Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 17 June 2018

Sunday Selections #384

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.  We have had rather a lot of grey days recently.  Wasted grey days.  We desperately need rain but our heavy clouds have produced tiny sprinkles rather than the downpour we need.  And, as an aside I wonder whether repairing our roof so that heavy rain no longer pours into our kitchen is responsible for that.







Even the greyest of days have had splashes of colour though.






I hope I am never too old and jaded to watch clouds.




The birds have brought colour too.


Eastern Rosellas - who arrive early to beat the rush.

Corella

Rainbow Lorikeet (aka Piggy-Grunter)


And wandering out the back door I noticed that the cymbidium orchids are in bud.  LOTS of flower spikes.  It will be months before they flower but I smiled broadly to see the promise.




110 comments:

  1. Ah those rainbow lorikeets...brightness on a gray day. The brightest bird I have are the Baltimore orioles, so intensely orange

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    1. Sue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: Those colours just pop don't they? We are not 'supposed' to see the lorikeets here, but we have a small flock visiting most days at the moment. A small noisy flock.

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  2. Oh, how I love pictures of the sky. I'm a cloud watcher, too, and am fascinated with the heavens. You've taken some awesome photos.

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    1. mxtodis123: I have folder after folder of photos of the sky. Endlessly changing, so often a joy.

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  3. Replies
    1. Jamie Ghione: We do too. It is still dark, but they will arrive shortly after first light. And be welcomed.

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  4. One of the pictures looks like two cloud arrows are striking the Earth!

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  5. Sorry you haven't had much rain. The sky pictures are really beautiful though.

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  6. Lots of interesting skies with texture and contrast. Nothing is quite so uninteresting for me is a clear blue sky without any cloud to relieve the uniformity. As for the birds, I am salivating!

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    1. David Gascoigne: I hope that you see these birds, and many, many more when you get here. And that there are no boring blue skies for you.

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  7. Those clouds certainly do look like they should produce some rain. I wish I could give you some of ours, but the next two weeks look dry, dry, dry! Plus I haven't quite figured out how to get it over to you. Love the birds so much! :-)

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    1. DJan: Dry in your neck of the woods? Two weeks without rain will feel like a drought to you. Some day we will work out how the share our weather...

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  8. Are those beautiful birds eating green apples up in the trees? The Lorikeet is unreal--so brightly colored!

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    1. Bea: Green apples it is. They have become a fixture on our shopping list. A lot of our native birds love them - and for some reason green apples are preferable to red.

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  9. From dark day to the evening, so vivid, great stunnings are all your pictures.

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  10. I do not miss the grey days!
    Love colour... lots of it!
    And the birds.... oh the beautiful colourful Australian birds!
    Love your pics too!
    Hugs

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    1. Caterina: I would welcome our grey days if they brought rain. At the moment they aren't. Just the same, I do like colour. Lots of colour.

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  11. I would love to have some cloudy grey days! Our summers are always dry, hot, dry, and miserable.

    Your birds make any day a good one. Lorikeets are crazy loud. Colorful, delightful, but very chatty.

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    1. Suan Kane: Our summers are also too hot and too dry. Winter is when we get most of our rain, and so far it isn't falling.
      You are right about the Lorikeets. They are indeed loud. Like a lot of our birds.

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  12. Can you believe it's time for more Sunday Selections …

    I often spend time sitting watching the clouds, or the wind blowing the trees … it's a most rewarding past-time.

    I love your sky photographs here, although it's always nice to see your colourful birds too.

    Wishing you a good week ahead, and perhaps some welcome rain too!

    All the best Jan

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    1. Lowcarb team member: Watching the sky is indeed rewarding. And soothing.
      I hope your week is lovely - and thank you the rain wishes.

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  13. A promise brings with it hope...

    I hope more clouds arrive and fulfill their promise of rain. I wouldn't mind a couple of rainy days up this way, too. We need some...and I love rainy days.

