Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year

A Happy New Year to you all.  I'm hoping 2011 will be better for me than 2010. It's started in a promisingly magic way, with a garden full of rainbow lorikeets.

Rainbow lorikeets are brilliantly colored Australian native parrots, and I feel lucky whenever they visit. A few months ago they visited my flowering gum (eucalyptus) until the flowers were finished, and at the moment the attraction is my plum tree laden with ripe red plums, so my day starts with the sound of noisy chirruping and squawkling as they feast happily on the plums.

You don't think squawkling is a word? Listen to this, which is a recording of rainbow lorikeets, and tell me these birds don't squawkle. It's part squawk part chortle and full of joy.

It's been a bit tricky to get a photo of them -- the moment I open the back door, a bunch of them take to the air in a flurry of bright colors, and only one or two little pirates remain right at the top of the tree, feasting boldly. You can just make out one here:

I'll try and get a clearer shot to show off their brilliant colors but in the meantime, here's one from the Wikipedia entry about them. Magic little birds, I think, and with real personality. 


May 2011 bring you joy, peace, health and happiness. And a touch of magic.