First of all, thanks to everyone who has been part of my life this year. I have enjoyed sharing my part of this world with you. Your comments and feedback has been quite overwhelming at times. I take photos because I enjoy the results I achieve. I have a basic Canon PowerShot SX60HS which takes great macros, amazing telephotos and does everything I could ask, except focus where I want sometimes. Even then the capture can be a photo that goes into my Arty Ones folder. Some of those are posted in a recent photo challenge – Abstract.

On to December. This month was taken up in part with Becky’s great square format photo challenge #timesquare The featured image is one of the photos from Beckys challenge. Sometime last year I made a suggestion for the challenge which I cannot remember.

I have tried to cut down the number of photos but again it may be a bit of long read, so a drink, perhaps a snack may be in order. All settled back and ready. Join me in looking at This is December 2018
Sunrise is always a good place to start

The wind blew the grass seed heads

One morning, the tiny Line-blue Butterflies were all over the grass area while we were having breakfast. They loved the clover flowers.

A Blue-banded Bee made a morning ritual of visiting the Chinese Lantern flowers. I never was ready to get that photo.

A delicate flowering plant we were told was called Herb Robert. A lovely flower and bud.

A Mistletoe Bird was a visitor for a few days

After the demise of the terracotta bird bath, a tempory replacement was found. A Rainbow Lorikeet looks unsure.

Since the hatching of the Brown Honeyeaters, they have stayed around the garden. This is one of their favourite sitting places in the morning.

Luckily one of the Grevilleas is flowering for them.

I love it when you can see our Moon during the day.

Many people call Dandelions weeds. The flowers add a great splash of colour in the garden.

The Bees love the flowers too. Look at how much pollen has been gathered into the bees pollen sacs.

I think it is wonderful.

A Pumpkin display at the markets. So many varieties to choose from.

This van belongs to one of the market stall holders at The Channon markets. I would love this van.

Now Summer is here and it is hot and dry, the birds have to share the bird bath.

Coming in for a landing

“I made it safely….so what are you looking at?”

The Brown Honeyeaters. An adult and one of the young ones. Always look up to your elders.

This is my bird bath the Magpie Lark (or better known as Pee Wee) is telling everyone.

A spot of grub hunting has paid off.

The Cape Chestnut Tree at The Channon Market was in full bloom.

Now for a couple of native flowers I found at my daughters place. I looked in my books to try and identify so I could tell you their names, but wasn’t successful. I will have to ask an ecologist who said I could send him photos and he would try to tell me their names. Isn’t this one pretty?

Like the above flower, most native flowers are quite small. The one above was about 10 to 15mm from petal tip to petal tip. This little flower is about 5mms

Another tiny flower with an amazing structure

Such a delicate ball of even smaller flowers. Each ball is around 10-15mm in diameter.

The Stingless Native Bees just love the native flowers. The flower seems huge compared to the bee
The start of Summer. The Frangipanni flowers around the garden are stating to emerge.

I love the soft pink and yellow of this Frangipanni flower which has a heavenly fragrance.

The pinks and yellows of this one are much more stronger.

The Pink Frangipanni is stunning.

This Poinciana tree I see on the way home was the best I have seen.

The tiny flowers of one of the Tea Trees I have in my garden is waiting for the bees.
This year, my Agapanthus flowers were the best flowering ever. All through the garden was spots of white and blue
One of the blues.

The tree Begonia decided to have another flowering this December.

I have a number of Datura Erecta plants around the garden. The berries looked lovely one morning. I think they may be poisonous as nothing seem to eat them.

If anyone would, it would be a Fig Bird, seen here keeping an eye on me as I walked about.

The King Parrots are starting to want some food as a couple of people who fed them in the street have since moved on. I give them a small amount of wild bird mix occasionally. Actually I hadn’t been home for a couple of days and this bloke came to the verandah and whistled to get my attention

A migratory visitor to my place are Leaden Flycatchers, This female was scouting the verandah for a snack. Yes a photo taken while I was inside at my desk.

One afternoon as I drove through the front gates, a Forest Kingfisher swooped in front of me and sat in the tree, almost like a welcome home.
The Australian Air force is saying goodbye to the fleet of Orions. One of the planes is going to an Air Museum at Evans Head. It flew into Lismore. This was taken from my besties backyard.

The old swimming pool, which is now a frog pond of sorts, is host to so many water insects and frogs. One of the frog species in the pool is the Perons Tree Frog. I think this may be one just emerging from tadpole to frog.

I am unsure who these beastly looking gang are. Hopefully are dragonflies.

Christmas is always a wonderful time in December. I wasn’t in a Christmas mood this year. My bestie had some decorations at her place. An op-shop angel and some lights looked great.

An Australian Lilli Pilli tree in the corner with some little lights mad the room look bright.

The Full Moon, just before Christmas Day was big and bright.

One of the photo challenges was Abstract – see the opening words – I didn’t include this Moon photo as I thought it was rather special and needed to be in my monthly wrap-up post.

I didn’t have my tripod so just had to have a go hand held. At least one turned out OK lol

Summer arrives and the plants start to thrive so along come the Grasshoppers to have a snack. This one likes Basil….or used to.

Another little Grasshopper from my daughters place. Her garden hasn’t been attacked yet.

The Ponytail Palm has so many flowers, the bees don’t know where to begin. I walked outside and the buzzing was quite loud I looked up and the flower spikes were full of bees.

The Blue-banded bee I couldn’t get in the Chinese Lantern Flower didn’t escape my attention as it buzzed about the Basil flowers.

The Hover Fly loved the garden too

The Palm Trees, the water and the ripples

Late afternoon looking from my besties verandah across the paddocks

The December sun is almost set.

Goodbye December and 2018.

Thanks for being a part of my world. I hope to see you again in 2019.