Posts Tagged ‘garden’

#58. Get birds to visit the garden regularly

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Bird seed? Check. Garden? Check. Bird bath? Check. Birds? Check!


I can officially announce the first of my 101 in 1001 to be crossed off! I have (on average) 10 birds in my teeny garden within 15 min of throwing out seeds. They’re mainly turtle doves, but there have been a few pidgeons and smaller birds too. I even managed to grab a shot or many of them without them taking off! (at great discomfort to myself….it was cold, raining, and I had to slither half out of my door to capture them without them seeing me – very uncomfortable!)

Currently, as I type this, I have 9 birds outside my window! How awesome! Its such a great feeling to be giving these birdies some food regularly, especially now that winter’s coming. And as soon as I can, I’m getting a sunbird feeder, of which I’m sure I’ll blog about.

So yay! 101 in 1001 – only 100 to go!

Garden Photos

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

I’ve been throwing seed and cooked rice out onto my lawn in hopes of attracting birds, and its finally paid off. Unfortunately, a cat was stalking the birds and they flew away when I went to chase off the cat, so I never got to get any photos of them, but I did end up capturing some other garden photos.

It really brought my love of photography back, and the reasons why I started. It was so peaceful out there, lying on my patio waiting for the birds. Eventually when they never came, I started moving around the garden looking at everything with a new outlook. One I havent used in a long time.

I climbed out of my “comfort zone” and used my 75-300mm lens, which made me think a little before each shot since its more limiting than my 18-70mm. I’m very pleased with the results, esp after seeing them on my monitor (the LCD on cam never does images justice).

Please feel free to leave comments on these photos, after all, my blog isnt called Tails’ Blography for nothing ;)

Click the images for larger versions if you’d like.


Long time no type

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Ok so thats a pretty cheesy title haha. But its feels like forever since I last blogged. A find myself thinking a few times in the week about something I’d like to blog about, but then realise there are a backlog of things I’d like to blog about, and so on and so forth…in the end I keep procrastinating.

But enough of my inadequacies, the latest news is that I’m done with my move. I’m out of our old flat, and I actually miss it. It was nice and cosy, and I adored the paint colour (since I painted it only four months before moving!). The new place has boring cream/yellow on the walls, but at least its a fresh coat. Our new place has an extra bedroom which we’re using as a computer room for our 2 computers. The lounge is about the same size as our last one, but seems more roomy due to the computers no longer being kept in there. The bedroom is slightly smaller which is fine because the bookshelf is now in the computer room as well, so less stuff in the bedroom. The kitchen is BIG which is great! There is so much more counter space to work with, and our clothes horse stands at the back of the kitchen nicely tucked out of the way. I’d show you photos, but I dont have any just yet. Still waiting for the remaining boxes to be sorted through/put away. The toilet is separate from the bathroom, but there is a lack of cupboard space for the small things like toothpaste, razor blades, etc. There’s a linen cupboard, but all those small things get lost inside. Oh and the flat comes with two parking bays!

On the whole I’m happy with our new place. Still trying to find brown bulldenim curtains for the bedroom that arent tab-topped. Sigh. Currently my winter blanket is the curtain. Sigh.

Other news is I’m finally done editing one of my two models’ photos from the beach shoot in Nov. You can see those in my recent pics to the right. I’m particularly happy with the results, and have had a good response from people online who’ve seen them. Best of all, Katharine is happy with them. Amongst those recent pics are photos I took of our 5.5m Christmas Light Tree which graces one of our shopping malls. I got some shots before security came and chased me away hehe.

My Christmas Tree is up (couldnt take it anymore and spent Sunday Nov 30th putting it up haha. I also hung lights in my window to spread some festive cheer. I’ll take photos of that soon as well and post them. So much to do, so little time.

My new babies have settled in nicely, and Ramoth, who was the smallest, has grown considerably. They’re all very happy looking good. Xeon’s looking a little thinner, but I’m trying to give her more fatty/protein-rich foods like scrambled egg etc. She’s currently sleeping and bruxing on my lap :)

I think thats about it…oh wait! I forgot to tell you about my garden! The new flat comes with a small garden that was pretty run down when we moved in, but I’ve since pruned it and watered it and bought new plants for it (petunias). I’m very proud of it, being that I’ve done it all myself and not just called in a gardener.

Speaking of gardening, looks like I’ve finally got into Bonsai keeping. Viia gave me a teeny tiny birch sapling which we’re going to grow into a bonsai (she’s got a few for herself) and I’m looking into getting myself an already-established bonsai to train. I’m having trouble deciding on which tree to get though. I’ve always wanted a bonsai apple tree, but with research have decided it might be a little complicated to grow. Other options I’m favouring are cherry, pomegranite, olive, fig, and the latest option is a Serissa foetida (Tree of a Thousand Stars) which looks easy enough to grow and has pretty flowers.

