, Miriam wanted to let us know that he is pretty over the whole baby chicken thing, and really, my time would be better spent focusing on DUCKS. It must be coming into spring, because he is getting all gorgeous and aggressive, chasing me whenever I walk past, pulling the tags on my blundstones and generally being cute. Hello Miriam, we love you! and yes, there is no one more handsome than you mate.

Speaking of daphne, an old friend I visited today (with a bunch of gratefully received daphne of course) just phoned to say that the duck herder broccoli I gave her was just fabulous. (well, she knows how to make a Duck Herder happy - just gratuitously praise her produce - simple!)

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