Do you remember

This post about the Koala who could not decide whether to be called Kenny or Katie??

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Well it turns out his name is ………

Blinky Bill !!!!

And for those who have no idea of what I am talking about

Well here is a link

BTW – does he look scary without a mouth???

I have trouble stitching it – it looked very scary when I put one in

Almost Wordless Weekend

 

Hunter Valley Chocolates

which is right in front of Petersens Wines (Champagne of course)

Accommodation - The Carriages

Wildlife

Choir Boys

Thirsty Merc

Meatloaf

(from the big screens)

By the time Meatloaf came on stage it was dark and very, very wet - as in the rain had set in

So my poor little camera had a very hard time taking this shot (the best of about 20!)

Tasmanian Wool Co.

Lookee what I picked up in Hobart

At the Tasmanian Wool Co in Salamanca Place of all places

Supreme Possum Merino Yarn 4ply Silk!!!

A beautiful soft yarn

Bit of mixed feelings about this

I do love 'Our' Possums

Have had, over the years, quite a few as wild 'pets'

Well, they at times would hand-feed from us

Particularly one 'Mum' who we would see over many years

And I believe they are protected in a lot of areas of Australia because of their low numbers

But someone, somewhere, sometime, took Possums to New Zealand

Where they are now considered pests

Destroying their native wildlife and flora

Much like Cane Toads have become to QLD, and now unfortunately NSW, maybe even VIC

So they are 'harvested'

And rather than being a total waste

Their coats are put to use

As New Zealanders are almost like cousins, cause of their closeness and their love of living in Australia  :-)

I decided to buy some and try it out

Did I mention how soft this is

Very eager to try it out

Apparently gloves and socks are popular with possum fur

But this is special yarn with a mix of merino, possum and silk

So something special I think is necessary

Please pop on over to Kiwiyarns Knit if you would like to know more about it or just to read a wonderful blog about yarn and New Zealand in general

Birds

Just a couple of photos of a few of the birds we saw and heard down on the farm.

Morning was always wonderful with lots of bird music

They were unusually very considerate

As the sun was well and truly up before the carrolling began

Most were quick and just the flash of colour and the whirr of wings were to be seen and heard.

So I didn't get photos of Blue Wrens (love them, so sweet, we used to have lots of them visit at our old home and I do miss them), Currawongs, Crows, Lorikeets, Rosellas, White Cockatoos

that's only a list of those I can name and remember

Others were so tiny and so well camoflauged that the photos just do not show them - unless you have super detective eyes and can blow up photos and know what you are looking for.

And I know that there are 20 - 30 finch type birds in this photo and I can only see one and I know where to look!!!!

Ok I know its difficult - supremely so

So I zoomed the photo and marked those I could see

There were more though still hidden

And the big square has 3 birds in it!!!!

A pair of Black cockatoos

These birds have a distinctive call

and they are HUGE (wing span 60-69cm/24-28in)

much bigger than the Yellow Crested Cockatoo

I think their nest is here as they are usually in hollow logs

White Wagtail who we have always called Willy Wagtails

As for animals

Well, unusual in that we did not see any Kangaroos or Wallabies

I did get to see a VERY, VERY, LARGE wombat

But he was dead

Thought I would spare you the photo  - VBG!!!!!