Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Autumn?

There's a huge gum tree outside my living room windows. It must be at least twelve metres tall. My apartment is on the third storey of the building and the full leafiness of the tree is at my level.

lorikeet

Just now it's covered in blossom and the nectar is attracting the colourful and raucous lorikeets who have loud arguments - sometimes even in the middle of the night, with those fiercely territorial intruders, the common mynahs. The blossoms have also attracted butterflies and bees, so that I feel surrounded by new life and busyness.

All this shows the incongruity of Autumn in Sydney - isn't all this activity more typical of Spring? Or maybe what the activity outside my windows really shows is the incongruity of seasonal stereotypes that we in the southern hemisphere have unconsciously incorporated into our thinking.

Anyway, I'm enjoying this seasonal activity while it lasts. The greedy lorikeets will only visit for the blossoms and will then disappear till next year. So just to heighten this (un)seasonal activity, I've bought some locally grown tulips - harbingers of Spring in the northern hemisphere, but perfectly at home in a Sydney Autumn.

autumn tulips

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

the whole concept of seasons really doesnt make much sense here, does it! you just have to take it as it comes each day. what a glorious sight to have outside your window though. i never get tired of native bird screeching! (well maybe in the middle of the night i might).

Lynne said...

We have lorikeets all year around due to the grevilleas which are nearly always in flower. They screech loudest when the cat comes near the fence!

1funkyknitwit said...

A lovely photo of the lorikeet in the tree :) As for the weather I'm just happy the cooler months are creeping in, a beautiful time of the year :D

Anonymous said...

Down here on the South Coast, where the Indian Mynah is very seldom in evidence,we have proof positive that The Bandits (Rainbow Lorikeets) do not actually NEED and opponent to have a good old fashioned barney.

Gae, in Callala Bay

Brendaknits said...

Oh for such colour in our local birds. How beautiful.