Astoundingly Amazing Antipodean Arachnid

But before we get to our wonderful pictures of cute, fuzzy critters from down under, how about a parrot picture or two?

Cus after all, that's the reason I have visitors... it's sure not for my wit and charm...

First, I thought I put up a pic of a pair of vicious, ferocious, seed-flesh eating, mean, nasty critters!



Yeah, I'd hate to be that sunflower seed...

Moving on...

I thought I'd put up a picture that really illustrates the difference between a male and female galah. You can easily see the difference in the eye colouring in this shot:


Plus the fact that the female is yelling and screaming and waving her arms about while the bloke says, "Yes, Dear."


One last thing before I get to the cool critter captures, there was a

Conversation with Wifey-Poo

the other day.

As always, YT is yours truly (that's still me) and WP is Wifey-Poo (the most wonderful, caring, understandable, patient woman in the entire world).

YT: I've got the last of the broccoli steaming for dinner.

WP: Are you sure that'll be enough for all of us?

YT: Oh sure, I'll run it through the food processor and then add it to the creamy chicken soup. I'll add more milk and seasonings, bake a fresh cobb for dunkers, no worries.

WP: Mmmmmm, sounds good!

YT: Well, yeah. After all, it is the soup the BOSS likes.

WP: ...HUH? *Oh crap what's he going on about now*

YT: Oh you know. The British Overseas Secret Service. After all, Mr. Broccoli did direct all those wonderful documentaries about the double-oh agents.

WP: That's bad... very very bad...


And now


the reason


you've read


this far!


Here's a tiny thumbnail of a cute, little furry critter:









Go ahead and click on the thumbnail, no worries. It won't bite!

I dare ya to click it.

I double dare ya!

Triple dare ya!

And for those of you who wussed out and didn't expand the cute, furry critter pic up to over 1400 by 900, here's a slightly smaller version:


Then the helicopter circled overhead and got this shot:



If you are wondering how I found this lil' wee beasty, then you may recall that I clean the pool in the mornings before having a swim... Here's what was in the reservior above the filter basket:


Yup, same critter. Dead and floating upside down.

See? Y'all up north have cute, fuzzy, grizzly bears roaming around mauling folks, and down here we have cute, fuzzy, spiders roaming around in our swimming pools.

Birds and Winners

Oi! We have some winners! Good on ya, mates! Anyone who feels they've won anything (your choice, custom parrot screensaver or custom parrot wallpapers) in the last few contests then feel free to peruse or trawl the bird pics here and let me know what you want.

My email addy is

alaskandavedownunder(at)gmail(dot)com

Obviously, replace the (at) with an @ and the (dot) with a .

If you don't hear back from me via email, then please feel free to bug me in the comments.

Before I get started with whatever I'm going to be blabbering about today (I've got lots to blabber about, but I'm also in the middle of cooking dinner), how's abouts a really cool rainbow lorikeet pic?


Yeah, I agree with you: it's a pretty darned cool shot.




I have a challenge for KC way up north. Well, actually two.

First, try to find some James Boag's Premium Lager in Squarebanks and review it.

Next, is this galah male or female and how do you know:




I just thought I'd throw in the random flower picture, this is from the hibiscus TREE in the front garden (it flowers almost year round):

The flower is about 3 inches across, BTW.

Oh, quick temp update for all of you sourdoughs... today was 87 F in the shade and since there were high clouds I doubt it even made triple digits. Yesterday was the same in the shade, but 108 F in the sun (it was also hazy so it didn't get too warm). Our neighbors had their a/c on yesterday! Can you believe it? Wusses.

The huge black panther that hangs around the homestead spent the entire afternoon yesterday flopped on the hot bricks on the pool patio. I'm now treating him for sunburn... and then I'll treat myself for lacerations, broken bones, and fang 'n' claw marks on my arms and legs.

Another Conversation With Wifey-Poo

Just a reminder, YT is Yours Truly (that'd be me) and WP is Wifey-Poo.

*YT goes out the door to his kitchen on the patio where a chicken carcass is simmering for soup*

YT: Honey, I'm gonna go check the soup.

WP: Yes dear. *maybe he'll stay out this time...*

YT: Mmmmm! Smells great! In about an hour I'll debone the meat and adjust the seasonings.

WP: Wow! That does smell good! *WOW! It really does, amazing*

*YT walks back in*

YT: I wonder if that place in France makes really bright chicken soup?

WP: HUH? *WTF*

YT: Oh come on. You know... Carcassonne?

*WP sobs uncontrollably*



Meanwhile, back at the bird ranch...

There's been a pair of newbies hanging around early mornings for the last couple of days. They show up when the large flock of sulfur cockatoos show up. They don't stay very long. Two days ago was the first chance I had to get good pics of them as they actually stayed after sunrise.

