Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 18 December 2016

Sunday Selections #307

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 
Like River I usually run with a theme.  This week?  Not really.  An assortment of the things which have appeared this week.


After some very hot days we had some rain.  Life giving gentle rain.  The garden and I rejoiced.  Jazz sulked.

As always we were visited by birds.  Including a very grubby corella (and some of his/her cleaner relatives).




A sunflower seed which the birds had overlooked took root and was allowed to grow.  And when I say 'allowed' I mean that the birds allowed it.



Some wet liliums gave me joy.





And a spiderweb which had caught raindrops rather than insects.  You might need to embiggen these images to see the rain jewels...





And, because it is very almost Christmas.
For more years than I care to remember we have been making Christmas cakes (and shortbread) to give to family and friends.  In four different sizes.
Some of this years crop  (and no, they are not burnt, it is the camera angle and the lighting in the kitchen).




Sunday Selections will not appear next Sunday.  For those of you who celebrate (and indeed for everyone ) I hope that the day (and the year to come) is filled with love and laughter.

130 comments:

  1. As always, beauty in all your pictures, EC. I especially like the spider webs - I've tried getting shots like that and haven't succeeded but you've done it! Those Christmas cakes look delectable. A wonderful gift for the recipients. All the best this season, although I know it will be hard without your little Jewel. Take good care of yourself, won't you?

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    1. jenny_o: Thank you. I have more than a few failed spider web photos in my repetoire too. And yes, we will miss Jewel. She always demanded (and got) a slice of himself's turkey breast. And ate it with relish.

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  2. Lovely lilies, but to me it seem strange to see them in bloom. When I look outside I see snow.
    Coffee is on

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    1. peppylady (Dora). It isn't too bad here today, but there were days last week I longed for snow. And will probably be days next week too.

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  3. I love the jewelled spider webs :)
    Sadly, I haven't seen any Corellas here for a long time now, but the sulphur crested cockatoos are still around and squawking madly over territory or whatever.
    Your Christmas cakes look like little muffins :)

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    1. River: The corellas and cockatoos are both pretty much permanent fixtures here.
      That sized cake I make in muffin tins, so you are very right.

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  4. Love your Christmas Cakes. Also, love the phrase, Christmas Cakes. I'd not heard that before. Will be using it. Thank you.

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    1. The Happy Whisk: Christmas cakes are a love, hate thing. Some people love them, and others consider them poison.

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    2. Here, people are that way with fruit cake at Christmas. Some love it, some hate it. I've never had it so I don't know to say.

      The pasta was so good. When I get my youtube show going, this one goes on there. I still have to play and learn it more but man, after two years of not being able to eat pasta and noodles, I'm thrilled!

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    3. The Happy Whisk: I am glad that the pasta was good - and it sounds as if 'good' is a serious understatement.

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    4. Tonight we had the teeny tiny pasta nuggets with organic broccoli but the broccoli over-powered the dish. That's okay, it just means I get to try again next time. Maybe make a brocolli pesto of sorts and make the pasta nuggets larger.

      Hey, I just thought of that whilst writing to you. If you like broccoli and this recipe works, I'd be happy to send it along to you.

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    5. The Happy Whisk: Yum. I would be happy to get the recipe.

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  5. What a lovely sunflower! And how the bejeezlehoop did it get to flowering stage! Whenever I try to grow them I have a ratio of, it seems, 10 -1 cockatoos/sunflowers!

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    1. dinahmow: It grew because it is in the back garden near the vegie patch. The birds mostly haunt the front yard.

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  6. I have a soft spot for sunflowers, and I guess that one of yours laid a guilt trip on the birds. On the other hand, those birds probably are smart enough to wait for the seeds to mature.

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    1. Joanne Noragon: I have a soft spot for sunflowers too. And have tried (and failed) to grow them often. And yes, the birds will benefit in the fullness of time.

