Things of note

Today I noticed:
* that our loquat tree has started to flower. I'm really excited to see this as it's the first time since we transplanted it out of it's pot and into it's final position. For anyone who doesn't know what a loquat is they are well worth trying. Ours was producing fruit while in it's pot within a couple of years. The fruit is kind of egg shaped and when ripe a lovely apricot colour and best of all tastes very good. They also seem very easy to grow from seed. I've got some seedlings underway from fruit from this tree.

Loquat tree in flower

*that the tadpoles I'd seen turned into very small black frogs are in fact seemingly turning into lovely small green ones, I found a whole heap of them on the leaves of the water plants in that pond. This is a tremendous relief because I had seen my second only cane toad in the yard as I was walking back late from the beach one night and I had started to wonder. They are well camouflaged amongst the pond's greenery, well enough that hopefully the kookaburras who take the occasional baths here won't notice. I have noticed an increase in the number of frogs around both ponds, I don't know whether the small LED light I placed in each pond is attracting them, or perhaps a supply of insects by night for them to feed on, or maybe it's just the dry summer heat is attracting them to stay closer to water.

You can see three frogs on the stalks here and one on the leaf above.

Look how many are hiding amongst the leaves here.

*Another banana tree has just come in to flower. That will be the third one, as another two are well under way with bananas gaining size each time I see them.

* I spotted a small praying mantis, another "good" bug for the garden. After reading about good bugs versus bad bugs I like to celebrate every new good bug that arrives. Every insect brings a better diversity to the garden and an opportunity to fight off the bad bugs without resorting to chemicals in a garden where I'm trying to remain as organic as possible.

Can you spot it? It's almost invisible against the bark on the tree trunk.