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Spring has Sprung

Today we were busy picking mulberries which have come on in abundance. Two of our mulberry shrubs have exploded with a mass of fruit, possibly due to receiving a good cut back in winter or from our prolong cold and dry weather. We are collecting a punnet or two every day.

Punnet of mulberries


It’s great to take our daughter down to the mulberry bush (or shrub) in the afternoon and pick the fruits that have turned from red to deep purple. She loves eating them as we pick them, which we don’t mind as they make for a healthy snack.

Mulberry bush in fruit

We think the fruit isn’t getting attacked by insects (who usually drink the juice from the fruit) because a colony of Green Ants (or Weaver Ants) has found the shrubs and seem be protecting them. We are lucky to not have any birds discover the sweet taste of mulberry either.
Fruiting mulberry plant



So spring at our place has definitely sprung as the fruit trees are flowering and the birds are nesting. On a walk through our garden we were warned by a couple of nesting Bush Stone-Curlews. This is a photo of the male hissing at us, with his wings out wide, for us to stay away from his area. We keep a safe distance (more so for the birds). 

Male Bush Stone-Curlew guarding

I’ll update you on whether this couple of Bush Stone-Curlews have chicks. Last year they had two which was very cute and fun to monitor their growth. If danger approaches the chicks (like humans) the adults run around hissing, usually away from the chicks. The chicks drop and lay flat and still not moving at all, they look like bits of broken branches with their grey colouring. They are quite camouflage and it is an amazing defence mechanism.
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