Aha Belly, the truth comes out….. you FEED the myna birds!

No wonder you have so many of them around your place!!

You really do secretly love them cute little flying cane toads!

Luddy, coconut milk is of course the white creamy stuff, expressed from the grated flesh of the nut, not the water. They now sell coconut milk in tins in supermarkets So now you don't have to go to the high tropics, & grate your own nuts to get the stuff.

Just realised that did not come out quite right, but the mental image is too amusing, for me to correct it.

Hehehe!

Well it’ll probably come as no surprise to you Hazza, but I do enjoy grating my own nuts!

I remember fondly doing that on Hinchinbrook Island some years ago, while leisurely wandering up a wonderful rainforest creek in the nude and slipping off a wet mossy rock!

Erm, I mean, while camped on beautiful Blacksand beach and indulging in the delicious fruits of wild coconut palms! (:>)

Belly, I have no reason, but have just assumed that, like me, you would be on tank water.

If so, how do you feel about your feathered friends dropping messages from the sky, on your roof. I am torn between encouraging the birds, & keeping my water catching roof clean.

I installed one of those down pipe systems, that send the first slug of water to waste. This is supposed to clean the roof, before catching the water, bit I'm not too sure how well it works.

Natures cruelty is on display around here right now as we come into breeding season. The magpies are chasing off last years brood, before they start this years lot.

The last top bird had a flock of half a dozen he ruled over, but the current boss won't allow any older offspring to hang around. This year they raised 3 chicks, which is pretty unusual I think, but the weaker one is unlikely to survive being driven off from its feeding ground.

Belly,
Myna birds? How come a dinkum country boy like you doesn't have chooks?

What do you do with your garden weeds and carrot tops and spud peelings?

chooks are the best garbage disposal units ever although they don't like citrus or pinapple tops/skin and they have trouble with advocardo seeds.

Even if I did not get cackle berries, I would still have chooks, as no putrid garbage.

Feeding leftovers to myna birds?

Would that be at Scagary point, on the western side, in site of Cardwell old mate?

I don't remember a black sand beach, although the deep mud at low tide was very dark. If it's the same place, it had an acre or so of clearing, with a dozen or so very high mature coconut palms. Just behind was a largish creek with a 2'6" high non watertight weir of river stones, making a most luxurious bath, if very chilly to a bloke fresh from Rabaul.

It was probably a homestead site before the war.

My last trip there in about 76, I had my mum & dad on the boat with me. They had joined me in Cairns, to sail down to Townsville, with me. We had lived there for 4 years just after the war. 3 nights out of Cairns, a bath was most welcome.

My mother had never been to sea, even inside the reef, & when we started beating into the 25 knot southeaster, had near hysterics. This led to me anchoring all day, & making passages at night, when the trades dropped about 10 knots, & pulled to west of south, easing the sea. Besides she would sleep much of it.

They had never had a drinking nut, so I shot down a hand of half a dozen, & we had a bar b que lunch on the beach, getting back on board before the sand flies could carry us off to eat at their leisure.

Continued.