My little part of Australia

As it is the Australia Day long weekend when we celebrate our wonderful country, I thought I would take a little walk around our back yard and have a think about why I love living in my little part of Queensland Australia.

 

Firstly, we have the most amazing cockatoos here. They are so well-trained that when they are sitting up high in our two macadamia nut trees they drop the nuts to the ground to save us having to get the ladder out to collect them. 

 

It's an easy job then just to pick them up off the ground saving lots of hassle. It is so kind of them to leave some for us mere mortals. 

The kookaburras think the cockatoos are funny as I heard them laughing at them from the pine tree next door. 

 

A few days ago the Storm Bird was hanging around in the same tree warning about the storms that were rolling through our area. I really missed hearing its call during the dry spell.

 

I don't usually take too much notice of what is growing 'down the back' as I normally walk with my eyes peeled to the ground making sure I don't step on one of our resident Blue Tongue lizards that frighten the life out of me when they scurry away quickly. However, it wasn't too hot yesterday and I didn't think they would be basking in the sun so I looked up and noticed a few bits and pieces that I hadn't seen before like this passionfruit flower....

...two tamarillo trees that had grown out of the compost heap accompanied by...

...wait for it...........A PAWPAW TREE! My husband had a tummy upset a while back and had bought a few pawpaws to eat and we had no idea that this tree had grown from the seed in the compost. :-)

In front of the pawpaw tree and the two tamarillo trees we have a couple of guava trees which we are going to bag this year in an effort to save some from the birds, bats and the other wildlife around the place.

There are several different types of chillies which I don't touch as some are really, really hot...

avocados...

...and these delicious tomatoes which we never have to plant as they just keep reproducing and they lasted almost the whole year due to a mild winter with little frost. 

 

 

The dahlias continue to impress with their beauty...

...and these colourful plants chose to grow amongst my Brahmi plants which isn't impressive but they look so pretty I don't have the heart to pull them out. It was nice to discover what is growing in the back yard and there always seems to be something new coming up in the compost. The recent rain has been such a blessing, the grass has greened up already and all the plants are looking so much better.

I feel very fortunate to have been born in Australia and I am sure that most people feel the same about the country they were born in. We have a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs and peace in our country which is more than can be said for many other people around the world. So this weekend, as we celebrate Australia Day, I am really thankful for where I live in this old house in a beautiful city and in a wonderful country.  It may not be flash and the residents may not be perfect (apart from yours truly :-) )....but it is HOME!

Do you love where you live and why?