Welcome to Changing Seasons for August 2021. Ju_Lyn at Touring My Backyard has already posted her changing season and I am a bit late for the southern hemisphere but may just squeak in for you northerners. It’s never too late for you to post your Changing Seasons and we would love to see what happened in your part of the world.

Here we are again in Spring saying goodbye to Winter. It really wasn’t a Winter as a lot of last month the day time temperatures were in the low 20C although the fire was lit at night as the temperatures went down to single figures 1 to 4C. A lot of the photos are from home as we went into a statewide lockdown mid August and am still there for another week. Lockdowns’ downside is I can’t get to see my bestie and travel around to different places sampling cafes and the shops and of course taking photos.

Lets get going with a tune to scroll to

The last time we were able to get around in Lismore taking Teddy for a walk along the riverbank and through the park, I took quite a number of photos some that have already been used in posts. This is looking along the rock wall which is also part of the levee system.

Can you find the cat among the moss or what can you see? This was a find by my bestie.

I love this stand of Fig Trees helping to hold the riverbank together.

I love this old sign on the Bowling Clubs flower bed. At the time there weren’t any flowers.

First up is a few flowers. I have another lot of flowers which will be another post once one flowering bud opens but it is taking its time. The Sydney Rock Orchid, Dendrobium Speciosum, flowered this year. Even the buds looked good.

When the flowers opened it was a mass of white cascading down from the top of the plant.

The flowers looked best in the afternoon light. Such a delicate flower from the leather hard leaves of the plant.

Late in the day, the sunset made the red Grevilleas really stand out.

This is the only close photo I have of the Gymea Lily at my besties place. It takes a while for such a big flower to open and I couldn’t get back to see the open flower. The flower is on top of a three metre spike.

The Iris have flowered already and these are the first ones to open.

I have Sweet Pittosporum trees in most of the gardens around the house. They flowered about a week ago and the fragrance throughout the house in the early morning and late afternoon is heavenly. This also shows the wonderful blue skies that were in August.

The Pittosporum flowers are full of bees and butterflies and the bee buzz outside is constant. Even the little Stingless Native Bees were onto the flowers. A rear view of this bee shows how much pollen he has in his pollen sacs on his rear legs. They are the yellow dots, one under his body and the other just to the left.

I followed this Orange Ringlet around the tree for a while.

Growing out of the mulch on a sheet of lichen a little cap popped up. I still have it on the bricks waiting to see if anything happens.

The Bottlebrush have been flowering non-stop for quite a while and the birds just love the flowers. A bit of contorting for the Yellow-faced Honeyeater.

An Eastern Spinebill had to reach to get the best spot

The Scarlet Honeyeaters have been in the Bottlebrush all day for weeks now. A Female Scarlet Honeyeater looks to see which flower would taste the best next.

The male Scarlet Honeyeaters are so hard to find among the red flowers. The other day I counted five having afternoon snacks, even if you have to do it upside down.

The Noisy Friarbirds have taken over the front garden and the Honey Gem Grevillea in particular giving anyone the evil eye if they dare come near the flowers.

Taken from my office through the glass door, I saw a bird land in the Ivanhoe Bottlebrush, which has flowered for the first time, and saw a bird I have never seen in the garden before. Unfortunately it was a quick visit as my movement inside was spotted and the Little Wattlebird flew off. Maybe it will come back today if the Friarbirds don’t scare it away.

The Firesticks Grevillea is a hit with some of the smaller honeyeaters. The Lewins Honeyeaters especially like snacking over there.

I wondered why some of the Honey Gem flowers looked a bit scrapy. The King Parrots like to remove the styles, have a bit of a munch and drop to the ground…….repeat as necessary.

I have quite a number of Laughing Kookaburras in the garden at the moment. There is always one of the five keeping a lookout for food to appear among the plants.

These three Laughing Kookaburras are at my besties place in the tree in the paddock next door late one afternoon, giving the perfect silhouette.

We went to a park in Bangalow for my besties birthday party with family. This Brush Turkey patrolled the grounds in case picnickers had any leftovers.

One day on my way home from town, I decided to take a drive along one of the roads near my place I hadn’t been down for years, just to sticky beak. I saw something run across the road so of course I had to get the camera out and found an Australasian Pipit running in the paddock.

It wasn’t the Olympics but I did see some Synchronised Swimming.

At the same wetland as the ducks diving for food, there is a few Comb-crested Jacanas, one of my favourite water birds. They have very long toes which lets the appear to be walking on water as they get about on the water plants.

It is a pity I can’t get closer to this little wetland patch in a paddock. All the photos have to be taken from the road. It has a lot of variety of birds, these are just a few – a Jacana in front, Pacific Black Ducks in the water and a Straw-necked Ibis.

On one of the last days we could get out we went to the beach at Ballina, had some fish and chips while watching out for any Humpback Whales still passing through and watching the Crested Terns dive into the water as there must have been a shoal of fish.

“Get my good side” the Silver Gull seemed to say as he kept turning this way and that.

Well we’re at the end of another Changing Season. Thought I would end with another cow walking into the sunset to say see you next month.

“What are you still doing here?” “Are you going to say which photo was your favourite?” Drop me a line in the comments

Bye

Roundup

• Tracy at Reflections of An Untidy Mind gets us started with her captures of lovely blooms and birds
• Natalie at Little Pieces of Me brings us along on an epic Wyoming adventure
• Ju-Lyn, my co-host, at Touring My Backyard welcomes spring Moon Cakes and delicious tomatoes
• Marilyn at Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth persists through a wet, hot, steamy, weird month, taking lovely photographs from her window and in her garden