Conversation with a Tawny Frogmouth

The Tawny Frogmouths have returned to our place with great regularity. There they are each morning sitting amongst the vine branches and they don't bat an eye when I come out to hang the towels out to air on the clothes horse which stands practically underneath them on our patio.
I asked them why they have decided to sleep here during the day. Generally they just keep their noses up in the air but this morning they sighed and replied that they have upgraded their sleeping quarters because it is under cover and so

out of the rain. Did they not miss the wider view of the back paddock when they sat in the gumtrees on the northside in the sun? what sun, they said... no it is much warmer and drier here amongst the vines and besides, there are no dogs or cats to annoy us either. What about the shrieking of the greenies who come in groups to scold you? Well, you can't altogether blame them, we do raid their nests and feed their nestlings to our offsprings when we are busy re-populating the area. Do you know how many of us are killed at night by cars just when we are swooping down to catch our moths which show up in the car lights?
We do have to feed our progeny same as the greenies do.....

And while we are having this conversation, have you thought of getting rid of your goldfish out of your pond? They eat the frog spawn and so there are no tadpoles to grow into frogs which is part of our diet, you know....yes, I do know that but they are so pretty in our pond, those goldfish. Now you mention it though, there are increasing numbers of them, aren't there, so perhaps we ought to catch some and sell them to the petshop.
And you don't mind the white chook on the patio? I let her and her bantam companion out to give them a chance to roam over the five acres available to them, but do they roam? no, they like to sit on the patio and rustle amongst the vine leaves and observe us as we sit and read in the sun shining through the glass door and windows.We don't mind them at all but we would like to ask you

where our second cousins ,the bearded dragons have gone? Now you mention them, of course, we used to have them in the garden and I took photos of them in rose bushes some years ago now. We even had one dig a hole in the garden path and lay her eggs. We kept the area damp for her but we never saw the hatchlings emerge, though we did see one or two in the vegie patch a few months later. We think that the mechanical grape harvesters killed a lot of them, for like you lot, they liked to sit on top of posts and survey the surrounding country side and pretend no one could see them. I am honored though, that you think our patio is a good place to rest during the day.
The winter vines are so bare now and set off the sculptural Willunga hills beautifully, don't you think?