Saturday, September 24, 2011

Front Yard Surprises













What a delight it was to see not one, but two kookaburras (large, native Australian kingfishers) having a quick fly and dance in the shrubs of our front yard this morning. They weren't the only birds seen from our driveway. A little earlier today we had a short visit from two beautiful galahs, having a feast on seeds amongst the grass.










I love seeing birds in or near our yard, 
especially as we live in town.
Earlier this week we even had a 
white-faced heron check out our back yard
for a brief minute.









As I was turning to go back inside this morning
after the galahs flew off, something white caught
my eye near our letter box. Could it be....
yes, it was.... a rose in our garden!





We have tried several times to remove some old roses which weren't doing very and replace them with Australian native shrubs. However some of the roses refuse to give up. I cannot remember ever seeing this rose bush flower, even when we were trying to nurture them. I had no idea what it's flower was like. I walk through my garden everyday, camera at the ready, and hadn't even noticed any buds on this rose regrowth. Then this morning I found two perfect, rather small rose flowers!!!! I won't be trying to remove this rose bush again - it can stay as a welcome survivor.

I hope your weekend brings some delightful surprises too.

Sharing at The Simple Things, World Bird Wednesday, This or That Thursday.

48 comments:

Thea said...

Oh, I love visiting this space. I love snapping birds and flowers and look what's here...birds and flowers! How cute are those two little peas in a pod kookaburras?!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely LOVE all of these photos! So beautiful; it is amazing what you can find right outside your very own house. Lots of little things to discover that you never knew where there - and also some friendly little creatures! xx

Liz said...

OH WOW, Karen!!! What a great series of photos! I love visiting your blog. It gets the "thumbs up" from Michael too!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

Kookaburras are my absolute favourite Aussie bird, you have caught them on camera beautifully Karen. Gorgeous rose, nice to have little surprises. xo

Twyla and Lindsey said...

I loved seeing your photos! You have a beautiful blog. Thank you for your comment on our blog. The collage I did was just paint and paper, no fabric. Have a great weekend! Twyla

Jill said...

Each and every picture is delightful! That rose is definately a keeper!

Jen Price said...

Those pair of birds are adorable. I love the blue peeking on the side. So beautiful!

Karin M. said...

Oh .... a wonderful series of photos ... the birds are so adorable, and I think they are in love ...
LG: Karin

eileeninmd said...

I just love your birds. It would be so cool to have these birds in my yard, lucky you! Wonderful photos.

Catherine said...

Such pretty birds here today ~ lovely!

Happy Weekend to you!
xo Catherine

FilipBlog said...

Nice bird pictures and I love your roses in the garden.

Greetings,
Filip

Anonymous said...

OH - lucky you! Those are awesome shots of the kookaburras!

Gail Dixon said...

Those birds are breathtaking!

geanina said...

fantastic shots! lovely :)

s.c said...

Great the kookaburras. I was in Sydney once and remember that sitting on a terrace in the harbour was trying to keep your bread safe from them and the ibis at your feet. They even tried to pick it from your plate. Great birdlive in Australia.

Beyond Zephyr said...

They are absolutely adorable looking and amazing.

Gorgeous shots..

mariondejong said...

Lucky you!
How nice to see these birds in your garden!
Great pictures,
marion

Marianne said...

Sind das zauberhafte Vögel, einfach nur schön♥

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Absolutely stunning photography!!

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

You have captured it so well...
enjoyed the series, please have a good weekend !

Saun said...

Wow, great shots

Anonymous said...

It's Sunday morning and I'm blog hopping! So glad I came here and saw your wonderful photos!! Oh to have such front yard surprises! So well captured! Hope you more such delightful visitors and may your rose bush flourish!

Anonymous said...

I'm here returning the Pink Saturday favor of a visit, and what do I see but 2 lovely posts with pink!
Wishing you a lovely Sunday full of blessings. :)

Nadege, said...

As you say, not one but two, how lucky. Lovely captures.
We have great big eucalyptus trees in our backyard and we get the most colorful lorikeets in the morning and during the day. Unfortunately they always seem to hide on the highest branches away from my camera.

Unknown said...

Your shots of the Kookaburras are outstanding! I was very intrigued by them when we visited Australia many years ago - loved their song!

Riet said...

Lovely photos!

Cathy H. said...

Beautiful images!! I especially love the birds!!

Lisa said...

Amazing Bird.
This post just made me smile. Beautiful.. Just Beautiful

Tatjana Parkacheva said...

Beautiful photos.

Regards and best wishes

Giga said...

Bardzo miłe są Twoje niespodzianki, a zdjęcia śliczne. Zagoszczę na stałe u Ciebie, aby oglądać trochę inną od naszej przyrodę. Pozdrawiam

theconstantwalker said...

Beautiful birds to see great images. I have just had a lovely browse around your wonderful blog...many thanks for sharing.

mick said...

Great photos of beautiful birds. The roses are a nice surprise.

Debbie said...

wow, what a beautiful bird the kookaburras are!!

Unknown said...

Spectacular shots! Do you see lots of them? Seems that any movie from or about Auz has that certain song in it from these birds!

Hilke Breder said...

Looks like kookaburras have a sense of humor! I love the smile on their faces! Enjoyable post.

Stewart M said...

Hi there - pretty much the only thing better than a Kookaburra is two of them!

Splendid post.

Stewart M

Colonelul said...

Stunning photography!

joo said...

Superb post, and the second photo is simply awesome:)

jeanlivingsimple said...

Your yard must be very wildlife friendly. I adore your feathered visitors. The photos of the kingfishers got a "WOW" from me when they loaded.:)

Springman said...

You deserve your roses. Your kookaburras are AMAZING! I can not take my eyes off them. Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures, I feel they might fly off the screen!

Pat said...

How cute those Kookaburras are! Great photos!

deb duty said...

Amazing captures! Beautiful birds and you were able to get so close!

TexWisGirl said...

gorgeous birds! :)

rebecca said...

Oh my, what an experience to see these birds in your own backyard. Beautiful job capturing them! :) Thanks for linking up with the simple things, be sure to stop by on Sunday and join in the fun giveaways! Can't wait to see you then. :) Rebecca

A Creative Grace said...

such a wonderful sight for you, and great shots of them all too! I saw my first kingfisher here in the UK last week, so thrilling :)

Arija said...

A great pair of kookies, it is mating season so it is not surprising to see them in pairs, just surprising that you managed to get such good shots of them.

Mark L. Fendrick said...

Australian birds are amazing ... much nicer than the assortment we have here. Enjoying your pictures!

thefisherlady said...

what a beautiful unfolding... how God's love always is!
We have a Galah puppet from New Zealand... your picture is the first real one I have seen. so lovely. What delighted me the most though was your pair of kookaburras. Now when I sing about them sitting in the gum tree, I will know what I am singing about. We have had to learn a whole array of new birds each time I visit South Africa... Thanks for sharing yours.

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