I'll give a parrot screensaver or wallpaper to the first non-aussie who can identify this bugga. No, you don't need to say whether it's male or female.



Oi, mate! What am I?


Guesses are now open. And yesterday's number quiz is still going on too.

229+18=247

Alrighty, the first person who can correctly guess what this equation means to me will win a prize.

Now, I'm assuming that the last six prize winners WHO HAVEN'T CLAIMED THEIR PRIZE won't be interested in this. That leaves only the other regular readers of this blog who might be interested in parrot wallpapers or screensavers. Hmmmm, let's see, subtract six from the regulars and that leaves... hmmmmm, carry the two... uno, dos, trace... einz, zwei, drei... Aha! Zero??!!!?

Well, ok, it's open to anyone.

Spoiler alert for next post!

There's a spoiler approaching...

It's still approaching

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There are some new bird arrivals in the backyard! And there's some cockatoo carnage!

Free Sarah Palin Screensaver

Yes, yes, I know. I promised no more Naked Sarah Palin pics on my blog. But what about a screensaver you can download?

See, I was looking through the blog stats the other day and I noticed that this blog is still getting loads of hits from folks all over the world looking for pictures of the Gov of Alaska. You wouldn't believe some of these search queries... ahem...

So, here's a quick screensaver I whipped up this morning. It's a .scr for pc. Just download the zip file, extract the .scr from the zipped file, right click on the .scr, and scroll down the popup menu to "install". Feel free to run whatever virus scanner you want before you install it, no worries.

I PROMISE that these are pics of SP. No birds at all. Really! There's about 20 or so pics, random order, random transitions.

Just click on this zip file and then extract the files in the zip file.

And here's a couple of Aussie parrot pics to tide you over till next post:

I just wonder what the heck this blokette is looking for under her wing




Are you having bad dreams of being chased by winged demons yet, Ishmael?

No More Naked Sarah Palin Pics, and Where Are My Weiners?

That's right, there'll be no more RED HOT NAKED SARAH PALIN PICS appearing on this blog. Why? Well, cus it's my blog and I post what I want. So there. THHHBBBTTT!!!

What about my weiners?

NONE of the contest weiners (winners) have emailed me yet about which pics they want for their parrot screensaver or parrot wallpapers. NONE. Not one. As in zero. Heck, I even checked the spam bin in case the emails got misdirected by gmail. Well, I also checked the spam bin cus I was hungry...

You know who you are. In fact, I think it's pretty much all six or seven of my regular readers who won. SO TELL ME WHAT PICS YOU WANT!!! Please? Pretty please? With sugar on top?

BTW, could everyone make sure to check my food blog regularly cus the next post over there will be titled "Barbecued Kangaroo Balls" and you sure don't wanna miss that!

And now...

For

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Reason

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How's abouts some more Parrot pictures. Yes, beamed directly from The Antipodes in New Holland to your computer... Parrot Pics!


Oh yeah? Well I once caught a fish THIS big!


Hmmmmmm, as soon as those sunflower seeds ripen...



You can tell this is the female flying off cus of the red eyes.




Call me rainbow.


The pigeons just don't look as graceful as the lories...




Everybody scatter! He's got a camera!!!


Time to regroup



As cool as the flying one in the upper left looks, I like the way the bloke in the lower right is stepping forward.




Which way to Kodiak?

Cold, Frigid, Antarctic Spring...

Did you know that we have penguins down here in South Oz? Yep, there's a colony of little blue penguins down on Granite Island. You can take a horsedrawn tram across the 632 metre long causeway connecting the island to the mainland.

That reminds me, I really need to write up a post about them thar big ole Shire horses that pull the trams. I gots pictures, even.

But not today. Why? Cus I'm lazy and don't feel like trawling through all the pics and writing up an article. Besides, I'm making a feast tonight so I don't have much time.

If y'alls int'ressed, the feast is two sushi platters, steamed mussels marinated in white wine, grill basa (it's a fish), roasted herbed spuds, and some coleslaw (had to do something with the cabbage before it went bung).

Today will be about the freezing cold temps we get down here in South Oz that supports them little penguins. There'll also be some parrot pictures; some horrid, some not so horrid.

It's late afternoon and the shade temp is a whole whopping 75 F. Temp in the sun barely hit's the mid 90's. I had to put on a flannel shirt to hike up to the shops earlier. Blech. Needed a wetsuit for the pool cus it's not even 80 F in the water.

I've turned into SUCH a WUSS!!!! Did you know I used to take the trash out at -30 F barefoot?

Anyways, I'll give you some purdy birdy pics for reading all that above junk.

First, one that shows my absolute and utter lack of getting the darned cockatoos to land where I tell them:



And here's one showing my inability to get the entire subject in the shot:



This next one coulda been so good...



