In the Garden

Mr6 found a little friend last night

Just after a downpour,
we could hear all his friends calling
from the garden so we went for a wander

whilst the pasta bake cooked in the bbqOne of Miss Ems friends was in the bird feeder,
the birds were all over the garden
enjoying the cool refreshing change after all the heat.The sweet potato patch was looking very happy
just don't look at that pesky onion grass
some herbs in the herb spiralthese beautiful fragrant blossoms
are on Mr11s lemonade treeThis is the garden the boys and I made for Daddy
to welcome him home from Uni after 2nd year.
some new babies coming on.
Baby pumpkins, baby corn and
a lovely little baby gardener
Mr6 helped plant the seeds.some chooks in the chook dome
working hard in the garden Mr6 being followed by his little shadow
on some of our garden paths.
These paths have worked really well
they are just newspaper laid on top
of the grass covered generously with sawdust
and have lasted about a year
- its time to re do them now.
and as we wander back
up to check on dinner,
one last look back over the garden

Mr6's new pet

Mr6 has been wanting a new pet since his darling Miss Meggy passed.

We have discussed to possibility of adopting a pony, a giraffe, an elephant!

Luckily for us he has decided a baby chicken would be perfect.Her ( we are hoping it's a her) name is Nutmeg!


and our little one is in love with his new little pet.

Pet Porpoise Pool at Coffs Harbour

Mr6 and I enjoyed a fabulous day yesterday
at a friends 7th birthday party.

She celebrated at the Pet Porpoise Pool.

We loved these little penguins.
They are seriously cute.

This gorgeous dolphin was so cheeky.
She threw her ball over the side of the pool
to interact with the kids.
This pool is the resting pool
the dolphins go here to get away from people
but freely choose to interact when they feel like it.

When our birthday girls big sister
picked up the ball the dolphin was right against the window
mouth wide - the kids were entranced

Here you see the dolphin anticipating the ball
and looking around the corner to follow its progress

and here the dolphin is looking up
on top of the pool, waiting for the ball.

The Porpoise Pool encourages interaction
between the audience and the marine animals
and these animals have all been rescued or were born here.
The 2 dolphins in the pic above are in the performance pool,
they are father and son
Beaky and Zippy
Beaky was rescued locally and is world famous
as the first dolphin to balance a ball on his nose
Zippy surfs along on top of one of those giant gym balls.
They are very playful and seem to love the people visiting them.
They are playing catch with a ball
and slowly swimming up and down
the side of the pool visiting everyone.

Here they are giving Mr6 a kiss

In another pool live
huge fish, Port Jackson sharks and sea turtles.

The kids are feeding them

and this is the view from below.

The seals and sea lions are lovely as wellmore kisses
from a beautiful sea lion this timeThis mighty big fellow is Sampson,
wandering through the park
with his trainer to take part in the show.


Mr6 got to feed him a fish
Mr6 is around 20kg,
Sampson around 300kg and an elder at 21 years
They were both very gentle with each otherOur birthday girl was asked to scrub Zippys teeth
Then the dolphins put on a spectacular showThey can leap up to 6 m out of the water!
I was amazed at the control they showed
and that they didn't fall over the side of the pool
they are so obviously very clever and at home in their space
One of our party guests having a ball with a seal!she was such a good catch this lovely girl seal
More dolphin loving,
here Beaky is swimming on his back
along the wall so everyone can pat his bellyMr6 had to have one more visit
with the penguins and got to feed them
He loved these little birds.

This is the second time we have been to the Pet Porpoise Pool, we have totally enjoyed both visits. This park is fairly small compared to the much larger and glossier ones on the Gold Coast and offers a much more personalised service, it is unique in the way the visitors are encouraged to interact with these special animals, they also have lots of birds- pelicans, peacocks, cockatoos and a pond area with Australian tortoises. If you are ever in Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia do try to visit.

A new bird in the flock

Mr 6 got busy today and created a new friend.