Housework thwarted for this morning: Outside the kitchen window
Couldn't take a photo now if I wanted to: it's cold, grey, drizzly miserable weather and the light is very poor. It's 8am, but feels like 6am and everybody - including the birds- wants to go back to bed.
It was very windy and squally last night, with driving rain. The rain sounded heavier than it was, because of the wind gusts, but it felt like icy nails flung at the windows and it didn't stop all night.
The last few mornings when I've got up, two plump pigeons-with-headdresses have been huddled together for warmth on the big branch outside the kitchen window. They're grey, the branch is grey, the tree trunk behind them is grey, the thin sparse leaves remaining on that part of the old tree are more grey than green... There's poor shelter, and they look like miserable, desperate refugees begging for asylum. Four red eyes regarding me sombrely as I fill the kettle and make my coffee, wondering if it's worth moving orif I'll leave them in peace.
I just added a fresh (dry) seed block above the hanging tray, because the other (mostly eaten) block is soggy. I also put finely chopped fresh pear into the hanging tray and the tray on the little table outside the dining room. Before I'd returned inside, the little rosella had claimed the seed block. Took about 30 mins for everyone to get over the excitement of crunchy grains and discover the sugary pear... Two very wet and depressed lorikeets decided to claim the table tray for their own so they can eat in peace.
Interesting that this morning, at sunrise, I had the two huddled pigeons, at least two or three magpie/currawong (we can't distinguish which because these are a bit young), my cheeky kookaburra, and the lorikeets and rosella. All just checking in at the same time, hoping and checking out the kitchen window! (Then they did their morning flights etc so I could take the hint...)
Just sprang D at the window, talking to the birds as if it were a real conversation...
LOL
Oh, I can totally understand that. I was having a very lengthy and involved conversation with a turquoise conure in a pet shop the other day. I really wanted to bring him home, but the cats would enjoy it far too much. 
So, there was a little earthquake hereabouts here yesterday morning. I say 'hereabouts'; it was really about 4 hours' drive north of here, but registered 5.3 on the scale. Apparently even here the house rumbled and shook (as if a heavy truck drove by), and at work, I thought they had trouble with some of the hoist equipment being used to drape the hall for a big function this weekend.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/earthquake-rattles-south-east-queensland/6659264
Anyway, the 'shock' was strong enough to disturb our birdies...their seedblock fell from the tree!! Oh no! Luckily I noticed this morning, and replaced it, or they would have starved... 
Ooo! Aftershock! Just now. Rocked the house, I was poking in the fridge wondering what to get for lunch and trying to figure out why it felt it was gonna fall on me...
Gosh.
Nope: apparently, a full blown earthquake in its own right.
And another!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-01/second-earthquake-in-two-days-felt-in-south-east-queensland/6665546 (updated
Wow! Is the excitement over now? No damage, I hope? (Apart from the upset birds, that is.)
No noticeable damage to speak of, possibly the railways will need a good check but the real action is out at sea. I thought there may have been another around 11pm or midnight, but perhaps it was just a littler after-shock: can't find any reference to it anywhere. It's a little unnerving, only because it keeps happening in a place where normally nothing does. Several people are suggesting this is a foretaste of a bigger rumble as the plates readjust; problem is, there's really nothing much you can do to prepare for an earthquake here and still have a normal life. We'll run through emergency info with the clients tomorrow, and practice evac drills.
Twitter was funny though: on Thursday, people had all sorts of stupid pics up as earthquake damage, promising to help our cash-strapped State government find the $$$ for rebuilding.
Meantime, the daytime shadow patterns across the backyard have altered with the seasons, and by mid-afternoon there's little warmth left near the tree or patio. Clever pigeons (is that an oxymoron??) have discovered they can align themselves in an angled side-by-side teeny patch of bright sun right next to the back door. They are most annoyed whenever I need to go out there!
Hey, Peggy: apparently 8 earthquakes in 3 days!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-02/queensland-rattled-by-eight-earthquakes-in-three-days/6666250
That's a lot of rockin' and rollin'! Weird weather and other scary natural events are happening in all kinds of places that never had them before. And people have been saying NY was due for a big earthquake for decades. Hasn't happened yet.I don't think that any of them have a clue.
Do you grow grevillea there? I've planted three lovely advanced trees with flowers in gold and pink, to make up for the trees my neighbours have cut down. The flowers are great attractors for honey-eater birds, and the feathery foliage gives good camouflage for nests and perches. I was a little that at least one might topple, because they've only been in the ground for a week, but they're doing ok.
I have not heard of them. What conditions do they prefer? I suspect they might thrive down south in the US, or California, but not in frosty New England.
They'll grow in temperate climates which means, if you can provide them with some warmth and protection from the snow, they may be able to be grown in New England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grevillea
I would rather not risk it. I actually prefer native plants, because they require less care and are better for the local environment. Not that I'm a stickler for it, because we did try to grow something from the South (crape myrtle) at our last house in Connecticut, and we did give it protection over the winter, but it still died. It's not worth it. I can always look at photos.
Marksierra, you might have been in Tasmania or Corio/Geelong when I cooking from To the King's Taste, a medieval recipe book my mum bought me. Someone 'borrowed' it in Brisbane, it never found its way home...
There was a wonderful recipe for dressing fowle including pigeons and also instructions for preparing and gilding peacocks for presentation and consumption by Richard II and his court. Meantime, this stewe will deliver flavour for dark-meat fowle (pigeon, squab, turkey, chicken thigh, duck etc).
http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/pegions.html