And even when you get it all lined up, some little green twit lands in front of the subject:



At least the blurred wings look kinda cool:

Heat, Tomatoes, Parrots

Shall we just tackle these in order? Yes, let's do!

Forecast for today is 97 in the shade, high haze, and hot northerly breezes. Temp right now at the ole homestead is a nice, balmy, cool, 101 in the shade and a pool water temp of 82 F. Sun temp is starting to get up into summer-type temps, 128 F and climbing.


This means that I finally didn't have to split any wood for the furnace today. In fact, there's even been mention of cranking on the a/c... But that's just crazy talk!



Sarah Palin is coming for YOUR SOOOOUUUULLLLLL!

along with the Dread Pirate Roberts...


NEXT!

The tomatoes are quite happy, in fact there's now over 200... Would you like to know how to grow good tomatoes?

First, when you pot them out don't just use potting soil. Mix half potting soil and half dried cow manure. Water it well... Ya just gotta get that nice, earthy, manure, CRAP, smell in the dirt where you'll be shovin' them thar tomato(e) plants in.

Water daily, make sure you have well-drained soil, and top-dress with dried cow crap once a week. And plant some basil in among your tomato plants. Also, leave at least 1 metre between your plants cus them thar suckers are gonna go like crazy!

Prune any suckers that show up, and also prune the lower leaves as the top stalks start to fruit. However, only prune trusses if the leaves show a bit of yellowing.


Does Polly wanna finger?




Loopers (caterpillars) are deadly to basil and tomatoes. Fortunately, there's a biologic (bacteria) you can get the kills caterpillars without harming any other insects, nor birds, fish, mammals. It's good stuff.

Whoops, just got back from the pool... did y'all take a break for 3 hours? Hmmmmmm, perhaps I should give you a warning next time I go in the pool during a post, eh?


Well, have some more birdie pics, heck they're just taking up space on the fourth external hard drive anyway...






Sarah Palin Slaying The Non-Believers!

Summer is here and the Holiday Menu is ready

Yes, it's that time of year again. Christmas and New Year! Gotta start planning for it early, doncha know.

It appears that summer may actually have arrived early this year, it's 95 F in the shade and 134 F in the sun. The pool in at 80 F. Tomorrow is actually supposed to be warm, so fingers crossed that I can take off the flannel shirt and bunny boots soon.

This years' menu will be forthcoming, but first...

You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Yeah, that means I'll shut up...





Before I begin typing in this years menu, let me tell you that this is to feed the brood from dec 23rd to Jan 3rd. Yes, life pretty much comes to a halt for 2 weeks down unda.

Now, I still haven't decided what's gonna be served on which day, and there'll be a couple of days of leftovers spaced throughout. I also reserve the right to add any menu item I want to. Hmmmph!

Please note, with the exception of the Christmas fruitcakes and the puddings that have been in the pantry for 6 years, pretty much everything is made from scratch. No, I don't go out and milk the cow's for the cream... you know what I mean!

At this point there is no particular order, or rhyme or reason to anything; I'm just jotting down the stuff that I plan to prepare.


Holiday Feast 2008/2009 Menu


Peanut Butter Cheesecake with hot fudge sauce (does this surprise you?)

2 Christmas fruitcakes

2 Roast chooks with all the fixin's --that includes stuffing, gravy, spuds, etc

Dave's Polynesian Pork Roast --yes, it's wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted

Souvlaki chicken with tabouli and tzatziki

BBQ Roo burgers

Teriyaki Roo burgers

Dave's extra special chips

Homemade pizza

Grilled Basa fillets

Homemade crumpets and cream

Charlotte Rouse (you'll love it, I'll put up pics of the process)

Potato Salad

Coleslaw

Candied Sweet Potato with marshmallow and cherry topping

Waldorf salad --with mom's special dressing

Herbed, baked spuds

Pineapple glazed ham

Herbed, baked pumpkin

Roasted pumpkin seeds

Mexican buffet with all the fixin's (let your imagination run wild on this)

At least 2 sushi platters

Various chocolates

Hummus

Many salsas

Banana jam

Pineapple sherbet

Pineapple topping

Pineapple tarts

Pineapple Coconut pie

Pineapple meringue pie

Chocolate mint Chocolate chip ice cream made with fresh choc mint from the garden

2 Xmas puddings

Fresh plate of homemade dolmades

Pitcher (or 4) of margaritas

case of Cascade's

case of Boag's

Strawberries and cream

Champagne and strawberries

A few cases of vino

Apples and bleu cheese

some champagne

Devonshire Cream Tea --made from homemade scones, fresh whipped cream, and fresh picked strawberries.

I'm sure I've left something out, but you kinda get the idea... If I don't gain 15 pounds this year then I'll consider this holiday wasted!