    Of course your new roof is to blame for the lack of rain, EC. I'm smiling here because I was just looking at the new pedestal fan I bought during our summer just passed. We'd been having unbearable heat so I relented and bought it. After assembling it, I switched it on to make sure everything worked as it should work; I let it run for about 5 minutes...and I've not had the fan on since!!!! Like you and your new roof...the moment my new fan was set up...no more heat! lol

    I should have bought it at the beginning of summer!!

    I hope your week treats you well...and brings you some rain. Cuddles to Jazz. :)



















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    1. Lee: We needed to fix the roof, but... I am longing for rain but as usual the predicted falls for today are less than 1mm and for the week much the same.
      I hope that you, Remy and Sharma have a great week.

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  14. We are in synch with clouds today! Lovely!

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    1. Bill: So much pleasure to be had from cloud watching...

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  15. A cloud like a lace handkerchief! I do hope it rains on you, soon.

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    1. Joanne Noragon: That is exactly what I saw in that cloud too. We have more dribbles predicted for the day.

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  16. Watching the changes in the sky is a favourite pastime here also. You have gotten some beautiful captures here. I especially like the last two - the colours of the clouds in the second last, and the lace-edging appearance of the clouds in the last.

    And your feathered friends are beautiful, as always. The cockatoo's crest reminded me of one of the bluejays who came to our deck during the rain last week. His crest was drenched and flopping to one side, poor fellow!

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    1. jenny_o: Today is another grey day. There was some delightful light early though, and I was out camera in hand. I have never seen a cockatoo with a drenched crest - I will have to keep an eye out for it. They raise their crest in interest, and each and every time they land.

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  17. The birds are always welcome, lots of colour and chatter, put washing out that sometime brings rain always works here well sometimes.
    Merle............

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    1. Merlesworld: Putting the washing out has failed. I may suggest to himself that he needs to wash the car.
      And yes, the birds are indeed welcome. Very welcome.

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  18. Lovely photos - I hope I never tire of clouds too.

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    1. J Cosmo Newbery: There are a lot of cloud lovers here. Which is lovely.

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  19. Although clear and cloudless blue skies look nice, they are not nearly as interesting as cloudy skies. You are becoming very expert with bird photos. A good bit of rain will test your roof out. Raining heavily here overnight and more to come. A good day to see a movie.

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    1. Andrew: Thank you. Himself has offered to pay for digital photography classes and I may well take him up on the offer.

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  20. We had a season like that -- thick clouds and the air so heavy with moisture you were sure you could cut it with a knife, but no rain. Praying you get some very soon.

    Lovely skies though, whether raining or not.

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  21. Pouring some of our excessive rain into a tanker to export to you...!

    Lovely skies, and there is certainly lots of beauty in grey clouds. I expect you will be getting your usual deliveries of masses of bulbs soon? I haven't been able to do much gardening (still getting over the leg/hip injury I got in Europe), but I have had plenty of time to plan :)

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    1. Alexia: I would happily accept that tanker. The bulbs are in the ground (except for the few I weakened and ordered yesterday). Some are coming up.
      Injury in Europe? Are you ok? Sending healing wishes your way.

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    2. Thank you. I'm almost better, but it has taken 2 months. I stepped down on to a step that wasn't there ...

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    3. Alexia: Ouch. I have done that. And fortunately got off a great deal more lightly than you did.

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    4. It happened on day 2 of a 10-day walking tour, so I just had to keep going - thanks to paracetamol and anti-inflammatories, I did, but I probably made the damage worse.

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    5. Alexia: I have been known to soldier on when I probably shouldn't as well. I hope your recovery is complete albeit slow.

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  22. Yep. It's your fault for repairing the roof = no rain. LOL
    Lorikeets are spectacularly rainbow-attired!

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    1. River Fairchild: I am feeling like it is my fault. And we have another grey day. A chilly grey day. With no rain.
      We do have feathered rainbows though.

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  23. Hi Sue - wear and tear ... but the cymbidium will be stunning. The Corella looks like a surly Madam teacher with her beady eye ... I hope I get down under one day. Cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary Melton Butcher: I do love that cymbidium. It flowers generously and the blooms last for months. The corella certainly has THE LOOK doesn't it? They are cheeky birds though, and full of fun, so the look is deceiving. I do hope you can extend your travels down here. You would be very, very welcome.

