I hope you all had a nice May Day celebration. I used to hate all that dancing around the Maypole myself. Always seemed to end up being tied to the bloomin` Maypole! Did you have a Maypole? The exciting thing about May was always the thought, summer's almost here!! Lucky Duckies!

Our winter is about to start. For the last 24 hours we had beautiful soft rain. You could almost hear the trees and shrubs sucking up the cool moisture.

In the morning the rain had stopped and at sunrise the garden looked just like a wonderland. Spider webs were beaded with water droplets and with the sunlight behind them they glistened like diamonds all over the webs. The trees had a misty white look about them.

I noticed a "flycatcher" bird, about the size of a sparrow, with jet black wings and back,and a brilliant white chest, hovering and picking off the trapped flies and moths from the web.I bet the spiders were annoyed about that! The bird has quite a funny song,"scissors, scissors". Can you make that sound?

My normal morning routine. Magpies make a heck of a din, whistling and cawing. They have to stretch their necks upwards to do it! "Come on Gerry! Get up lazy bones! We want our tucker!" (OZ food). "Peep! peep!" go the Rosella parrots. "What about our breakfast?" I open the front door, who should hop in? Tiny wrens waggling their tails. "Where`s our cheese?" Blimey! they keep me poor!!

Then I take the Pug dogs for a walk/run. They commence the normal Pug antics. Tuck their tails down and go like bloomin` jet fighters in circles, bumping into trees which shower them with water.Then they grin at me as if to say "What did you do that for?"

Whilst we are doing this my resident swallows (I thought they were supposed to bloomin` migrate!) show off; flying at incredible speeds, looping the loop and returning to their (MY!!) nests. I've got five nests in the shed and eaves of the house. They don`t half make a mess on my car. They never migrate!!!

Above, as all this is happening, Wedge-tailed eagles are soaring then diving. They pull up into a stall, and just seem to stop hundreds of feet above the ground! - show off`s!

The Galahs† pulled off the old trick during the first shower of rain.Hanging upside down by one leg and washing under their armpits! More bloomin` show off`s.Why can`t I do that?

Well I had better run. Bye for now, Gerry. 19° - yes - 19°C. Out with the long johns, eh?

† - Galah - rose-breasted, grey-backed cockatoo - (or slang for fool, simpleton).