Oi mate! What about the sunflower seeds?

192...

Hmmm, I suppose some of my readers may be wanting to know the significance of the number 192. As opposed to, perhaps, The Significance of The Pickle?

Before I get to 192, I'd like to let you know that one of the sulfur crested cockatoos (known as DLB --damned LOUD bird) is a fan of broadway. In fact, here are a couple of pics of him dancing to that world famous song by Richard O'Brien.

It's just a jump to your left!



And then a step to your ri-ai-ai-ai-ight!



He actually continued on and even pulled his knees in tight. However I was too busy to take any more pics as I jumped up and did The Time Warp with the cockatoo.

Getting back to 192.

192 is the number of tomatoes that have already set on our tomato(e) plants early this season.

192

That's a lot of tomatoes.



lots

of

tomatoes



It's a good thing WP and I like tomatoes. I can make fresh tomato sauce, pickle some of the green ones, sun dry a load of them (that's kinda easy down here, ya know), and just grab one off a plant and bite into a hot, juicy, flavourful tomato. Ahhhhh...

Switching gears quickly (did you hear the gears grind?), have some colour:






Do I need to say anything about this one? Well, except that I overexposed the bugga!



I'm outta here, cheers.


Almost forgot... 82 F in the shade, 79 F in the pool, 112 F in the sun, and I've got to go scrub the pool walls while standing in it... WAAAAHHHHH!!

More Conversations with Wifey-Poo

Just a reminder to all you newbies... WP is Wifey-Poo, also known as The Most Wonderful Woman In The Entire World, and YT is Yours Truly... sometimes known as fat, ugly, slovenly beast that don't deserve nothin' no how.

Before's I's git started, 'ow's abouts ah give y'all a purdy burdy pic?

Yes, the cockatoo hoard has descended upon my fine oasis. Buggas! This was taken from about two feet away... nice beak and claw, eh Ish?



On to the soap opera...

*YT has been taking his standard 2 hour afternoon nap, BTW*

WP: Honey, wake up. *WP shakes YT*

YT: Hunnnhh...? oozes da bluuup...?

WP: You asked me to wake you when the dough is ready.

YT: Which'n them thar is heady?

WP: *sigh*

YT: *snore*

At this point, WP notices a large wax buildup in YT's right ear as YT snores and drools on the pillow.

WP: Hey! Wake up! When's the last time you cleaned your ears? That's a lot of wax!

YT: Hmmmmm... uhhhhh, I think the thumb tacks are in the back...

WP: Why do I bother?

YT: *snore*

and hour goes by...

YT wakes up...

YT: Honey? What are my ear drops doing here?

WP: They are there so you can shove them into your damned ears!

YT: What?

WP: Oh, here, dear... let me help you...

YT: What?

and now, why look! It's my girlfriend Sarah Palin doing her Clancy Brown impersonation!

I am the one, the only one! Now gimme the prize!



And now Christopher Lambert arrives to save the day

Oi mate! Bugga off!

Reflections

No guys, sorry. This post has absolutely NOTHING to do with the strip joint down on South Cushman Street in Squarebanks. You know, the one just past TESCO? On the right as you're heading to the four-wheeler playground past Van Horn and redneck hangout down by the Tanana with all the broken beer bottles? It's the one with the second story rooms around the back... With a walk-around balcony and stairs leading up to the private rooms from the back alleyway. It's real close to the army base right next to downtown... Ft Wainwright. Oh, c'mon! You know! It's got those cheesy limo's parked out front! It's nickname is Infections. You know, the one the Governor used to work at?

Well, at least that's what I heard.

And this post has nothing to do with that place.

Yesterday I had to clear some of the vines around the north side of the ole homestead. The vines pretty much grow over and through the brush fence and it looks pretty darned cool. However, it does make it kinda difficult to get to the power junction for the house.

So I went vine clearin' and also de-webbed that side of the house. While there, I noticed a moth. He (or she) was on the window frame right next to the glass. See, have a looksie:


Oops, maybe you can't see that too well. How's abouts we zoom in a bit:


Well, I thought it was worth a picture or twenty...

And now, some shots that just didn't turn out right and further reconfirms my utter lack of fauxtahgriffy (and spelling) skills:

Ummm, don't ask and I won't tell...


I really was trying to catch a bird in flight!


So close, yet so darned far away...


Damn! This'n coulda been sweet...



The little buggers then took pity on me and retreated to a tree and actually STAYED PUT for a bit:





And then I was saved by the Amazing Acrobatic Rainbow Brothers:







Oi, mate! 'Ave 'u been eatin' corn chips?





And the crowd goes wild! NOT!



And look, now they're auditioning for The Simpsons!

You know... The Itchy and Scratchy Show?