While the gardener’s away …

plover
Plovers on our nature strip

Coming back from holidays, we see our own homes and gardens with fresh eyes. Coming back from Japan, where gardens are groomed with an exquisite care verging on the obsessional (more on that in another post) made our own bush garden seem even more, um, informal than ever, especially since the poplar gum is still losing a few leaves.

The local birds have noticed that the house has been almost empty, and the plovers (above) which usually lurk on the far side of our street have taken to visiting us constantly. I don’t mind at all, but I suspect they will drift away again once they see we’re back.

Also, one seasonal change was confirmed when we returned on Sunday: the Pied Imperial Pigeons (aka Nutmeg Pigeons or Torres Strait Pigeons) are definitely back. I’ve heard them every day and spotted them a few times. (I thought I had heard them just before we went away, a month ago, and my Friendly Local Expert said that yes, it was possible, but it would have been unusually early in the year for them to have returned to us. Now there’s no doubt.)

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