Well another wet and rainy month. Not as much rain as the previous three months but enough to keep the ground sodden. I didn’t take a lot of photos and some I did take just weren’t all that good as the light was quite poor.

Some of these photos have been enhanced using my photo editing program. Some people have asked what I use to edit my photos. I use Corel PaintShop Pro Ultimate 2022. I used to use Corel when I was working so it made sense to use the same program only a better version. I have used it since 2009 and upgraded every year as some of the function change and improve.

Trying to think of a May song for you to scroll to. Arcade Fire’s Month of May is a bit fast and you might get scrolling in a rapid fashion but I really like Arcade Fire. ACDC’s Stormy May Day seems appropriate being Aussie and the weather but not all enjoy ACDC. So I went for something a bit gentler and also a band who started their career in Australia with one of their lesser know songs which I love. Enjoy your scroll while having a listen.

I managed to get away for a few days to visit a mate at Port Stephens. I started my drive in rain and after a while the skies cleared and I was lucky enough to have a couple of days in sunshine.

This is sunrise from his place. So as the sun is up, lets go.

We went for a picnic and saw a White-bellied Sea Eagle cruising the shore line.

Meanwhile back at home the rains continued and again the Clarence Valley experienced a minor flood. Previous floods in March, the water went over the pylons but under the Grafton Bridge.

The Pacific Black Ducks didn’t seem to mind the high water.

I had fungi popping up around the place but not as much or as many as I thought. Possibly as it was wet and not much sunshine or heat in the soil.

I love the colour and frills on this little fungus

When I went to clean out the leaves from my water tank strainers, this big fat Green Tree Frog was sitting on the tank. It was not a good idea as a bird would have loved to make a meal of it. This photo was taken in my green house where I relocated the frog so it may have some insects to snack on as well be safe.

While in the shade house I took a few photos of the Begonias and the flowers. This is one is the better photos of Wax Begonia flowers with some water drops.

Water drops were everywhere and it was hard not to try and get a few photos despite the dismal overcast days. This orange Hibiscus has loved all the rain and has flowered better than ever.

I saw sparkles when one evening the sunset looked spectacular through the trees

This year the Zygote Cactus are flowering so well. I love this apricot coloured one which is a new one in the shade house getting started. Also has water drops all over.

I had this Zygote on the verandah and it wasn’t happy so I put the pot in the garden. It certainly enjoyed a change of scenery.

The Satin Bowerbird didn’t seem to mind when the rain started to fall. He was more intent on enjoying lunch.

Christine – Stine Writing – said she didn’t know that birds, other than parrots, could be green when I posted a photo of a Green Catbird Well here you go Christine here’s another one. A female Satin Bowerbird in the tree outside of my office.

The Satin Bowerbirds liked the fruit of the Benjamina Fig Tree

The Benjamina Fig Tree had a fantastic fruiting this year as well. The fruits are around 10mm and when they fall the Peaceful Doves walk around under the tree eating the fallen fruits

The little Silvereyes liked eating the figs too and then pop over to the Grevilleas for a bit of a sweet drink.

The bees enjoyed the sweet nectar too. Here a couple of bees shooting are the breeze over a few drinks.

The Chinese Lanterns looked good in May and continue to flower.

The Cats Whiskers are having a full on flowering too. After this flowering I will have to get some cuttings as I love Cats Whiskers as do insects. Unfortunately the Red-necked Wallabies like them as well so I have to fence the plants.

Through the bush the Egg and Bacon plants are flowering. Some are covered in these tiny 10-12mm flowers other plants have less numbers of flowers but are showy nevertheless.

At this time of year, the Eastern Spinebills turn up at my place. This Spinebill enjoyed the Pentas flowers in the garden.

One exciting thing to happen was that the Eastern Whipbirds that live in the gullies around my house have started to come into the garden. They are quite allusive and move rapidly through the undergrowth occasionally giving off their whip cracking call in the bushes. I managed to get this photo from my verandah.

The Golden Whistlers are in the garden too. This female was quite happy to pose for a few photos before flying off into the bush.

Sometimes the birds come to me. This Blue-faced Honeyeater flew onto the verandah to come to see what I was doing in my office.

What has been lacking for a lot of this year has been Red-necked Wallabies around the house. I was pleased to see a small mob turn up for a couple of days and one female had a joey. I grabbed a photo from the verandah down toward the end of the garden just as they were hopping away.

I was so glad that they turned up the next day and were in the garden for quite a while. The little Joey was quite adventurous and hopped away from Mum but not too far. Yes another verandah shot.

I did get out a couple of times and again I had a sunny day when I left the rain at my place and went to see a mate who was holidaying at Woolgoolga. On the way home I stopped at the lookout and there was a pair of Australasian Pipits hopping around the car park.

Another car park stroller. This time at the riverbank in Grafton while I was checking out the floodwaters a Crested Pigeon just walked past.

Another bit of excitement was when I was driving home from town one afternoon and I saw a Black-necked Stork in a flooded paddock that has turned into a quasi wetland. That is where I took the photos of the Black Swans recently. This time she was close to the road so I managed to get quite a number of good photos.

The Black-necked Stork is the only species of stork that occurs in Australia. Its name is a little misleading, as the bird’s neck is not black, but an iridescent green-and-blue sheen. I only just found out that the female has a yellow eye.

Another bit of excitement was hearing a sound in the garden late one afternoon and seeing a shape moving around the garden. I realised it wasn’t a Wallaby and saw a Northern Bandicoot looking for dinner in the garden. I rarely see Bandicoots but know they are around by the holes that are dug around the garden looking for worms and grubs.

The only other time I have taken a video of a Bandicoot in the chook house in 2014. You can see that this one is a female as there is movement in her pouch.

I think this could be a male but it moved quickly and I didn’t get a good look at it. When it stood on it’s back legs to see what it heard in the garden, it had its back to me. Males can weigh up to 3kg

As I mentioned before, one evening there was a spectacular sunset. I don’t get to see sunsets and sunrises living among the trees in the bush or forest, so when I do they are spectacular.

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly project where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. We all approach this slightly differently — though generally with an emphasis on the photos we’ve taken during the month.

For many of us, looking back over these photos provides the structure and narrative of our post, so each month is different. Some focus on documenting the changes in a particular project — such as a garden, an art or craft project, or a photographic diary of a familiar landscape.

But in the end, it is your changing season, and you should approach it however works for you.

There are no fixed rules around post length or photo number — just a request that you respect your readers’ time and engagement.

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