6 am

Not often I get to see mornings but it is school holidays so I am able to cope with mornings at my leisure. Bushfires in the west have meant days of smoke haze and bushfire sunsets:

But also bushfire red sunrises so I see this morning as the sun struggles above the trees in the haze. There are lots of birds singing at dawn and many visit the almost-bursting-into-leaf trees alongside my verandah. The red bills are in the house paddock eating the millet seeds that I scattered the other day.

At this time of the day, there is not enough sunlight for the solar fountain to work. On Saturday I bought and installed the new pond. The pond was destined for the corner of the house yard but as I was filling it with water, a man turned up to inspect my aviary - he was one of the builders who built my deck & animal sheds and he wants to breed gouldian finches. As I was chatting, Kayla was having a lovely time splashing around in the pond so I had to ponder the pond and it eventually ended up outside the house yard. Shelley grazes there but she hates water so the fountain should keep her away (it actually does!). I've started with a lotus plant in the pond but eventually the area around it will be landscaped (Shelley permitting) with tropical-looking vegetation.

The pets are also active around dawn (unfortunately). Holly does her morning inspection and jumps up on the M-PAH to get a better view. Kayla continues to mangle the flower pot that she stole the other day.