Fly away Peter, Fly away Paul.

The birds come into our trees, pick at the fruit, and leave part of it, then do the same with the other fruit.

Today and yesterday we picked the fruit, but being high in the trees, we needed some steady nerves to get high enough to pick the fruit.

Even with a fruit picker, we still had to stretch really high to pick the fruit.

With our fruit picker, obtained from the Garden Centre at Weston, we picked the fruit piece by piece, and have some inside, in a special jar for ripening.

We put it in an earthenware jar, together with an apple, for a few days until it is ripe for eating.

The birds now have to find another garden to satisfy their appetites.

The neighbour has his tree covered in a mesh netting, so they will get no joy there.

Many years ago now, magpies used to nest in the gum tree at the front, and start their noisy calls at something like 3 o'clock in the morning.

Since the tree was severely pruned by the ACT Government a year or two ago, the magpies have not returned, fingers crossed that they are gone forever to somewhere far away.