There’s a Bonsai Show on at Kirstenbosch Gardens next weekend which I’ll be going to. I’m also looking for a Christmas/English Holly bonsai for my sister. If anyone has bonsai experience, or a bonsai blog, please leave a comment for me :)

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101 in 1001

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Completed = crossed out

Personal Growth:

1. Go to a movie alone
2. Do volunteer work
3. Get published (letter/story/photograph)
4. Plant a tree
5. Buy a worm farm (or "shares" in a worm farm)
6. Try a new restaurant
7. Take each member of my immediate family out to lunch (0/3)
8. Read a biography
9. Write a novel - 30/09/2009
10. Finish a YOU magazine crossword
11. Frame & hang 10 photos I've shot (0/10)
12. Get MagMark bookmarks made
13. Get professional photos taken of myself
14. Make my bed every day for the next 2 weeks (14/14)
15. Train myself to do the splits
16. Go shopping alone 5 times (5/5)
17. Get Gizmo's lumps removed - not recommended by vet
18. Travel out of South Africa
19. Get car fixed (bonnet, dent, rattling) - traded in for new Getz

Online:

20. Go one day a week without Facebook for 3 months (0/12)
21. Get 5 new blog followers (let me know if you're following my blog so I can count you) (5/5)
22. Get three people to start a blog (0/3)
23. Sort my blog links in catagories - in progress
24. Re-evaluate bracketed items in this list when individually completed
25. Get 3 other people to do a 101 in 1001 list. (1/3) - let me know if this has inspired you so I can mark off a notch here! *in progress: penmagedragon*

Health/Diet:

26. Go to the dentist
27. Use body cream every night for a month (0/31)
28. Donate blood (this is a scary one for me!)
29. Get two other people to donate blood (0/2)
30. Incorporate three new meals into my diet (3/3) - fish/calamari, Cottage Pie, Vegetarian Schnitzels
31. Make an emergency kit
32. Learn CPR
33. Stretch (ie yoga-style) every day for a month (0/30)
34. Take my pill every day for 60 days (60/60)
35. Try a new food - Egg Foo Yong
36. Stop drinking fizzy drinks for 30 days (0/30)
37. Go to the gynecologist once a year (0/2)
38. Try the fruit of a Delicious Monster
39. Go to every gym class for a month (12/12)
40. Find out my blood type

Hobbies:

41. Get my Sexpo photo printed on canvas
42. Do some fabric painting
43. Take three images in a series (0/3)
44. Get three images printed on canvas for my lounge (0/3)
45. Bring our bonsai back to life
46. Buy a bigger pot for my Delicious Monster - Birthday Gift '09
47. Get fish tank looking and running great
48. Shoot a sunrise
49. Keep my bedroom floor tidy for 2 whole weeks! (2/14)
50. Complete a scrapbook

Random/Fun:

51. Ride a luge pipe
52. Watch Forest Gump
53. Fly in a helicopter
54. Ride in a hot air balloon
55. Write to a celeb (and try get an autographed photo)
56. Walk into an elevator and don’t turn around, just face the other people
57. Win a competition
58. Get birds to visit the garden regularly -17/05/2009
59. Build a puzzle
60. Take my dogs to the beach (and take pics)
61. Get a professional massage
62. Get canvases and do rat painting art
63. Go to Build-A-Bear and build a bear

Financial:

64. Keep a list of expenses for 30 days (30/30)
65. Save R3000 (R0)

Social:

66. Go to a strip club
67. Throw a party for someone - 02/01/2010
68. Go wine tasting
69. Go grape stomping
70. Do a Township Tour
71. Go camping
72. Host a board game night
73. Go cherry picking
74. Go to a Summer concert - 14/02/2010
75. Throw another cocktail party
76. Do a girl's night out with cocktails
77. Go gambling
78. Go to a Lesbian Bar/Club

Learning:

79. Learn to shoot a gun
80. Learn to pole dance
81. Learn to belly dance
82. Learn to make three new dishes (1/3) - seared spicey tuna
83. Learn the harmonica
84. Learn how to change a tire

Work:

85. Shoot 5 weddings (1/5)
86. Get business cards printed
87. Get portfolio book printed
88. Photograph at an animal shelter
89. Take a photography course
90. Shoot a wedding for free
91. Redo my dad's website
92. Buy new camara equipment (lens/body/memory card/etc)
93. Advertise my business (paid advertising)
94. Host a stand at a wedding expo
95. Backup my computer data
96. Get to work on time every day for a week (5/5)

Love:

97. Initiate romance once for every 3 five times (2/5)
98. Make love 5 times a week for 1 month (0/4)
99. Have sex blindfolded
100. Be naughty in a public place
101. Get engaged

Start Date: May 02, 2009
End Date: January 28, 2012
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