Hello February!
It has been a busy week here at the Red Cardinal nest.
The tree-loppers have visited. I learnt the meaning of the term 'Raising the Crown'...
Nothing to do with a coronation in a Royal Family:
see in the above photo, the lower branches are removed allowing the upper tree to become a crown. Who knew??
The shady Ficus (Moreton Bay fig) had a very severe Crown Raising...
I hope the plants beneath do not die of sunstroke!
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| Crowning the Ficus |
That black shadow above the dead palm branch is the tree lopper up in the tree with his chainsaw, throwing branches down and over the fence..
These two trees, beloved by the cockatoos for roosting, were removed.
All male persons present insisted they were dead!
It was certainly entertaining..
On Tuesday, I had a long visit to the Dentist, and emerged with not one, but two new Crowns ... of a rather less glamorous variety:
which went on all afternoon as we tried to figure out what it was.
Eventually we saw a bird flop down into the fireplace, but immediately fly back into the chimney.
I googled 'Bird caught in chimney', as you do, and followed instructions involving a cardboard box fixed in the front, with a little torch inside to attract the bird.
We were supposed to be very quiet and the bird would come down.
Not this bird.
It went to sleep during the night, thankfully, and began fluttering again in the morning. I rang the RSPCA, and two lovely people arrived a couple of hours later.
Not Mr. Cardinal, this is the bird rescue man who charmed the bird into his hand..
While all these shenanigans were going on, Mr. or Ms. Snake made another appearance, at the same corner of the pool..
Tomorrow is Saturday, and we plan an expedition to a Cafe in a distant suburb, followed by a visit to Bunnings, the hardware store for everything and everyone...
Yes, I see you are staying extremely busy dear. 'Limbing up' tree pruning helps however they can only take so many branches before damaging/killing the tree we've been told. Another huge oak needs to come down here, later perhaps as we've reached that time where no more branches can come off! So expensive and nerve wracking though - so will have to wait a while!
ReplyDeleteYour area is looking lovely with grass and pretty flowers - what type of snake? Hopefully non-venomous!
Glad the little bird was rescued and could be released. We once had a squirrel stuck in our chimney and it died - what a terrible smelly mess that was. Needless to say we added a metal chimney cover and have never had any further problems. We've also had 'a bat in the belfry' (attic) and had to have that removed and strong mesh installed over the two attic vents. Never a dull moment with the wildlife here. . . . . . . .. and that darned same squirrel is looking at me right now through the dining room window - there's no bird seed left on the porch as Bob blew everything off yesterday before the rains returned today!
Our weekend is just going to be like all the others for almost a year now - dull, quiet, at home etc., however we'll still enjoy it and make the most of things. I will cook, and plan to bake some cranberry/orange/pecan muffins to share with neighbor and put in freezer. Walking hoping on the schedule if it dries up.
Glad the little boys are doing so well. My lovely neighbor Bob became a granddad for the first time on Monday - an adorable baby boy with a mop of dark hair!
Yes, life goes on, and will hopefully improve soon for the children and all of us.
Trish - will write you back soon.
Hugs - Mary
What a lovely long comment dear Mary. I am a bit concerned they took too much off our big tree, but time will tell. Unfortunately it is an Eastern brown snake, one of the world's deadliest. We are installing more snake repellents. Oh dear re the squirrel: I was worried about the smell if the bird died overnight and was quite relieved at 9.30 am when it began fluttering again. You really have had a tough time with covid, all those months staying home. I do not think Australians have the ability to do that obediently! Not all agree with our Govt. policies and closed borders as it wrecks the economy but we are happy to feel safe (mostly). What a sweet baby next door, you will enjoy watching him grow. Hugs Trish
DeleteI need your tree trimmers to cut up some downed trees. We had a big wind storm at the river house. It blew down two trees, fortunately they didn't do much damage. The top of one hit a cyclone fence (metal) but only put a small dent in it. It also blew some shingles off the ridge of the roof but that has been fixed. Otherwise, all is quite pandemic style routine here. Glad to hear the twins are doing well.