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  7. As always I find your photos just gorgeous.
    I too like the term Christmas Cakes. I am going to have to decide on a particular recipe, make them just at the holiday season and call them Christmas cakes. Thank you for your holiday wishes and idea.
    Hope you and yours have a lovely Christmas also!

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    1. Anne in the kitchen: We have birthday cakes, so it seems fair and reasonable that we also have Christmas Cakes.
      And a lovely Christmas to you and your family as well.

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  8. I would eat those.
    You maintain a very beautiful garden.

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    1. Alex J. Cavanaugh: The garden takes over, and parts of it are far from beautiful - but thank you.

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  9. Cant wait to see my own lilies. Maybe in 7 months? In the meantime, I will enjoy yours. Are the Christmas cakes fruit cakes?

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    1. Sue in Italia/In the Land Of Cancer: They are fruitcakes. Very boozy fruitcakes. Not only is the fruit soaked in rum and brandy before they are cooked after they come out of the oven they are watered with it. Most nights for weeks. The cake you have when you are having a drink.
      There will be more lilies as the season progresses to tide you over till yours come through.

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  10. Beautiful cakes. Lovely sunflower, too. I love sunflowers. We used to have one in our garden.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. A Cuban in London: Sunflowers epitomise cheerfullness don't they? I wish we could grow them more often.

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  11. Absolutely stunning, the parrots and the little cakes, yum yum.

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  12. Thanks for the glittery spiderwebs, and the birds as well. I do hope you have a wonderful time off next week, and I'll see you next year! :-)

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    1. DJan: I hope to see you before the New Year - but wish you all the best for the season anyway.

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  13. I love your parrots and sunflower, Have a nice Sunday

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  14. Your cakes look lovely and I am sure they will be enjoyed by the lucky recipients. Take care and enjoy the upcoming week EC. 🎄

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    1. carol in cairns: I hope so. I assume you are on holidays? Have a wonderful restorative break.

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  15. Not burnt....camera angle. I must remember that one. Flower shops are so full of lilies at the moment but they are not so cheap. I hope you have a great Christmas, as we put another year to bed.

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    1. Andrew: Would I lie to you? Liliums are rarely cheap, but we grow them by the bushell. And a wonderful Christmas to you, to R, and your family.

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  16. I'm entranced by those magical raindrop spiderwebs.
    Thanks as always for bringing Aussie cheerfulness to my world.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: I was too. And I am happy to bring cheerfulness (whatever the flavour) into your world.

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  17. Love the grubby corella, and the decorative spiderwebs. And how I wish somebody would make me a Christmas Cake - I love them but NO-ONE in our combined families will eat them! It would be wasteful (and fattening) for me to make one...

    Enjoy the festivities next weekend, EC, and I hope that in the coming year you are treated as thoughtfully and kindly as you treat others.

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    1. Alexia: If you send me your address I will post you a tiny one next year.
      The corella is clean again (though a similarly grubby cockie is not).
      And a very happy Christmas to you and yours.

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  18. Hi EC.....good friends of old paid me a visit yesterday...it was unexpected, but most welcome. I cut of more than a quarter of my Christmas cake and gave it to them to take with them. And then this morning, I decided to have a slice with my coffee...and I'm very pleased with it! I'd made three times the quantity and sent one off to my ex as part of his Christmas gift. He'd be disappointed I think if he didn't get one. Each Christmas I make an extra fruit cake...just for him.

    I hope you and the Skinny One have a wonderful Christmas, EC...and special big hugs to Jazz from me...more the merrier! :)

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    1. Lee: I think we made twenty or so this year. Mostly tiny ones, but a few bigger ones too. Our cake, himself's sister's family, friends, people I volunteer with...
      Each year I think I will stop. Each year I keep going.
      I hope that you and your furry overlords also have a wonderful peaceful day.

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  19. Love how you snuck the Christmas cakes in there. A tasty divergence.

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  20. Wonderful photos. I agree the Christmas cakes looked delicious. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

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    1. Rasma Raisters: Thank you. I hope that you, your husband and your furry friend also have a wonderful day.