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  24. Beautiful, despite the weather, and I always love seeing your birds. Hope you're well...Listening to The Seekers as I'm writing.

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    1. e: Now that is a group I hadn't thought of in years. And some of their songs are as relevant today as they ever were. I hope you are starting to feel better.

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    2. Like me, they are still here, still being interviewed and talked about...I've been a fan since I was a wee thing, thanks to my mother playing radio in house and car. Now with You Tube a lot of The Seekers and Judith Durham's music is a click away.

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    3. e: You are being interviewed and talked about? And yes, some days You Tube is a gift.

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    4. No, but still here, which is more important in my book, though the Seekers are it seems universally loved. Not having gone off the rails, created controversy or done stupid things via Twitter, I'd say the devotion for them is well founded.

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    5. e: Much more important. And hopefully you are feeling better. I am very tired of the focus on the dereailed, and controversial twitterers. Very, very tired.

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  25. I love that cloud just above the bird photos and smiled widely looking at the birds. I look forward to seeing those orchids :)

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    1. River: Thank you. I loved that cloud and the birds. And did happy dances when I saw just how many flower spikes the orchids have.

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  26. Wonderful photos, love the birds.

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  27. I loved all these photos, especially the cloud ones ... and especially the bird ones ... and I guess especially the whole lot. Hope you get some decent rain soon.

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    1. catmint: Thank you. No rain forecast again. And another teensy dribble yesterday.

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  28. I love the cloud pictures and the bird pictures and I distinctly remember having given a cymbidium orchid corsage to someone back in my yute. These days Mrs. RWP and I have several phaleanopsis orchid plants that I keep bringing home from the supermarket. Inedible but lovely nonetheless. Keep up the good work on the photography front. I envy you those birds.

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    1. rhymeswithplague: I have a couple of phaleanopsis sitting inside at the moment. I do hope that they also bloom. I haven't ever attempted to grow them before.

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  29. Dear EC
    I do love to see all your colourful bird visitors - we only get lbjs (little brown jobs - sparrows mainly) with an occasional robin or blue tit if we're really lucky. Our noisiest visitors are the starlings ('like a hoard of football supporters' as I think they are described by Mrs Oldknow in The Children of Green Knowe).
    The promise of orchids is very exciting too.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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    1. Ellie Foster: The Children of Green Knowe (and indeed the whole series) is something I have been trying to track down and reread for a while. We also get lbjs. Lots of them. I have my fingers crossed on the orchid front.

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  30. We can’t seen to find summer here EC. A friend had frost in her garden again this morning.

    I hope rain is in your forecast soon. The clouds sure gave that impression.

    I always love the bird photos you share. Those birds look like they will talk! So colourful and pretty too.

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    1. Marie Smith: The birds do talk. Loudly. And I suspect not politely. No rain yet. I hope we get some soon - and that summer finally arrives for you.

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  31. WOW, your pictures of clouds are amazing. And the colorful birds!! Thanks for swinging by, much appreciated.

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  32. I'm in awe of your beautiful photos. Always love the sky photos.

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    1. Mason Canyon: I am glad to hear it. I do worry that much of what I post is same old, same old.

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  33. I love the pops of color in the sky and in your feathered friends. Even the gloom is gorgeous.

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    1. Lynn: I do like those brooding skies - but would like them even more if they lived up to their promise.

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  34. So your roof is fixed, no more leaks! That must be a relief. And now, your fixed is responsible for no heavy rain. I'm going to borrow your roof then next fall! To drive off early rain to extend an Indian summer here. If you don't mind.

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    1. Strayer: I am happy to lend the roof - those postage might be exorbitant.

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  35. They make for beautiful skies but hope they will contain the rain you need soon. Beautiful birds and hope you will share your cymbidium orchids when they bloom. Enjoy your week EC, May it be a great one.

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    1. Denise inVA: No rain yet. I will certainly share the cymidiums when they flower. Often. I hope your week is wonderful too.

