The Bush

Freaky Friday…

It’s funny the things you see on the way to a meeting, isn’t it?
You know, when I was a city chick, I would see all kinds of crazy on the way to work at George Street – addicts straining to appear straight as they stumbled home from an all-night bender somewhere, schoolkids up to mobile-phone mischief on benches waiting for school buses, businessmen sweating profusely as they squeezed their suited-up bulk into the standing-room-only jam of the third car of the Roma Street express. You know the kind of thing. All highly entertaining on a hour-long commute from the ‘burbs.
These days, when I head to a meeting to discuss our family business, the loons I come across are of a different breed altogether.DSemu_0042

Can you see what I spotted as I drove up the paddock (with the ipod happily blaring on the shuffle setting) to meet the boys this week?

(And yes I know the photo is hazy… it’s taken through the smeary dusty windshield, what do you expect!?)

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Oh yes.

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Freaky Friday Full Moon Crazy bird alert…

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Hello bird brain!

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I think emus are the weirdest of Aussie creatures…

they stalk around all knobby-kneed in straggling gaggles,

mindlessly darting whenever the bird in front so much as twitches,

with their phoofy feather tutus,

and starey amber eyes.

Their kind of freakiness is quite hard to describe really –

maybe “sepia-hued Lewis Carrol versions of awkward prehistoric ballet bird dancers”?

Yeah. Nah.

I should shut it and let the photos do the talkin’…
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This particular gang didn’t bolt immediately as I let the Prado idle closer,

they were tense but curious …

(and apparently closet fans of Guy Sebastian’s ‘Midnight Hour’).
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This one seems to be thinking:

I am exactly the same colour as the dry foliage here…

and if I hold still, no-one could POSSIBLY see me in this clever disguise!

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While his brothers are bravely sneaking closer (in gaggle formation) and thinking:

What is that strange white rectangle?

And what is that funky music …

could it be Guy Sebastian?

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And this one is all:

‘I’m gonna do everything I told ya,

In the Midnight Hour!’

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And this one is muttering:

For Heaven’s sake, the things you see on your way to a meeting!

So…see anything freaky – freakier than BB communing with giant flightless birds – today?

18 Comments

  • Jenni

    Do the emus have sharp talons? (Sorry, I couldn't resist asking that.)

    I saw some strange things in the DMV this week. Be glad I only twittered about one–although it was the strangest. We had to stand in line for over an hour two days in a row so the boy could get his permit. If you want to see strange, just visit the DMV.

    Out here we mostly see the usual cattle and horses, deer, the occasional coyote (usually heard rather than seen), and the rare bobcat sighting (very shy). One night we heard a mountain lion outside our bedroom window. Now that will give you chills! (A mountain lion–said not to be present in Kansas–was found downriver not long after.) Feathered friends are usually turkey vultures (in large quantities on our property and surrounding), a great blue heron or two, cattle egrets, occasional owl, and lots of smaller birds. There are some people who raise emus nearby, though, so I suppose it would be possible to find one or two roaming wild if they ever got out.

  • Lydia

    Nothing too unusual in South Dakota — just saw a cute kitty ready to pounce on who knows what when I was on a walk this morning.

    Love a morning walk!

    I guess life is a bit boring here.. that is OK by me. :}

  • Lorac

    I had two deer in my backyard early this morning munching on my grass and a raccoon making a hell of a noise last night.

  • Reddunappy

    Its cool to see Emus in the wild, they are only in pens here in the states. They are wierd freaky birds!! Nothing wierd here this week, nice cool 70s and low 80s weather though!

  • Pony Girl

    They are strange looking birds! I think I'd feel safer in the car rather than on foot if I ran into them, do you think they would chase you? They are so big! 😉

  • Anonymous

    Very good shots..even the one's thru the windshield. you could just say you photoshopped them that way. If we were to see those birds on a Canadian roadway that would be front page news.
    signed
    Theresa in ALberta

  • Mom L

    Everything is new and strange to me – I have landed in Iowa!! 15 minutes from dear daughter Diane, except during my first attempt to find her house by myself. That took about 45 min. I love it, my cat is happy in the new apt., lots of open spaces, corn fields, and roads with few cars! I don't miss Atlanta at all.

    And, BB, I love the prints from you! Thank you! You couldn't have chosen a better 2nd print. Of course, now Diane has the job of putting up all my Diane and BB photos!

    I love your emus – they are truly funny birds and you captured them beautifully.

    Nancy in IOWA

  • dykewife

    i don't think the residents here at work count, do they? didn't think so. a short queue at the supermarket would be the closest i can get to something weird and unusual.

  • Paint Girl

    Yikes! They are very strange looking. I wouldn't want to run across them on a dark street at night! No way, no how!

  • computer tutor

    We have had heaps of Emu's here too lately. What is going on?? I saw about 30 in a neighbours chick peas the other day.

  • Bush Babe

    Great to see that the freakiness is a world-wide phenomenon (even if a lot of it is human!).

    A big WELCOME to computer tutor (my friend 'Wayne'!) to the comments section of this blog – p'raps there is an emu epidemic ahead… toooo freaky!!!

    Paint Girl – a dark street? That would be a plot for a horror movie I think!!! Emus Attack At Night??

    NB Is anyone else battling to twitter?? It won't let me in for more than a couple of minutes at a go… perhaps they think Bush Babe was the hacker? ROTFLMAO – if only they knew how hard it is for me to hack into my OWN blog!! Arragghh…

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