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  21. Great variety in the photos today, EC. I always like those posts!

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    1. Marie Smith: I am glad. Mostly I do stick to a single subject, but just occasionally I branch out. And variety is the spice of life.

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  22. The sunflower has given me an idea. I have a packet of seeds and think now I should plant them all together in a deep tub, for support, and maybe I'll get the galahs visiting next summer. Or at least the cockatoos.

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    1. River: It is worth a try - and the sunflowers are such pretty, cheery flowers anyway.

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  23. Love the parrots as always.
    Lilies are always good to have, had some Christmas ones once but they all have disappeared!
    Merry Christmas and have a good one.

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    1. Margaret-whiteangel: The corellas are welcome visitors. A very merry Christmas to you and yours.

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  24. I love the threads of that web, the sunflowers and the birds and your cakes look delicious. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.Chanukah and New Year!

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    1. e: Thank you. All the best of the season to you too. And to a much more hopeful and positive New Year.

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  25. That is one grubby bird! Poor guy...
    My hat (if I wore one) is off to you for baking all those cakes. I bought ingredients to make fudge but haven't talked myself into actually making it yet. I wanted to see if the fudge elves would appear to cook. No sighting as of yet...

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    1. River Fairchild: The bird didn't stay grubby for long. Fudge? Fudge and punch sounds pretty good to me. And I would like to see rather a lot of fairies this way (including the fudge fairy). The cleaning and wrapping fairies would be welcome too.

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  26. Love your birds and blooms. The spider web, great shots, but I do not like spiders. I have baked my Christmas fruitcake, I hope someone will want to eat it! Merry Christmas to you and your hubby.

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    1. Karen: I find spiders fascinating, and the architecture of their webs incredible. And people will eat our fruitcake. I am just back from a Christmas gathering and it was inhaled. About two-thirds of a large cake gone.
      A very happy Christmas to you and yours.

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  27. Hi EC - those Christmas cakes look wonderful ... and oh I'd love to have a slice. Your flowers - yes Spring is blooming down under. Lovely to have the rain ... and those cobwebs reflect the best of the droplets ... though the ground will love the dampness ... sitting out with Christmas cake and feeling the earthy smell reach our nostrils too ... wonderful ...

    Have a lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary Melton-Butcher: The ground and the garden did love the rain. As I did. Rain-washed air is one of the very best smells.
      And a lovely Christmas and much better New Year to you too.

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  28. Love the correllas and that sunflower...magnificent.
    I haven't baked for years now as our family are not very fond of Christmas cake or pudding....Love the mince pies of course but those are purchased from the shops. My mum used to make delicious mince pies but then she was an expert pastry cook.
    All the best to you both for a happy, peaceful and safe festive season.

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    1. Mimsie: Thank you. I hope you and Phil have a wonderful, safe, happy and cool festive season. It is years since I have made mince pies. Next year. Perhaps.

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  29. If that was a photo of my cake it would be burnt, and flat as a pancake!

    I'm still jealous of the birds that come and visit you.

    And I'm sure later on in the week I'll come and say Happy Christmas again, but incase I forget I'll say it now! Have a wonderful holiday!

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    1. LL Cool Joe: Thank you. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday too.
      On the flat as a pancake front? Some years ago I left out the self-raising flour and produced a brick. Sigh. Fortunately I realised before I fed it to anyone.

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  30. They do look burned but knowing they are not makes me hungry. Love the "rain jewels" so much!

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    1. Granny Annie: They really aren't burnt. We took a larger one to a Christmas gathering yesterday and it got inhaled.
      Aren't the rain jewels special?

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  31. P.S. let me assure you now that I am ready for January's WFW:-)

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    1. Granny Annie: Thank you - and I didn't doubt you.

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  32. wonderful selection dear.
    glittering web looks captivating ,loved it
    parrot is so beautiful .such we only find in zoo here .
    short nread looks yummy and inviting

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    1. baili: We have lots of the corellas here today. And they are all clean. The spider web is unadorned today though.

