My old Cattin cat brought in the first bird I've seen him with in the last ten years.  It would have to be a Shining Cuckoo, wouldn't it?  Maybe if you only bring two birds home in your lifetime, you might as well make the second a special one.

The nostrils of this bird are an interesting shape.

Stephan and Gisela just kept on going, clipping almost every yellow ragwort flower on the farm, bagging them and bringing them home ready for burning.

The first big fire to get rid of all the flowers and seeds.

By the end of today, Gisela came home in a much more collapsed state.

What a nice way to end the month - Ms Duck returned this morning.  There were twelve ducks out on the paddock, who all took to the sky when I wandered out for a look, but as they flew around and over toward me again and I called to them, this very familiar bird flew down and landed near me.

Then the Ragwort Rippers returned, triumphant in their completion of the job!

Watched of course by our reinstalled roof-sitter.

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Later on, when the wind had dropped, we went out and set fire to the rest of the ragwort, on a big bonfire we'd been building since last year.  The moisture level around here is still sufficient to make setting fire to things relatively safe, although in other parts of northland this would be extremely risky.