Honeyeaters in the Garden

Nothing new in the way of visitors to the garden this week, so I thought I would feature the honeyeaters that are very active at the moment.  We have planted a lot of native shrubs especially for the honeyeaters, but they much prefer to dine on the Fuchsias, Salvias and Agapanthas - go figure!!

The Eastern Spinebill is probably my favourite bird, but very hard to catch as it is constantly on the move. Colouring is very pretty. Love to hang upside down  collecting nectar.

The most prolific of the visitors to the garden is the new Holland Honeyeater. They are more than happy to pose for a while.

This last one is quite a youngster and very cute.



Liz Needle  -  linking with "Wild Bird Wednesday".

Discovering Adelaide 3 - The Adelaide Oval

  

South Australia' sporting supporters  are  justifiably proud of our latest acquisition - the new Adelaide Oval, a world class sporting stadium. It has not been universally accepted as many people believe the money could have been spent elsewhere, but no one can deny that this facility is magnificent and the Adelaide Oval is acclaimed by all who go there to watch or participate in sport.

In 1871 the South Australian Cricket Association was granted a lease of 12 acres to build a sports ground "for cricketing purposes". In 1874 a cricket match was played between an All England X1 captained by W.G. Grace and a South Australian XX11.  Seems a little uneven to me!!

In 1877 the first intercolonial football game (that's Australian Rules Football) was played between Adelaide and St Kilda.

Now, after much negotiation between SACA and the AFL, the new Adelaide Oval is shared by cricket and football and is also host to other major sporting activites and events.

One of the many function rooms

The stands, gates, bars, function rooms are each named after famous South Australian sportsmen all of whom have played a vital role in the history of the oval, the most prestigious of them being commemorated in bronze statues around the grounds.

 Indoor and outdoor bars

The famous old cricket scoreboard has been retained, with a modern electronic one installed nearby. Guided tours of the facilities include a visit to see the interior working of this old building.

History has been preserved in the form of interactive displays, and exhibitions of memorabilia. If you are a visitor to Adelaide, then a trip to the Adelaide Oval is well worth considering.

Liz Needle  -  linking with "Our World Tuesday".

Old Treasures

It's a long time since I posted to these memes, so I thought I would catch up a bit.  A visit to the National Motor Museum at Birdwood and the Bay to Birdwood Car  Run netted these photos. I have a thing about these wonderful old vehicles.

First a couple for "Monday Mellow Yellows".

And let's not forget "Ruby Tuesday"

These old girls - or are cars boys? - have all driven about 50 kms up into the Adelaide Hills from Glenelg on the coast - a run that happens every year. Check out the links in the frst paragraph if you want more info.


Liz Needle  -  linking with "Monday Mellow Yellow"  and  "Ruby Tuesday" and "Tuesday's Treasures".

Weekend Reflections

I am finding that the modern architectural trend for glass office buildings is producing some really interesting reflections of the city.

Liz Needle

-  linking with "Weekend Reflections".

My New Best Friend.

More rain yesterday and the garden has freshened up again. Unfortunately it also came with strong winds, so we have more trees dropping branches. Some of them are broken but not fallen, so we walk under them very carefully.

Once again there were many power outages - fortunately not us this time. It's becoming a common thing in Adelaide and the wider area and must be costing the state government a fortune in compensation, not to mention, repairs, cleaning up and insurance.

Meanwhile the garden is thriving and my water bill is looking quite healthy.

I have  new best friend!!  Last year we got Bunnings(hardware store) vouchers for Christmas and I bought myself a small battery operated hedge trimmer which has been very useful for trimming bushes. We also bought a rather unwieldy lawn edger, but it is so hard to manoeuvre  that I have gone back to trimming the lawn edges with my trusty secateurs - time consuming and hard on my back. Last week I suddenly remembered that my hedge trimmer pack included  small blades for trimming lawn -  Duh!!  So, now, like magic I am trimming the lawn edges in a fraction of the time!!

 My new best friend - HERBIE!!

And the edges, while not as clean cut as the job done by the  large edge trimmer, are nevertheless neat and tidy.

I have been so busy playing with Herbie, that I have forgotten to do my "Floral Friday Fotos" this week, so here is a selection of what is blooming in the garden at the moment.

 I love hydrangeas, especially this pretty lace cap.

One of my favourite roses - very old world.

Bergamot - a very useful perennial that pops up every year.

A little geranium

Another lovely rose

Enough for now. It is late and my bed calls.


Liz Needle  -  linking with "Floral Friday Fotos"

One Evening in the Garden

We have been having hot days but beautiful evenings lately and if we spray ourselves to keep the mozzies away, we are able to sit on the veranda and watch the bids having a last drink and feed before settling for the night.

A small group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flies over about the same time each afternoon, but yesterday they decided to visit a while right at the top of our Copper Beech tree.  For once I had my camera on hand and was able to get these rather fuzzy photos. While the beautiful cockatoos are moderately common, I always get a thrill when they stop by.

That particular evening we also had a visit from a white-browed scrubwren. Again fairly common, but rather secretive so we don't often see them in the pen. Luckily they love our bird baths.

An Adelaide Rosella stopped by for a while and surveyed us from the top of the Dogwood

And now the Agapanthas are flowering, the new Holland Honey-eaters are very busy taking nectar.

Thank you for visiting my garden and the birds that frequent it.  As I sit here at my computer, I can hear that it is raining outside. Hopefully it will be slow and steady all night.

Liz Needle  -  linking with "Wild Bird Wednesday" And "Outdoor Wednesday".

Discovering Adelaide 2 - The Adelaide Central Market

One of my favourite places to shop - or even just to visit - is the Central Market, just off Victoria Square, right in the centre of Adelaide. It is so full of life and colour, so vibrant and busy. I love taking visitors there - it is a real tourist attraction, perhaps not advertised enough.

As a child, I can remember going to the market with my parents and brother nearly every Friday evening. We would catch the Glenelg tram from where we lived at Glandore and the tram would take us into Victoria Square which was then the end of the line.

Hanging on very tightly to either Mum or Dad, we would savour the excitement of the market, stocking up on fruit, vegetables, meat, smallgoods, fish  etc for the coming week. We were allowed to buy a small bag of sweets each from a marvellous lolly stall - now sadly gone. My favourite were the little brown fish, tasting of cinnamon from memory.  Dad would always by a stick of mettwurst from "Pauls" stall while Mum delighted in the freshly roasted peanuts from Ditters - oh that smell!

 


I can remember one night, going home in the tram laden with bags of food, including a dozen farm fresh eggs. As the tram crossed South Road, we were hit by a truck inches from where we were sitting along the long bench in the front of the tram. We finished in a heap in the front section behind the driver - quite unharmed except for a small cut on my dad's head. All Mum could think about were her unbroken eggs.

Liz Needle - linking with "Our World Tuesday"  and  "Ruby Tuesday Too".