Late Winter

 

It was so warm last weekend the paper wasps returned from their winter hibernation, and began their pre-summer habitation repairs, to the nest nestled under the capping on our fence. They probably wished they hadn’t though, as since then the days have been an unsteady mix of misty clouds and drizzle, followed by short bursts of bright sunshine, then long bouts of pouring rain. Not great weather for repairing a house made of paper!

The steady rain has washed away most of the blossoms that only days ago, adorned the almond tree. However they have given way to  a thick covering of acid green leaves that are providing sustenance to a couple of  rainbow lorikeets. I guess food at this time of year is hard for these birds to find, as they are hungry daily visitors, but I’ve never seen them cited as ‘leaf eaters’.  

And it's not only the almond tree that is enjoying the rain, the whole garden has boomed. Our native grass ‘lawn’ is coming back with a vengeance (SP has promised to do a post on the trials and tribulations we’ve had with this idea), and the trees, that were maybe 60 or 70 cms tall when newly planted this time last year , have had a real growth spurt. They are suddenly or so it seems, taller than the six foot fence they will eventually hide. 

These swollen green bumps that I think may be flower buds (fingers crossed), have also just appeared on some of their slender branches. I guess the next couple of weeks will tell...

Quick side note, please forgive the text size and line spacing, not sure what's going on but it sure is annoying. I'll work on finding a fix.

Apricot Tree

Whilst we are still enjoying the necessity of donning winter coats before heading out the door, the apricot tree has totally moved on and is dressed for spring.

Friends and Foe

 

Spent some time in the garden last week not only enjoying some winter sunshine but also doing a bit of tidying up.  Found this little guy whilst pruning the potted roses. Not sure what he is, though he does look a bit grasshoppery. I put him back where he came from, well, on what remained of that particular rose bush anyway.

These hairy caterpillars are everywhere. They are eating everything, and I mean everything in the garden. They are partial to the flowers on the emu bushes, the oregano has been chewed down to a few straggly shoots, as have the chives, and I even removed a few of them from the hakea bush which has leaves more like thorns then foliage. I think they are cape lilac caterpillars which, unfortunately, have no natural predators, meaning the only way to get rid of them involves manual handling (with gloves of course) and a trip to the rubbish bin.

Whilst hunting caterpillars though, I did come across this pray mantis. He was also on the hakea and definitely a friend. Hope he hangs around.