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  33. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, my friend. Thank you for this lovely glimpse into your world - I always look forward to it. See you in January!

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    1. Lynn: Thank you - you always leave the nicest comments. I hope your holiday season is lovely.

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  34. I'm loving those birds. And spider webs are very hard to photograph but you got good ones.
    R

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    1. Rick Watson: We love our birds too. Noisy, incontinent, destructive - and very welcome.

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  35. I so enjoy our times together, my dear dear sister <3

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    1. Cloudia: Thank you. I am so grateful for the family I have found in the blogosphere.

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  36. Ah Christmas cakes.... I love them. I used to bake a big one every year, but nobody liked it except me, so now I don't make it. Perhaps I should! In fact I have done very little towards christmas, I have not even put up a tree, and I shall be glad when it's over. For some reason it's always a difficult time.
    I hope that grubby corella gets a bath soon, or his cleaner friends won't talk to him any more.

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    1. Shammickite: No Christmas tree here either. I may put up some lights. Or I may not. Christmas is a difficult time for lots of people.
      The corella is now clean again. And looks better.

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  37. You do get some great shots. Hope your Christmas is a good one.

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    1. only slightly confused: Thank you - and yours. I am still awed by how organised you are.

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  38. I forgot, next Sunday is Christmas. I put up my tree and send a few cards but rarely do much else. Are Christmas cakes the same as fruitcake? That one corella looks like he badly needs a bath. Looks old too around the eyes and like he doesn't give a crap anymore.

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    1. Strayer: Our Christmas cakes are fruitcake. But heavily booze laden.
      The corella did look old and tired in that photo, but clean again he/she looks fine.

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  39. If I had made those Christmas cakes, they would have been burnt! Beautiful photos. There's something about raindrops on a spider web.

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    1. Jenny Baranick: Welcome. Spider webs in frost are also wonderful...

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  40. Love thr photos, especially the jeweled spider web. How sweet of you to give Christmas cakes.
    I wish you a happy season as well as the happiest year ever. See you in 2017.

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    1. Myrna R.: Thank you. The cakes have become a tradition. An ever growing tradition.
      I hope that you and yours have a wonderful, healthy year to come.

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  41. The Christmas cakes look delicious and shortbread is my favourite any time of year. Did you know that butter is a health food?

    Have a lovely holiday!

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    1. kylie: I make shortbread for himself. He likes it softer than is the norm, so I add extra butter. So definitely a health food.
      I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday - and year to come.

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  42. The bird photos are lovely but I love the flowers. Our temperature is at 32 degree F right now and there are no flowers to enjoy here. Your Christmas cakes look wonderful. Wising you a joyous, peaceful and wonderful holiday season, my friend. My the new year bring you all that you wish for and wonderful surprises.

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    1. Mason Canyon: Tomorrow we too will be at 32 degrees. Centigrade.
      Stay warm, stay safe. And thank you for your wishes. I hope the same for you.

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  43. Wonderful bird, flowers and food.
    Happy Holidays, EC.

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  44. Your little cakes look good! Here it has been 4 degrees all day and night! Not comfy for anything. Happy Holidays to you during this season!!!!

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    1. Bookie: I hope you can stay inside in the warm. Read a little, write a little, heal a lot. Hugs.

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  45. I always enjoy your posts, especially the photos of birds. I was looking at those webs, they are amazing. I am drinking some tea at the moment and those Christmas cakes look yummy.

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    1. Truedessa: Thank you. We love the birds too. That cake goes well with tea - particularly chai. It has lots of spices in it as well as the fruit and booze.

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  46. Very diverse ideas in the pics today, but all showcasing love and beauty of different kinds. Always enjoy your photos.

    A very Merry Christmas to you and yours and the most awesome happy New Year and all years beyond.

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    1. Nilanjana Bose: Thank you. I hope your Christmas and the years to come are equally wonderful.