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  36. Lovely critters...but you know you got me with the skylines

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  37. How I love the skies. I would never get to work if I stopped to photograph an eye catching sky every time I saw it! Your birds are stunningly brilliantly colored. Have a great day. Jo

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    1. Jo: I am not going to confess just how much time I 'waste' bird watching, sky watching, garden watching and taking photos...

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  38. Your orchids do look lovely, let's hope the blooms are beautiful but then orchids always are.
    Gloomy cloudy days here for the past several days - today sunny :)
    Lovely to see the parrots, always gorgeous colours.

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    1. Margaret-whiteangel: Not sunny here. A tiny dribble of rain. The orchids are lovely and I look forward to seeing them bloom. And the lorikeets are here at the moment too. Noisily.

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  39. Even though you're not getting much rain, the scenery looks picture perfect. The Rainbow Lorikeet looks fantastic! What lovely and vivid coloring! Hugs...RO

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    1. RO: The lorikeets (and indeed the rosellas) are a lovely splash of colour aren't they? And brighten many a grey day.

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  40. The light streaks are amazing! It would be a good idea to go through old pics and post some. There are a few good ones that I wouldn't use, otherwise. I should also delete a lot of them.

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    1. Jono: I have a few (ok, a lot) which should be deleted too. And would love to see an old pictures post from you.

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  41. Dear EC, on your last posting you had 136 comments. Now I know that half of those were yours, but that means that you respond to 68 comments! I marvel at your generosity in doing that. It must take so much time, because your comments are so thoughtful. Thank you for being such a friend to all of us who follow you. Peace.

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    1. Dee: Thank you. If someone has taken the time and effort to comment on a post it seems like a common courtesy to respond. The comments so often 'make' a post. Peace to you too. Now and always.

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  42. Hello! Wow, we had some of those skies yesterday and bang thunder hit and heavy rains, breaking up any more of our outdoor Father's Day activities! Oh well, my baby tomato plants are happy at least. I wish I knew all the names of your stunning critters especially the first one, but they are all gorgeous!

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    1. Karen S.: Feel free to send some of that rain our way. Please. The critter's names are in the captions under the photos.
      Hooray for baby tomato plants.

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  43. Hope you get the rain you need asap. Stinks to have gray days without the rain you need. Love seeing all the birds. Such lovely colors. They look happy. ;)
    ~Jess

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    1. DMS ~Jess: Thank you. No rain yet. A little more blue today, but no rain. I think the birds are happy (anthromorphic to the core). I hope they are.

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  44. That rainbow Lorikeet is gorgeous.

    Be good to yourself, EC.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: The rainbow lorikeets are very beautiful indeed. Their behaviour is less than stellar though. And thank you. Big thanks.

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  45. Is that 4th image the trails of a jet? It's so striking.

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  46. Beautiful images of the skies. Nice to see colors in-between them.
    Happy to see the colorful birds eating their food:)

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    1. Weekend-Windup: Thank you. The birds (whatever their colour) do very well here. They get seed, apple and we have planted trees which feed the nectar eaters as well.

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  47. I like staring at clouds too.

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    1. Terry: Lovely to see you. I hope you are feeling much, much better.

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  48. 'Piggy Grunter' - Hahahahahaha. I bet he speaks well of you too! Fab photos dearie, such a range of lovely, and cheeky visitors. x

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    1. All Consuming: Piggy Grunter is ungrateful. And demanding. And I suspect I don't want to know what he says about me.

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  49. I wish I could record my mind as it spontaneously spurts out remarks about your photos. It is full of "Oh my. That's beautiful. OMG. The clouds, the birds, the colors!"
    Thank you for these little moments of joy.

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    1. Myrna R.: Thank you so much. They give me joy, and I am glad that I can spread it.

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  50. Truly gorgeous photos EC!! Love them all! I hope you get your rain soon! Big Hugs!

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    1. Magic Love Crow: No rain yet. It will come. Hugs received and returned.

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  51. Seeing those birds on a daily basis would warm my heart.

    I know this sounds strange coming from a Brit, but we really need rain too. Our grass is brown.

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    1. LL Cool Joe: I suspect you have had more rain than we have, but hope we both get rain soon. The birds warm my heart too.

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