Soon after lurching out of bed early in the morn , the outside world invades. There are usually two Curlews standing at the backdoor wanting to be fed. After they are given specially chopped meat, the Curlews near the front verandah , who hiss at you , also have to be fed.
As you prepare your bowl of cereal, hordes of tiny ants are noticed on the kitchen bench. Open the computer , turn on the power , and a few more ants , larger, scurry across the screen .
While belting out golden prose on the computer, a green ant from outside might crawl up your leg , or one of those wretched tiny ants from the kitchen give you a nip . It is clearly impossible to isolate yourself from intruders.
After a session hunched over the computer , you decide to have a break and make a cup of sugary latte in the kitchen . Step outside the den onto the back verandah and you run into jostling hordes - no less than five photogenic lizards, including the one saved from drowning in a bucket .
As we are on speaking terms , the lizards automatically say good morning, pose individually for the camera. ( Wonder what Dr Norman Swan of the ABC has to say about a person who has only been locked up for a few days and claims he is regularly talking to skinks ? )
Some are intent on catching the early morning sun on nearby rocks .
One of the two smaller ones , below, was missing part of its tail, probably due to a close encounter with a bird.
Late in the afternoon the Curlews demand to be fed yet again , the ones living in the backyard at times tap at the door late at night for supper.
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Curlew in between feeds with moth stung mandarins.
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