#119

Pretty moth on the bathroom mirror. He's actually shining white, but the bathroom light gave a yellow glow.

#118

Another non-anthropomorphic fairy visitor...

#117

This one's for you, Steff :D

Poor sick Wombat felt that Flo needed a checkup, using the doctor's kit Auntie Steff sent for his birthday.

#116

Remember that tiny unripe pomegranate back in early February?

Here it is again! I have been eating them - they are still small - tart and not as juicy as the huge ones you buy at the shop, but nice nonetheless. This is one I hadn't gotten around to picking, and it split open as a tempting offering for the birds and possums. This is the tree's first edible crop - it is about three years since I planted it. Next year I am going to try giving it lots of water and see if I can get those fruit to really grow!

#115

Another pic of this amazing flower spike - with an all too rare moment of sunshine! Talk about "drip drip drip little April showers" lol!

The boys have been too sick to get outside, but at least I get to take the camera out with me when I go to check the mail :P

We were supposed to be going in to the city to see the ANZAC march this year - and meet my dad and uncles, but there was no way the boys are up to it and Yeti and I are feeling the effects as well. Another day out cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control *sigh*.

#114

A silvery bronze toadstool - just perfect for a fairy party, don't you think?

We have heaps of fungus around lately as a result of all the rain. It has been quite a challenge to defuse Wombat's curiousity about them - he wants to touch or at least smoosh them - which can be dangerous as many are extremely poisonous.

I have been reading him Peg Maltby's little book about fairies using them as homes and umbrellas etc, and we are practicing taking their photo and leaving them alone. (That way we can look at them without being tempted to touch!)

#113

A white bottlebrush - or callistemon.

I still remember my dad teaching me the name of this flower when I was about 4. (The red one is more common and is often used as a street planting tree.)

#112

Lol - if the last insect was a fairy, this one is a gnome!

#111

This little guy is so delicate. I always think of creatures like this as fairies in non-anthropomorphic form!

#110

I needed to vacuum, so Yeti took Wombat for a walk and I parked Munchkin on the deck in his rocking chair with a few toys in his lap. Like most babies, after a few moments, he dropped the toys. Did he cry and call for Mama to come pick them up for him? Not this independent little pumpkin. He stretched and stretched until he could grab the ear of the hippo, pulled it over near him and happily spent 15 minutes paddling his fingers in the rainwater it had collected - and he didn't even get his clothes wet!

(In case you are wondering, the kitchen tongs are Wombat's "grabnabbers" - a favourite toy!)

#109

Beautiful beetle.

#108

Gum blossom - with tiny cocoon!

#107

The horse whisperer...

(chatting with the neighbour's pony)

#106

Here's that dahlia bud I mentioned... the start of a photo series :D

#105

Munchkin is such an observant little lad. He amazes me! Today he was playing with his giraffe's shadow (I couldn't quite get a pic of it, but you can sort of see...)

Then he noticed I was taking photos...

Lol... he's such a cutey.

#104

Little koala in a tree...

In the space of a morning's play I may find myself addressed as:
Mummy Koala
Mummy Polar Bear
Mummy Bird
Mummy Kangaroo
Mummy Beaver
Mummy Mouse
Mummy Ladybird
Mummy Worm

All of the above and more!

"Mummy Koala?"
"Yes, Little Koala?"

and from there, the conversation may go anywhere! :P

#103

Here is something quite rare - and worthy of three photos in one post!

More than 10 years ago, I planted a flower garden behind the house. Yeti suggested I include a small spiky plant he'd been growing in a pot for about 5 years. He thought it was a Gymea Lily, but not the normal variety.

I planted it - and it grew - and grew - and grew - until it reached the heights you can see below, totally dominating the garden with leaves more than 2 metres in length (I parked Munchkin and the pram nearby to give you some sense of scale.)


It was a good home for frogs, but I didn't think much more of it, except to occasionally curse it for spiking me or taking up too much room. Imagine my surprise and excitement this year when two humungous flower spikes rose from its depths to tower among the gum trees!





Worth the wait, don't you think?

#102

HAPPY EASTER!



(Steff liked yesterday's dahlia and suggested a series of photos as it bloomed - but Wombat insisted that it be cut today as his easter flower for our prayer table. There are more - I have another bud which I will take a series of photos of...)

I forgot to take my camera out for the egg-hunt, but here is the obligatory chocolate photo - Wombat sharing his Lindt bunny with Daddy Yeti...

#101

My orange dinner-plate dahlia. The only one still surviving - since Munchkin was born I have been very slack about lifting the tubers, and most have disappeared into the soil. This one is still emerging each year from beneath the grass, and so far I have managed to convince Wombat not to succumb to the temptation to peel the petals off the bud. Now I am just waiting for the full bloom to open. I am sure you will see it again.

Reminds me of something else we are waiting for on this day.

#100

Many people from the Northern Hemisphere have been sharing their photos of spring crocus, peeping up through the snow.

I can't grow spring crocus here as it never gets cold enough. Instead, here is my autumn crocus! I think it's nice that they flower at the same time as their cousins over the ocean.

Blessed Good Friday to you.

#99

Wombat says "Daddy, I picked this flower for you to wear in your hat!"

#98

So many of the flowers that pop up around here are tiny - so tiny that even the macro setting of my camera struggles to focus on them. I find it helps to use my finger to give the camera something to 'grab', and this also gives a scale to the flower so you can see just how tiny it is... maybe I need a hand model, with prettier fingers though (or at least consistently clean fingernails lol :P)

#97

Wombat's sense of independence is increasing daily, along with his talent for passive (and active) resistance. Ahhh 3 year olds :P

#96

Remember the pretty 'Naked Lady' lillies? These pearly blushing beauties are its seeds.

They are toxic, and it has taken quite some convincing to stop Wombat for wanting to play with them.

#95

Stomping in puddles. This is Wombat's new rain suit - it's really waterproof, which is great. I bought a size 6 so it would last him a year or two, but as you can see, it still fits pretty well. The artistic blurring of the photo is because I had my camera inside a ziploc baggie to keep it dry lol.

#94

Frogs, frogs and more frogs. I have seen more frogs this year than ever before. I believe these are all Littoria fallax - the Eastern Dwarf Treefrog whose call I posted here.

I love the variations I am seeing - the tiny green pair perched on an old oil bottle in the grass, the really fat fellow who feasts on mosquito larvae in the bromeliads, and the mottled brown of the last one, whom I spotted hanging out on the dragon pine.

#93

Why I love my Emmaljunga pram!!!

(Two hefty boys, a pile of packages, and the basket underneath is loaded to the hilt too... yet it is still easy to push over the grass, rocks and up the steps!)

If I had to choose my favourite parenting accessory... this would be it!

#92

The heavens have opened. Rain, rain and more rain. No flooding here, but others have not been so lucky. Wombat is NOT complaining (so long as I take him out to splash in the mud-puddles).

#91

Drip, drip, drip little April showers...

Phew! I am caught up at last :D Sorry for the sudden deluge...