"JennyC" wrote in message
...
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote

the Superb Blue Wrens clean
them up totally.
http://birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=3

WOW - pretty :~))

Yes, as usual, it's the male who is the pretty one but he only puts on
his blue plumage at mating time. :-))

I can sit on my back verandah watching these tiny birds cleaning
up
the aphids with no fear at all from we humans. I can see no
reason to
cause myself work by dragging out a nasty to spray to kill the
aphids
if these wonderful little birds are doing the work for me and
giving
me entertainment at the same time.

I also have a lot of "Blue tongue Lizards" and skinks in my garden
and
these eat snails but are poisoned by snail bait. They give me a
shock
every now and then when I see then because I sometimes mistake
them
for snakes but they too are more than welcome. They are preyed on
by
the raptor family and I get to see them too.

I think of my garden in a titheing sense. Some for me and some
for
the insects, small vertibrates and birds. I won't have kangaroos
in
the garden though. they are not tolerated.

Lizards, skinks, raptors (!!!)................

You forgot the snakes :-)) Amazing critters but I wish they'd go
elsewhere - mind you, even they need water too these days.

You should see the "real" birds we can see here - by this I mean the
Wedge Tailed Eagles that soar overhead on the thermal currents. These
are truly magnificent - bigger then the American Eagle and always
being chased by magpies which look like tiny specks when they get up
close to the Eagles (our magpies are black and white but not the same
as the British ones).

Do you have some pictures of your garden to share with us ??

Unfortunately I don't and to be honest, no-one would want to see it in
it's current sad state. 6 years of drought and we are now making
decisions about what we are going to save if things keep going the way
they are. We've decided it must be the trees as we won't be able to
grow them again to the current height in our lifetime. The roses will
survive being as tough as old boots, as will my named irises but
anything else will have to just have to take its chances. We are now
in the process of building a shade house as I suspect that I may have
to take things out of the garden and put them in pots. I'm watering
the rose bed which has 50-70 roases in it and other plants and I'm
trying to keep a few veg going (corn, tomatoes, rhubarb, cucumber,
zucchini, chard, pak choi and a few salad greens and herbs) but beyond
that..........

Bloody depressing.