Other Stuff

On my fence this morning

I haven’t given the sulphur-crested cockatoos seed for a few days. They haven’t looked for it, plenty of tucker about elsewhere. This morning, while walking Vika, I saw my usual four birds helping themselves to biggish pods on a small tree next door. They didn’t notice me until I walked by the second time. Then, they flew to our house, wheeling above the fence, checking for food.

No seed, so settled on a dead tree inside our yard as I continued my walk up the side road. Waiting.

Seedless, they settled on trees inside our yard while we continued our walk up the side road.  Waited quietly, for a change.

Ruffled against the icy wind, three watched from the gum tree. The fourth eyed me from the power cable. Not one of them moved when I brought the seed out.

Ruffled against the icy wind, three watched from the gum tree while the fourth eyed me from a power cable. They stayed as I put out seed.

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It usually takes about ten minutes before they come down, one at a time.

contented cockies

Happy cockies.  (All images: Nokia Lumia 530 Windows Phone, cropped)

Today, I’m busy finishing the evaluations on fellow students’ Effective Writing assignments. Not easy when I haven’t finished studying the class notes. Thank goodness for online checkers. I have until Monday bedtime to get this done, and two quizzes. I did pass this Effective Writing class last time, but since I hadn’t submitted this big paragraph assignment, it was a hollow feeling. I knew I hadn’t truly grasped the subject. I still haven’t grasped this subject! I won’t do this particular one at Coursera again, though – three times is enough.

Tomorrow, I’m starting The University of Queensland’s grammar MOOC at edX, second time around. Good timing.

I hope you’re having a lovely weekend.  🙂

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12 thoughts on “On my fence this morning”

    • Thanks Barbara. I know I couldn’t possibly afford a proper editor, so I don’t want to make a fool of myself. And it’s no good just putting it through a free (or paid) checker unless I understand the results, so I can fix things. If I applied myself better, I wouldn’t have to keep taking these classes over again! But, each time, it sinks in a bit better. 🙂

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    • Well, Sue, that’s what one of my writing books said – one can get too hung up on it. But, it’s best if I get it right, so there aren’t too many reviews on Amazon saying I my grammar is so bad they couldn’t read my book – though I’m sure such people wouldn’t be reading fantasy anyhow! I can’t afford to pay an editor so I have to edit the best I can, and knowing the rules without struggling will help. I’m hoping one day will come when I can look at a sentence and say to myself: okay that’s an adjective subordinate clause and it modifies that noun, and since it’s a restrictive clause I don’t need a comma. 😮 LOL.

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    • Thanks Elizabeth. Yes, wild pets.

      As to the online learning, I always intend to participate in more than I actually end up doing. I have a second blog for my online learning journey – the latest posts show up in my sidebar.

      Thanks for dropping by Elizabeth. I enjoy your daily photos on Instagram. They greet me in my tablet notifications each morning and put a smile on my face right away. I was so jealous of those sunny holiday images.

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  5. Carol Ann says:

    Writing today does not have enough commas…for some reason unbeknownst to me they are out of fashion. The sentences read all wrong and I always add them when they improve readability…only in the books I own, of course. Some of the best writers take license with punctuation and grammar. I like their bravery most of the time. You will find what is comfortable for you when you have more experience. Then, your confidence will come naturally. You have the desire and that is the most important part of creativity.

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    • I’ve heard that one should know the rules before breaking them, and there are lots of rules for comma usage! Thank you for your encouraging words, Carol Ann.

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  6. sue says:

    Was taught when you are reading and take a breath there should be a comma, also when the area in between commas can be left out of a sentence and still make sense, then the commas are in the right spot.

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