Friday 18 January 2013

You need only step outside.

I will admit, I live in a paradise.

A slightly tamed garden of Eden where the wildebeests are tamed and the birds, and frogs, and insects run riot in a myriad of colour.

To see the beauty of nature, I need go no further than my side door where a sacred Ibis patrols the patio digging up grubs whilst supplementing his diet with the mosquito larvae and frog larvae that populate the lily ponds scattered in amongst the trees and undergrowth.


He is such a regular guest in this banquet of a garden that he has been endowed with a name: Igliot (with a silent 'g'). He's delightfully unperturbed by the presence of two cats, instead insisting upon introducing his friends to such a gem of a restaurant. 

Under a Golden Shower Tree a speck of vivid blue flits between shrubs. In the eye of the beholder it contrasts superbly with the decaying leaf-litter below. When at last it cares to alight upon a reed it's seen to be a Damsel Fly, its tail dipped in paint, and its lace wings carefully folded up above its body.


At the corner of the herb garden, the physalis has fruited, each one infused with a bust of flavour which ensures it never reaches the kitchen table.


Now, the empty husks gather at its roots while in its velvety leaves oil-winged insects perch waiting for the end of the summer shower. 


Nearby the sage is flourishing and full of growth. It seems to be a favoured resting place of one of the many dragonflies that call this plot their home.




Beyond in the pepper tree a family of rainbow lorikeets swing upside down amongst the fresh berries, each one eager to tell the family all about it's day. A noisier bunch you never did see but they eat their fill before winging off across the park, their shrill chatter fading into the blue sky.


The soaring summer heat has brought the bees to rest upon the water's edge, delicately tiptoeing across the pond weed to quench their thirst in the murky waters below. They trickle in for a quick dip, much as Italians do a caffeine fix, before returning to the far more fragrant portions of this suburban paradise.


By another lily-pond a powder blue dragonfly tests his wings. He's old and battered, his fraying wings showing signs of wear and tear.



From the timid rustle in the peach tree, a wattle bird emerges disappointed at having found no fruit, before flying off to the safety of the corrugated fence.

By the driveway, a pincushion protea compensates for the loss of the pincushion hakea, it's brilliant orange orbs contrasting against the green foliage and pale brickwork of the boundary fence.


The driveway is proving home to at least one other creature: a daring red, this dragonfly is hard to miss as it dances its way across the tessellated pavement. He's far more timid than most and lightly hops from tile to tile until your breathless anticipation causes him to cease and hold his pose. Then off again he flies, another slash of colour against the bright blue sky.


On the wooden bench, once cowered into submission and now oblivious to it all, the cat lies, heartily hoping everyone will believe her pretence at sleep and leave her to sunbathe in peace. While in the distance, a kookaburra, silhouetted against the fading sky, laughs with delight.



1 comment:

  1. You have outdone yourself! Photos and words finding every colour possible! xxC

    ReplyDelete

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