I don’t tell the murky world
to turn pure.
I purify myself
and check my reflection
in the water of the valley brook.
Ryoken, 1758–1831, Zen monk and poet
The small cascade of water pouring over some large rocks is beside/behind the tree in the middle of the following photo made in the Treasury Gardens on the eastern perimeter of Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District).
6th April 2011
A couple of days ago, I spent most of the afternoon and early evening looking for one flower image in my archives.
I never found it, so I probably lost it in a computer crash, but I saw several images of large birds eating their ‘midday’ meal.
None of the images is particularly good so I haven’t shared them online before today. After seeing a fellow blogger’s image of a bird eating a snake, it prompted me to see if I could find them in my (mostly) unfiled archives.
At the same time, I managed to delete and/or identify/file images. So the exercise was worthwhile.
2. Next is a Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) catching a fish in the Great Aviary at Melbourne Zoo…….
……and then promptly drop it. I’m pleased to say the Stork eventually did catch its fish for lunch.
3. This Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) seems to have caught a rather large mouse (or rat?). I always feel a tear come to my eye when I view this shot with the wee critter sitting so calmly awaiting its demise.
4. Down in the long grass at Jawbone Conservation Reserve I spotted a White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) grappling with a lizard or gonna. Hard to see what kind of lizard it is, but like I said, these are not the best photos I have ever shot.
5. Hard to tell, but I think this is a Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) as opposed to a Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) which is 15-20cm taller. I would need to judge the height and closed-mouth appearance of the cormorant to confirm its identity. Looks like a rat for lunch in this picture.
6. This is definitely a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), the most common of Australia’s 2 Kookaburras, grabbing a fat juicy worm for its lunch in the Royal Botanic Gardens here in Melbourne.
Here are some better shots I took around this time in 2011 so you can see the Kookaburra’s feathers from the back (as well as front).
7. And finally, here’s the lunch of yours truly, yesterday. Yes, I do like green Kiwi Fruit on my salad, as long as it’s ripe but still firm. I had to throw 2 out yesterday as they were really soft and squishy. I didn’t order any Kiwi Fruit in my online supermarket order last night. They were nearly Aus$2 each! The price of fruit, vegetables and meat is exorbitant here in Melbourne (and probably the rest of Australia) at the moment.
Drought, bushfires, floods or severe heavy rain on the farmer’s crops, together with COVID lockdowns have sent food prices soaring in the last 3 years.
A Moment in Time 