ReplyDeleteGlad the trees did not damage your house too much - an ever present possibility when we love trees around us. There is always tree trimming needs doing around here too, and not everything was done this time. It is soooo expensive! Pandemic style routine here too. Hope you are able to get a jab some time soon.
DeleteA bird in the chimney adventure and tree work are add texture to the days. I hope the snake goes back to the wild.
ReplyDeleteHope you are OK with the snow storms I saw on TV today. We are installing more snake deterrents so hope Snake takes the hint and leaves us. So pleased the bird survived it experience and could fly off.
DeleteGlad the bird was released unharmed and now you can rest easy! A bird or animal trapped inside is not a good thing. Years ago a bird flew into our house and got caught up in our net curtains, what a nightmare to free it. We have a few trees that need trimming too, and maintaining a garden seems to be never ending and I thought ours was low maintenance but as we get older we realise how much work is involved. Love your flowers too.
ReplyDeleteWe have lived here 17 years and this is the first time we have had a creature in the chimney. We will have it checked and any access blocked. How awful to have a bird in the house, and caught like that. I was concerned if we managed to grab the bird it could get away and fly around inside - we would never have caught it ourselves. Garden maintenance sure is unending but we soldier on. When we came here we thought it looked after itself, ha ha. At the moment we are looking to go on a garden tour for 5 days in a couple of months, borders permitting.
DeleteGosh things have been rather entertaining in your patch!
ReplyDeleteWe have a gusty wind here and our neighbour's tree split and they had to drape a tape around it for safety as it overhangs the sidewalk...not sure how long until the trimmers can come and fix the damage as there must be oodles of trees with damage. Those are lovely flowers Patricia! Enjoy the weekend.
Oh, that sounds a bit dangerous having a tree split. High winds are a concern here too, and the reason we have to keep trees safe. Happy weekend.
DeleteYou are having adventures! Watching experts like tree loppers at work is so interesting. I'm glad the animal people were able to rescue the bird and send it back into the wild. I love seeing the bright flowers - they make me happy and help me anticipate the coming of spring and summer here.
ReplyDeleteYou've had a few unusual happenings in February, my friend. That is a strange incident with the bird in the fireplace. So glad he got out safely. That's too bad that the two trees were removed - I hope the cockatoos have somewhere else to rest. I'm so sorry you had to get dental work done with 2 new crowns, no fun. I had one fall out not long ago, and had to go in for another one. Those pink flowers are so pretty, what a gorgeous color.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day, Patricia. I hope you have a special day of love.
~Sheri
You have had an eventful time! Thank goodness the bird stayed where it was and didn't fly soot all around the room. I'm very cowardly about trips to the dentist, an inspection is due soon. Well done you for enduring a long visit!
ReplyDeleteLife is very quiet here, we are staying indoors, eating rather too much and avoiding some very unpleasant weather.
Trish, I learned a new term, tree lopper - I love how literal it is. :)
ReplyDeleteWe are still not doing much of anything here in the United States. Still waiting for the production and distribution of vaccines to increase.
It's not bitter cold today, but we had snow fall a few days ago. It nearly always melts quickly in Manhattan, so I wear low cut booties to walk about the sidewalks.
Mr. and Mrs. Snake would put me in a constant state of fear. I'd be looking over my shoulder all the time, afraid of walking around your beautiful garden or swimming in the pool. I suppose keeping those snake stick repellers are not doable? Because of other consequences, I bet. It's another thing I learned on The Red Cardinal. You may make a gardener out of me yet, Trish. :)
What a week! I got dizzy just looking at the tree guy in the orange vest.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Gosh, I missed this! What an adventurous time you've had, Patricia. Amazing what goes on on the other side of the world there :) I hope the Myna bird recovered from its shock. As for the tree doctor, I'm waiting for one of those myself! Enjoy the rest of your summery days!
ReplyDeleteI must tell you that I thought if you recently when one if the founding members of the Supremes passed away, Mary Wilson. I read that she had had a oh...cant remember the name of it...but a display or show of all the gowns that she had worn. That sounded like a post for you! 😊Gee, I do like suggesting things, don't I? Anyway, she was a most interesting, talented woman. If I could write these days, I would do the post myself! Take care!
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