Its beginning to smell a lot like Christmas, for all the non-Aussies and the Aussies who don't live in the tropics I will try to describe the scents and sights that tells me Christmas is near.
The permeating aroma of Rain Trees (Flea Trees - Albizia lebbeck), the sweet intoxicating scent of Weeping Paperbarks in flower just before rain, and the subtle smell of Poinciana (Delonix regia) and the riot of colours when the yellow and red/ orange forms are planted side by side. The smell not only of mango blossoms but also the warm scent of mangos ripening on the tree in the sun.
And then there are the migrating birds that come down from Papua New Guinea, birds such as the huge Channel Billed Cuckoo and its strident call as it lures out crows so its mate can lay its eggs in the crows nest. The annoying and repetitive call of the Rain bird otherwise known as the Eastern Koel. And as a heralder of rain to come Dollar birds, with their green bodies and striking large white spots like dollars on their wings.
Green tree frogs come back out of their winter haunts and take up their summer nightly positions on window sills and outside stairs waiting for the bonanza of insects and geckos to fill their stomachs.
The insects too come out in abundance and Christmas beetles will come buzzing into the house, banging into lights and then sit spinning on the floor until you take pity on them a put them back outside. In New South Wales most of the Christmas beetles where a beautiful iridescent, but in the Tropics they tend to be just brown. The riotus and flamboyant Harlequin beetles will be covering any plants in the mallow family. If a storm threatens termites will swarm and the air will be shimmering with termites on their nuptial flights. Cicadas will deafen you with their drumming calls especially if you live somewhere that the bush has not been to disturbed or dug up.
The colours of Christmas too are here, the lawns will either be brown (from no watering), lush and long from watering and or storms or more likely they will have a faint blue hint as the once lush lawns wilt in the daily heat. Poinsettias will be showing their rich reds and white leaves that from a distance look like large flowers. The sky will be blue all day and the sun will bake everything under it, but if you are lucky on the horizon in the afternoon you will see the black, purple, grey and sometimes green clouds of a storm building and approaching. The wind will pick up as it feeds into the storm and the excitement builds with the storm as the lightening show makes up for the loss of power to the house. And then after the storm as hit its time to check for damage or commiserate with everyone else who didn't get the brief relief of a breeze and rain.
The permeating aroma of Rain Trees (Flea Trees - Albizia lebbeck), the sweet intoxicating scent of Weeping Paperbarks in flower just before rain, and the subtle smell of Poinciana (Delonix regia) and the riot of colours when the yellow and red/ orange forms are planted side by side. The smell not only of mango blossoms but also the warm scent of mangos ripening on the tree in the sun.
And then there are the migrating birds that come down from Papua New Guinea, birds such as the huge Channel Billed Cuckoo and its strident call as it lures out crows so its mate can lay its eggs in the crows nest. The annoying and repetitive call of the Rain bird otherwise known as the Eastern Koel. And as a heralder of rain to come Dollar birds, with their green bodies and striking large white spots like dollars on their wings.
Green tree frogs come back out of their winter haunts and take up their summer nightly positions on window sills and outside stairs waiting for the bonanza of insects and geckos to fill their stomachs.
The insects too come out in abundance and Christmas beetles will come buzzing into the house, banging into lights and then sit spinning on the floor until you take pity on them a put them back outside. In New South Wales most of the Christmas beetles where a beautiful iridescent, but in the Tropics they tend to be just brown. The riotus and flamboyant Harlequin beetles will be covering any plants in the mallow family. If a storm threatens termites will swarm and the air will be shimmering with termites on their nuptial flights. Cicadas will deafen you with their drumming calls especially if you live somewhere that the bush has not been to disturbed or dug up.
The colours of Christmas too are here, the lawns will either be brown (from no watering), lush and long from watering and or storms or more likely they will have a faint blue hint as the once lush lawns wilt in the daily heat. Poinsettias will be showing their rich reds and white leaves that from a distance look like large flowers. The sky will be blue all day and the sun will bake everything under it, but if you are lucky on the horizon in the afternoon you will see the black, purple, grey and sometimes green clouds of a storm building and approaching. The wind will pick up as it feeds into the storm and the excitement builds with the storm as the lightening show makes up for the loss of power to the house. And then after the storm as hit its time to check for damage or commiserate with everyone else who didn't get the brief relief of a breeze and rain.
