Here's a brief summary of my time camping on the weekend, with photos again making up the bulk of the content!

( Click for more info than you wanted on the great owl controversy )

Tags: birds, travel

Sorry for the late travel post - I'm having a hard week re-writing my thesis conclusion and introduction! Please take this as an excuse for the image reliant post as well.

( Darwin and Kakadu )

And for those collecting Australianisms, this entry has reminded me of two more shortenings: saltie for salt water crocodile and wedgie for wedge tailed eagle!

Tags: animals, birds, family, travel

I am starting my summary of my New Zealand trip by apologising to New Zealand. How I wronged you when I planned to visit when I had time as an old and potentially infirm person! I didn’t realise you would have such beautiful and diverse landscapes with easily accessible wildlife. I shouldn’t have waited until I got a free trip to go!

( Long description of short holidy with pretty pictures to alleviate boredom )

Sorry for the length of the post, I didn’t keep a travel journal and think that is reflected here! And really, it just makes up for the posts that would have happened when I was away. Reviews of recent books coming soon.

Update: Other photos - and yes there are a few - are here. If you would like to see the full set let me know and we'll add you to our friend's list.

Tags: animals, birds, travel

I just managed to buy a pair of nice looking and comfortable walking sandals for this summer! Without pain or tears! I just walked into the shop, tried them on and they fit! And they were a great price! This is deserving of multiple exclamation marks!!!

Despite the unseasonably cool November we've been having, it's starting to feel like summer. Fruit and veggie shops are starting to smell like all the yummy stone fruits. Mangoes, cherries, grapes, apricots and peaches...no wonder I love the warmer months of the year so much.

But one thing that is missing are the storm birds. These are actually koels, a migratory bird that arrives in time for the storm season. We say that they call before a storm but really they just happen to be here at the same time. Their calls (which you can listen to on that link) are one of those quintessential summer sounds to me. However, although I've heard them in other suburbs and sometimes in the distance here, there's certainly not as many around as usual. I suspect the dry winter has led to less berries/fruit than usual so they flew on to another area.

Tags: birds, daily life