Saturday, June 29, 2013

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Jonquils


Flowers raising their heads above all the weeds
in my little front garden


their pretty faces enhancing the putti
supporting the bird bath


softly smiling no matter the cold, rain or wind


be grateful for what you have
lest you are left with nothing at all.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

SkyWatch - Yet Another Sunrise


Sometimes sunrise is so dramatic it pulls one
out of bed like a shaken champagne cork


you just stand there agog 


until the splendour passes
into more muted
but just as pleasing tones


Watch the sky for you will never see another like it
just as beautiful, yes
but always different . . .

Click on the picture to enlarge, 
and/or the logo to tap into the skies around the world.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Wild Bird Wednesday & Nature Notes - Adelaide Rosella


Adelaide Rosella sitting pretty on one of my Thuja


looking longingly for more of the silvery seed pods


checking if I am still there


and striking a pose, "is this my good side?"


all the seed pods off all three Thujas have now disappeared 
as if by magic.

Linking with Stewart's

and Michelle's

Monday, June 24, 2013

OUR WORLD - Angaston in the Rain


Come rain or shine, I love to go to the Angaston farmer's marker
very early on a Saturday morning.

Afterwards my dog and I enjoy the little township itself.
We park under my favourite oak in this delightful off
road car park between the main street and a small creek
side park. No that is not my car, mine is quite grown up
and had it's 21st birthday some time ago.


After our little bit of shopping we sit a while either under 
the vine covered colonnade or on a bench on the lawn


say hallo to that splendid oak that shades our car in summer


look back towards the main street


let our senses wallow in the beauty of the lingering autumn leaves


and cross the bridge to be greeted by the last of the golden wonders
still as bright as in mid summer


 marvel at these tiny, less than an inch tall, 
sulphurous fungi dotting the lawns


with hardly time to tuck camera under coat before it braves the
rain again to shoot the last hollyhock escapee from a garden
abov that has naturalised on the steep, rocky bank of the creek


with camera once more safely tucked away, dog and I 
nimbly step between the raindrops to enjoy 
the rest of our walk


OUR WORLD has so many nooks and crannies to
explore, this is just one of them but if you look
with an open heart, you find then everywhere.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

I Heart Macro - Just one single drop . . .


Twas not the splendour of the last lingering 
leaves that woke my senses
but one gleaming drop
of water


Linking with


Saturday, June 22, 2013

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Winter Roses


I have always been fascinated by flowers out of season

I found this surprise a couple of days ago
when I went to look wether my 'Princess de Monaco'
had survived the summer. 
It had and it made me glad but behind it 
A lovely rambler had decided to give me a present or two . . .


a little ground-cover rose that the sheep had demolished,
had brought forth this brilliant red,
somewhat snail damaged, beauty


After the early Saturday marked in Angaston,
the dog and I take our accustomed stroll around 
the town and were greeted by this beautiful ,
rain-drenched pot of gold.


What is blooming up your way
or anywhere else?
Click on the Logo and find out!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

SkyWatch Friday - Cars???


I was shooting a few autumn leaves
when this kind of caught my eye.
I thought the sky in the bonnet of the 
red sports
was more interesting than the car itself

 

Stopping to load up the dog after his run down the hill
my own car was embellished by the late 
afternoon sky

how could I help taking a shot at it.


You can find interesting skies in the oddest places.

The SkyWatch Logo on my sidebar
opens a wealth of skies around the world.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Wild Bird Wednesday & Nature Notes - On a Cold and Foggy Morning . . .


A cold and foggy morning 
comforting to look out at from a warm and cosy bed


but not so nice for little birds with clammy feathers
their shoulders hunched up
seeking the first rays of the thin yet
warming winter sun


as I was giving my dog his morning brushing massage,
a flock of about 10-12 welcome swallows,
Hirunda neoxena,
 flew in and spread themselves on my pergola
some eight feet from us


they were there again the next morning as I 
left my room to groom the dog
they even let me walk to the front of the pergola


to photograph them in better light
just quietly meditating with the rising sun . . .


