I Love Backyard Birdwatching!
There really is something about birds for me. I have no idea what it is but I find it incredibly enjoyable and satisfying to watch birds go about their daily lives. Expand that, I actually also love watching nature at work. I love to watch the trees flower and fruit in the season, I love to watch how animals and birds interact with their environment and I love to watch the effects of the things that I do on it all. You see, I have grown a garden that is intended to bring the wildlife to me. A backyard birdwatching haven. And since the law of attraction is all about enjoying your self, having fun and being who you really are, I get to do all of those things every day, right from my home office here in Cairns, courtesy of my garden!
I have planted trees specifically for the purpose of feeding birds and butterflies and providing a bird friendly habitat. In the main these are native trees, however I have found through my reading that citrus trees and many non-natives work wonderfully as well. I now tailor my gardening life to the birds that are resident or visitors. For example I would never prune or trim the Justica’s during spring because all of the honey-eaters that are growing up their young and need as much food as possible. My garden is a food factory for them.
You will also find in my garden, a couple of watering holes for the birds. Even though it took them a while, they eventually got used to them and now bathe and drink there throughout the day. This makes it possible for me to be working in my home office and watching the birds come and go as they do.
The habitat it very important because all types of birds seek refuge for nesting and each seems to need something a little different. The sunbird pair need a sheltered place and a rope; the finches need a dense tree with a lookout nearby, the doves need a dense tree with peace and quiet and so on. Over time, we have created two secret gardens to serve all of these purposes. Additionally, our elderly terrier does her best to see any marauding cats off the premises! Even so, cats managed to destroy the nest of a willy wagtail which was a sad loss to all of us here. We were very excited to have this sweet little bird nesting on our deck.
So if you also love all things nature, and you live in town on an ordinary sized piece of land, you too can do your bit for the various species and create a wildlife refuge and habitat. Next time I will write about our animals and I am very happy to answer questions about how to create you own piece of heaven in your backyard. In the meantime I am off to feel the joy – happiness really is birdwatching in my backyard.
Backyard Bird Watching
According to the Law of Attraction, life is meant to be fun, filled with enjoyment; a pleasure and for me, and backyard bird watching is all of that. I have built a garden in Cairns that is attractive to birds and butterflies so I get to indulge in backyard bird watching all of the time.
Normally, in my own garden I am watching our sunbird pair, a variety of finches, orioles, doves and honey-eaters as well as an endless array of passing birds. Right now, though I am visiting family in western Queensland, the dry country and enjoying very different species to those at home. But there is one thing that has not changed. Each of our families has been adopted by a pair of birds who have taken over a part of our homes to nest and raise their chicks.
In Cairns, our sunbird pair own our back veranda and come to us for assistance just as they need it. They have nested twice there and raised countless chicks in our garden before seeing them off to start a life of their own. We watch with avid interest as each new pair of eggs is laid and the chicks hatch, fledge and become independent. Along the way the parent birds entertain us with their scolding, cajoling and finally their meanness as they send the new young birds off to other territory, they achieve success, before commencing the whole process again.
Here on the farm, it is a willy wagtail pair who have taken over a part of the downstairs laundry, building their nest on the water pipes there in a very protected area where they are raising their first family of three. Not only do they provide sustenance for the chicks they also contend with a malevolent magpie with a family of his own to feed. The magpie clearly has his eye on the chicks and even went so far as to go in under the house for a look see.
The willy wagtail parents had other ideas though and through persistence and their combined efforts have seen the magpie off each time that he has arrived. The two small birds swoop and dive the magpie, putting their lives on the line until the magpie is unsettled enough to go away. This business of raising their chicks is extremely hard work for the parents who are up early, to bed late and on the go all day.
Apart from being entertaining and relaxing, there are life lessons here for anyone who wants to find them. Without trying I have found the following:-
- Keep your eyes peeled for every opportunity – the world around you abounds with them
- Put a lot of effort into growing and nurturing your young and then give them independence to go their own way
- Be persistent in your efforts to get what you want
- Be prepared to work hard for the time that it takes
- Show no fear for the predator, even if they are bigger than you
- One plus one equals more than two – you need a team to make some things work
- Live like there’s no tomorrow, fly like you know how and enjoy everything that comes your way
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Only About Money?
Many people hold the view that becoming an entrepreneur is all about making money and that this is not of interest to them. However, there are many entrepreneurs who are also inventors and others who are committed to doing good works or charitable works. Being an entrepreneur is about the full range of opportunities that are possible in a persons life; including relationships, health and well-being and business life. And in the relationships area, many entrepreneurs are very interested in broader relationships with the community apart from their close personal relationship. In this arena, entrepreneurs might be doing any number of community works.
Recently for example, I was in Hawaii with a group of entrepreneurs who raised $300,000 dollars for the Make a Wish Foundation in Hawaii. I am also aware of a well known Cairns entrepreneur who has set up and sponsors a number of Foundations, some in support of young people. Doing good works is part of being an entrepreneur, however they are not necessarily out there telling everyone that they are doing good things. Often it is about the quiet achiever.
Becoming an entrepreneur is about much more than making money.
Sun Bird and the Rhythm of Life
Yesterday our sun bird pair (we know that they are ours because we are theirs – at least that is how they treat us) fledged the first of their two chicks and today the second. We get a great deal of joy from watching this natural cycle take place in our living room. You see, we live in Cairns in tropical north Queensland and our pair have nested in the shelter of our veranda building their second nest there. We live on our veranda for most of the year so we consider that they are in our living room! We do many things especially for our sun birds, for example we only sweep the veranda, never use the blower while they are there, we give them perfect twine to nest on and ensure that traffic is kept to a minimum in their area. We also hold the water hose at just the right flow so that they can bathe. In return they trust us with their presence, show off their babies to us and talk to us on a regular basis.
Every day, we learn something more from our sun bird pair and their families, particularly about trust. They have shown us that even such a tiny bird will trust us if we show that we are trustworthy. How could we possibly ever have thought that trust is about anything else! They have also shown us that we can have faith in the rhythm of life, to get out of the way and let life get on with it. Of course they are on purpose – when it is nesting time, they are furiously building, when it is sitting time, mother bird is diligent and when it is growing time they work feverishly to provide for their young. It is full on action. However they are in flow with the natural rhythm of life and I am grateful to have learned that lesson from them. The total joy of sun birds.
It would be great to hear your bird stories.
One Second
Spare a thought for those who lose their loved ones as a result of road accidents. I live in Cairns, far north Queensland and we see too many families left in despair as a result of the tragic loss of life on the road. I, like many others wonder what can be done to change this. Take a look at the following message and then visit the website to see what one person is doing. There you can also read the story of one woman, whose life changed in just one second. Think about this – all it takes is just one second.
Just One Second of thought could save a life.
You may never know who’s life you save,
But you will know you haven’t taken one.
Safe drivers are life savers.
Join the thought wave…
One Second for Blogging
One Second for life.