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  47. I love your life:)
    Thanks for sharing the beauty
    (and those gorgeous little cakes - wow)
    and I wish you so much joy in these last sweet
    sips of the season.
    -Jennifer

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    1. Jennifer Richardson: Thank you. I hope this festive season ushers in years of peace and love for you.

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  48. I would love to try one of your cakes, and I sure do envy you your greenery because we've had an ice storm here that brought just the opposite to my part of the world.

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    1. Snowbrush: I heard about your ice storm. Our greenery will turn to gold and then to dust as the sweaty season ramps up.

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    2. Our greenery turns brown in summer too, but it doesn't tend to get too terribly and never humid. I know that summer is hard time of the year for you. I wish we could trade, with you coming here for my winter and me there for your summer.

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    3. Snowbrush: A trade sounds very, very good. The heat is ramping up again here.

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  49. Just love the bird photo's especially the second one, the expression is great.

    Wishing you a Happy Christmas

    All the best Jan

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    1. Lowcarb team member ~ Jan:I have a very soft spot for the corellas - dirty or not.
      And a very Happy Christmas to you and yours.

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  50. I love those spider web photos. So cool! Great shots!

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. :)
    ~Jess

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    1. DMS ~ Jess: The spider webs intrigued me. I hope that you and yours have a wonderful Christmas too. And a very Happy New Year to follow.

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  51. Such beautiful flower shots! Wishing you much light and joy too!

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    1. Lady Fi: Thank you - and to you and your family.

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  52. haha the birds sure think they rule the roost by the looks of the expression in the second shot.

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    1. Pat Hatt: The cat rules the roost, but the birds come a close second. The humans trail in the rear.

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  53. That last lilium has colored so brilliantly!

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    1. John Wiswell: There are different coloured ones coming out now. Exciting times.

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  54. Sue, brilliant pics. Took me right into the garden. Love the bird shots. We get some great snaps of cockatoos here at the beach. And parakeets. They make a racket, but it's a nice racket.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours. Hope 2017 is a blessed year for you!

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    1. Denise Covey: Thank you. I hope your Christmas treats you kindly, and the New Year brings everything you could ask for.

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  55. Oh, and aren't you kind to bake for others. I love baking which is what I'll be doing for the next 2 days as the family is gathering at my place. Fun time of year for some!

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    1. Denise Covey: Have fun. I have largely finished baking for Christmas now. I will cook a turkey breast for himself and make the usual bathtub full of fruitsalad for myself.

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  56. Wow, your capture of the spider web is just marvelous! Such beautiful artwork they create for us! You are sweet to do the baking, and of course enjoying as well! Such beautiful bird captures too. I'm wishing you a very merry and Happy Christmas! Enjoy.

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    1. Karen S.: I am intrigued and awed by spider's architecture and diligence. I hope that you too have a wonderful Christmas - and New Year to follow.

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  57. Even though it's 1am the sight of your 'crop' is making me feel hungry!

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    1. Kim: I hope you are peacefully asleep now - and that hunger pangs didn't keep you up.

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  58. I have been away too long but glad to drop back in finally and say hello and Merry Christmas Soosie! How lucky your family to get a special cake from you!

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    1. Donna@LivingFromHappiness: Thank you, and welcome back to the blogosphere. I hope your Christmas is delightful.

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  59. I've been offline for a few days, but wanted to stop by to see your pictures. I couldn't miss the joy of these!

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    1. cleemckenzie: Thank you. I do hope that your healing is going well. Very well.

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  60. Ooooh lovely, birdies, petals, webs and cakes! A fine display of all. Enjoy the festivities dear, much love from our end X

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  61. I understand the Christmas Day off! We have several family gatherings that day. I love your birds, yes some looked cleaner 😀. I never seen the illums flower before, beautiful upside down

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    1. Kim@stuffcould...: Enjoy your Christmas. Liliums are beautiful things, and we have more coming out each day.

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