So comforting to have the birds come and companion sit.

Linking with Stewart's


and 

Michelle's Nature Notes

Monday, June 17, 2013

OUR WORLD - Burra Mines on the Way to the Flinders Ranges


Two springs ago, we drove to The Flinders Ranges
fields of canola were flowering gold


trees on the way were coming into leaf


we stopped to walk the old mine site and 
pick up lumps of copper carbonate
at the side of this road


it once was an open cut mine but eventually
the water level rose and 
it had to be abandoned


the colour of the water is amazing but it was hard 
to get photos through a six foot mesh fence

if you enlarge this shot, you can see the bird at the water's edge


and onward to the folded ancient hills of the Flinders Ranges.


With gratitude to Klaus who started this meme as MY WORLD
which, after his passing was renamed to OUR WORLD 
and continues in his memory.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Winter Blooms


My crabapple, Malus floribunda, is as confused with the 
seasons as the birds


it is not supposed to flower in early winter when all it's leaves
have fallen


the last autumn leaf still lies on the ground


yet the garden has skipped three months and thinks it's spring!



Thank you Denise for keeping this cheerful meme going for 
more than five years.
I have always found it a delight to share my flowers here.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

SkyWatch - Sunshine and Shadow


Rain bearing clouds looming over my paddocks
Sunlight illuminates the autumnal gold of silver poplars


clouds move and cast shadows
heavy cold rains are limiting to gardening
but oh so wonderful for the trees that have struggled 
over a number of years.


Thank you  friends at SkyWatch for keeping this splendid meme going

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Wild Bird Wednesday - Dogfight in the Sky

Scraping the bottom of the barrel, rain is not conducive 
to good bird shots

with a little morning light, a gang of 
NewHolland Honeyeaters
were making a lot of noise and playing tag


dive-bombing each other and exchanging a lot of
verbal flack


there were about a dozen of them, flying so fast I was 
surprised I caught any of them in my sights


sorry about the very mediocre shots of this spring like behaviour
now that winter has barely arrived.

Linking with Stewart's

OUR WORLD and Nature Notes - Just My World This Time


My little world is a work in progress

it is raining and I did not want to soup up the picture quality.

As many of you know over quite a few years I looked after my 
husband who developed Alzheimer's disease.
During that time, with the help of a severe drought, my once
immaculate garden went to rack and ruin, helped along by well 
meaning but illogical help by himself.


Today, I finally had someone to help. He cut the large areas of 
grass with a ride-on mower and set to with a will with a 
brush-cutter as well.

As if by magic, paths came to light and I  no longer was 
soaked to the knees when reading the rain gauge. 


Mowing is like making your bed, a large area looks tidy
and gives one courage 
but masses of hard work remain.

This may not look like much but this patch of rank weeds
is actually three large flower beds, the width of my house.

It will have to wait for two weeks for the next onslaught.

The front/side garden is also better for the mowing, now
I can at least get to the beds to start weeding!


In anticipation of the help, I had already started weeding this 
enormous bed . . mainly to get my broad beans and snow peas
into the lovely moist ground.


A seemingly little patch that I have cleared in a hurry as the 
tulips are already coming up although winter has barely arrived!

It is a monstrously large bed to weed. You may wonder at the 
black plastic garbage bag, with good reason.

Seeds and perennial weeds would go rampant in a compost heap
but in a garbag, left in the sun for 3 months, they turn into 
beautiful, weed free, compost.


Bleeding profusely, I managed to weed under the two roses above,
and with the courage I had gained from having some help,
even planted the Buddleia below and mulched it with 
sheep crutchings.


Maybe next time I will present a more interesting post,
for today, I am too bushed from all the gardening
but
I have had an absolutely lovely time!

Linking with OUR WORLD
and
Nature Notes

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