Eucalyptus Adventures ;)

[MomtoPercy]

I went foraging again today and found a eucalyptus tree to die for. This is what I got -

Some blossoms -

A bag of huge gumnuts (no torn muscles this time ) -

Although it was his first encounter with euc blossoms, Percy was instantly enamoured -

He was a little hesitant about the gumnuts but I left one in one of his toy bowls and later, came upon this sight -

But the BEST part was this - Percy, after having nibbled on his gumnut, RETURNED it to the toy bowl he found it in! He was chewing the nut in the middle of his cage and the bowl is to the far left, above the perch he was on. So there is NO way the half eaten nut could have accidentally fallen in the bowl. He put it there!! I've never seen this before. Why would he have done this? Normally, everything gets dropped to the floor and later retrieved if he wants it again (toys, food, whatever).

 

[Terry57]

I am so jealous! I wish we had these here Percy looks like he is having a blast (as always). I always make sure to turn the screen away from my guys when you post these wonderful pics so they don't decide to form a resistance and depose me as their leader
Oh wait, I am not the leader anyway, nevermind.

 

[Allee]

Excellent results from your foraging adventure!! I've never seen a eucalyptus tree in bloom, beautiful! The gum nuts I've never seen at all. Do you have a photo of the tree by any chance?

Obviously Percy is as impressed as I am. Looks like he put his new precious, favorite treat/toy in his toy bowl to keep it safe until he wants it again.

My Quaker, Harry has a favorite storage bowl for very special gifts. I have to check it often to remove stale goodies.

 

[MomtoPercy]

LOL Terry! You're so funny! Percy would surely dispatch any and all interlopers back to their own mom so no worries there . However, if Darwin doesn't come back home, you're *not* welcome to come search my house, ok?

Allee - I'm dragging my son out to forage for more gumnuts tomorrow. He HATES it, not "cool" enough for a 18yo to be seen out with mom AND scratching in bushes for god knows what...LOL!). But, unfortunately for him, he is 6 foot tall and can reach branches hat his short a$$ mom can just dream about so bribe him with airtime for his phone (yup, I'm a wily old gal!)

I will take some pics of the trees then. I saw two in bloom today - red flowers on one and dusty pink on the other.

 

[LoriP]

Oh wow! We have eucalyptus trees here. They are so tall that I cannot imagine being able to get blossoms, but from what you said I gather you can pick the gum nuts up off the ground? I am always really afraid to give Snoopy anything out of the "wild", unless I am absolutely 100% sure that it will not be harmful. But apparently eucalyptus is okay, so I will keep an eye out for some.

This is off-topic but do you have "painted eucalyptus" there? I know they are not native to my area but have been imported. I believe they originate somewhere in Southeast Asia. They absolutely fascinate me. They look like someone has thrown buckets of different color paint at the trunks and allowed it to drip down.

Will look forward to your pictures of the trees.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Hi LoriP . Yes, the trees are very high but if left untrimmed, some branches are low enough to reach. I picked the gumnuts directly from the tree. I am also uncomfortable picking them up from the ground.

I've never heard of painted eucalyptus - will have to google that!

 

[strudel]

I hate to brag, but it's not often I've got anything to brag about.

I have a eucalyptus like that in my backyard.

 

[Freespin]

Oh yes you must get pics of the actual tree! We have all kinds of gum trees around but i havent seen any with nuts that big!! Must keep an eye out. Inspired by you, i got some bottle brush nuts today (no flowers yet) and Banksia flowers and nuts/cones!

Do you treat them before you give them to Percy? If so how? Also (we know you are DIY Queen) can you please explain how you treat natural wood perches? I grabbed a great Manuka (Ti tree) branch today for a perch with great bark on it to pull off. Im just wondering if i can make it bird safe while retaining most of the bark fun.

 

[hacatta]

such a shame they don't grow here,percy is sure a lucky birdie errr king.

 

[MomtoPercy]

I hate to brag, but it's not often I've got anything to brag about.

I have a eucalyptus like that in my backyard.

I am SO jealous!! The only thing vaguely parrot-worthy in my garden are some dandelions struggling to repel the constant dog-pee onslaughts...

I've started growing dandelions in some pots to keep them safe from my ever eager doggies

 

[MomtoPercy]

Oh yes you must get pics of the actual tree! We have all kinds of gum trees around but i havent seen any with nuts that big!! Must keep an eye out. Inspired by you, i got some bottle brush nuts today (no flowers yet) and Banksia flowers and nuts/cones!

Do you treat them before you give them to Percy? If so how? Also (we know you are DIY Queen) can you please explain how you treat natural wood perches? I grabbed a great Manuka (Ti tree) branch today for a perch with great bark on it to pull off. Im just wondering if i can make it bird safe while retaining most of the bark fun.

I was going to go take photos today but it is raining!

To prepare the bottle brush buds and flowers, all I do is rinse them really well under running water. I know that there's no chemicals and stuff on them so I just pull off all the leaves (they are safe but quite sharp so I worry that Percy will put his own eye out in his bottlebrush frenzy) rinse to remove dust and wild bird foot prints...hehe... I always check that the branches are healthy and have no lichen, bird poop or something on them. BTW, Percy eats the buds and then shreds the twig they came on, too

Bottlebrush also has wonderful bark - rough and textured and great for ripping off. I find sawing them a challenge because I don't have the right tools and my little jigsaw rips off that great bark. So I have a carpenter friend saw it to the right size for me and then I treat them by scrubbing with a stiff bristled brush (along the grain so as not to rip the bark) and a 5% acv solution. Rinse well and bake in the oven until dry (if small enough) or dry in the sun for a few days. I prefer baking because always imagine all the germs I brushed and washed off, move back in while the branch is languishing outdoors in the sun