Saturday afternoon......

Well I am sure that I have said this many times before....the beach is forever changing. Today I went for a short stroll, camera in hand, to find the beach deserted. The dark clouds were being blown in from the south east as I stood gazing out at the looming storm. They were murky and bleak and made the ocean look leaden.

As I made my way along the sand it struck me that there were very few shells this afternoon, no sea weed, no pieces of drift wood either. Instead, there were thousands of blue bottles.

For those of you who have never seen a bluebottle they have a float or bottle-shaped blue sac, which sits on the water's surface. They have many string-like tentacles hanging down from the float Bluebottles eat tiny fish, small crabs and plankton. Now if you have never had an experience with them, I suggest that you keep it that way lol.

Bluebottles usually attract people when they are washed up on the beach. When they are in the water the bluebottle appears translucent and is often unnoticed. However, against the sand they are quite colourful and are often mistaken as shells or weed. Should you try to pick one up it will give you a good sting.

As children we went to the beach and my sister thought that she was piking up a shell. Her hand was stung badly enough for my parents to take her to a lifeguard. He explained that although the sting was not deadly it was extremely painful causing a massive burning sensation that was painful enough to make a grown man cry. The toxin secreted by their tenticles is about 75% as powerful as cobra venom and leaves a nasty red tail-like welt where the tenticle lays against your limb or body. The lifeguard washed the area with vinegar and my sister lived to tell the story.

Anyway, I took a few photos and sat and watched as the dark blue skies turned to dark gray clouds and eventually they became a light rain. I made it home before getting completely soaked.

Tidal Changes....

Mr J and I went for a swim after work yesterday. The sea was calm, a few gentle waves around the shoreline and because the waters here are crystal clear one can see right to the bottom. I became enthralled with the numbers of small hermit crabs that dotted the floor of the bay; hundreds of them. I am not sure what brings them out at that particular time however, their shells were all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. They seemed happy enough to climb back into their shells each time that I picked one up to have a look lol. The beach was deserted except for Mr J and myself and so we stayed, walked along the shores in search of seashells and had a final swim before walking home at 7:30pm.Now today was totally different. The gusty breeze sprayed the dry white sands around the place. Even down close to the water I was whipped several times by the sand. I walked about one km down the beach and as I returned I could see the swirls of white sand in the distance, a mini sand storm of sorts. Surfice to say that my beach towel was covered with it when I picked it up. What amazed me was the waterline of the shore; it was covered in millions of tiny seashells. Even down in the shallow waters were many seashells too. I have no idea why there were so many today however, it is incredible how much the water and winds can change from one day to the next; perhaps it has something to do with the currents, the winds and the moon. Normally the sand is podwery white and soft to walk on however, today it was much corser and greyish in colour. I bet by the time I return in the morning the shoreline will be cleaned up by the overnight tides. Seeing the day to day differences is like watching the changes in the seasons, except that this is on a daily basis. I often wonder how long one has to live here before we begin to take such beauty for granted; if one misses it today there will always be tomorrow....that sort of attiture. I couldn't imagine ever getting sick or tired of walking here, these beautiful white sandy beaches, the sapphire, turquoise sea, the bay's waters lapping gently on the sands, the sailing boats docking the water's edges. Late this evening there was no cloud cover and the sun formed a huge orange fireball which usually means that tomorrow is going to be a warm day. I look forward to it.

Time For A Sea Change......

Mr J and I have settled into our little home here at Callala Beach. Although small, the house has quaintness about it and I enjoy being home in such a relaxing atmosphere. It takes only a few minutes to clean up leaving me plenty of time to rest after work and on weekends. Many of the homes here, including our place, have been built on stilts to take advantage of the ocean breezes. This means that the entire house is raised, usually with a small room down stairs. The verandah upstairs here is about eye level with the tops of a massive Banksias tree. The inhabitants of the Banksias tree are numerous Rainbow Lorikeets, some Australian King Parrots, a family of Rosella’s and some Red-browed Firetails. Several large cockatoos have tried to move in however; I have chased them off as diligently as I could so far. There are also a group of honey eaters that visit when all of the parrots have disappeared. I am not sure what they are called exactly however they are brown and gray streaked and have long slender bills and legs that are black. It is fascinating to sit and watch them searching through the banksias for nectar and sap however, once any of the parrots return they are quick to take flight.

The parrots are amazing to watch. The lorikeets have no fear of me and chatter endlessly while eating or chasing each other around the branches. To listen to them one would think they were a bunch of old women engaging in harsh chatter and scolding lol. They arrive promptly at 6:45am each morning and are better than any alarm clock lol.
Right now the Crimson Rosella are lively in the tree. They have crimson plumage and blue cheeks. The wing feathers have broad blue edges and a blue tail. I read that the young Rosella’s have an olive-green body with just a little red around the head. The young bird gradually attains adult plumage over a period of 15 months.

I am sitting typing on my laptop on the verandah as they prattle on in front of me. About fifteen minutes ago I climbed the ladder to fill there seed bowl with “Wild bird Seed”, a second product called Harmony Wild Bird which is a nectar mix that is powder in nature and smells almost like vanilla and I added some kiwi fruit and nectarine. It is mesmerizing to watch their reaction to the new food. The red headed females land first. She souses out the dish then climbs in. Several young males then land and follow in her footsteps (or bird claws in this case lol). She chases them off using her beak and shrieking voice, one can almost imagine a bossy grandmother taking control and order of the household. Several more males land to inspect the bowl only to be scolded by her so they passively sit and wait their turn. These parrots are so beautiful to watch. The males are predominantly green; the colour of green that a granny smith apple is. It is vibrant and eye-catching. On top of their head is a small patch of red; scarlet red and on the ends of their wings I can see the colour blue. These are the males of the flock. They chatter like old men to each other but I am surprised how truly dominant the females are. There does not appear to be any greed among the males nor between the females however, the females snap, peck and screech at the males as if it is important to show who is boss and will have the final judgment in the pecking order lol.






A huge gust of wind blows up from the ocean and sweeps through everything in its path, including the Banksia tree. Even I am caught by surprise at the strength of it. The little birds simply flutter to keep their balance and continue feeding. The animated females soon leave the bowl and hop out along the thick old branches to take flight. The males look relieved and join each other silently to indulge in the amazing treats there. The branches around the bowl are very old and withered. I have no idea of the age of the tree but the bark is like the skin of an emaciated old woman. The wrinkly creased in the aged bark make it easy for the wildlife to keep hold at all times. It is easy to imagine the Banksia would have many stories to tell if it could. It protrudes out of the ground and immediately forks into four different directions. The four main branches are thick, furrowed and faded in colour. From these main branches many thousands of smaller undergrowth spreads out to almost fill the front yard. The serrated foliage covering the undergrowth is also thick and gray/green in colour with cone-like flowers called inflorescences.


One of the things I have found is that they are surprisingly striking close-up yet can look indistinguishable and plain from a distance. These particular inflorescences are a green-bronze colour and the tree is covered in them. I should get my camera back over the weekend so hopefully I will have some photos to share very soon. The darkness of nighttime has slowly moved in so the birds will disappear for the night. I have no idea where they disappear to but sure as eggs, they will return in the morning.
























I too will say good night, have a good evening everyone
Heather