Thursday, August 20, 2009

Feathers and... the Thing

This morning feels like my balcony has turned into an urban wildlife haven of some sort. There is a couple of pigeons that are treating it as a resort. They've been enjoying themselves for the last week- I've been hearing random cooing whilst I've been home and I did get a glimpse of the lovely couple this morning. It is a compliment that they find my balcony homely, I dare say I find it beautiful too, but I could do without the presents left behind thank you very much.

I did have more feathered visitors today. I feed lorikeets at my kitchen window and this morning a couple were enjoying a relaxed visit amongst the greenery on my balcony. I opened the door to say hello and one flew onto my head, not a usual occurence but I didn't mind. He then invited himself inside on the tv and flew onto my arm when I presented it. Needless to say, he was rewarded for his persistance ;)



They say things come in lots of three, so my story wouldn't be complete without another visitor for this morning. Sigh. I am a newbie gardener, that I have made clear and I am not used to dealing with certain.. visitors. We scared each other at our unexpected introduction and were not pleased by the meeting. Might I present.. the Thing.









Yes its just a caterpillar. But he was THIS big! Ok, he wasn't _that_ big but he was at least 5 cm which is pretty big if you put it into perspective of how small a garden I have. He was uninvited and I don't know how I missed him for that long. Some weeks ago I was finding this guy's brothers and sisters, mainly amongst my tomatoes. They were absolutely tiny and as all things small, quite cute. My kindness did not extent far though, they could not win me over with their cuteness completely and I got rid of every one that I found. I guess I missed one. Please don't say it. I may have missed more.

What's so funny?


Cheeky bugger.
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8 comments:

  1. AlexaAugust 20, 2009 at 3:56 PM

    I love lorikeets. They only visit my garden when the figs are ripe and they don't let me anywhere near them.

    Caterpillars don't scare me, but having to squash them really freaks me out. I can't really handle it so sometimes they just get tossed into the compost on the assumption they'll meet their end in there. If yours get bad, buy some Dipel (it comes in powder form), it's a natural bacteria that kills caterpillars when they eat it but doesn't hurt other bugs or people.

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  2. DotAugust 20, 2009 at 4:04 PM

    Thanks for the tip Alexa =) I'd rather do that then squish them. Tbh, I was too chicken to squash this one.. I ah.. sent him off the edge of the balcony. I really hope no one saw ;)

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  3. Em SalkildAugust 21, 2009 at 6:32 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Em SalkildAugust 21, 2009 at 6:37 AM

    Wow, you're photos are fantastic. The lorikeets make me miss home :(

    PS I am storytime but wanted to post as myself too - hehe

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  5. DotAugust 21, 2009 at 11:37 AM

    We miss you here too! Glad I could you bring a little bit of home. We're all here waiting for you, lorikeets and all xoxo

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  6. Chloe mAugust 21, 2009 at 8:39 PM

    Why didn't the Lorikeets get to eat the worm?
    Those are such colorful, beautiful birds, and the photo you took is fantastic.
    Rosey

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  7. DotAugust 21, 2009 at 11:43 PM

    Thanks Rosey! Lorikeets are so photogenic I don't think they could take a bad pic, lol. They are nectar eaters btw otherwise I'd be thrilled to have them as pest control!

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  8. MissyMAugust 24, 2009 at 11:45 AM

    Wow those lorikeets are beautiful!

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