Month: March 2023

Life of a Frangipanni Flower

Published on by bushboy43 Comments

Welcome to number fifteen in the series looking at what happens to the flowers in my garden.

Not as much of a range of the flowers life as I did forget to take some flowers and then it became rather hot or very wet so the flowers either dropped to the ground or didn’t seem to open before doing so.

Earlier I didn’t think that the tree was going to get leaves, which arrive prior to the flowers, and the flowers tried to get buds and open but the conditions this year just didn’t seem to be right for a good flowering.

The leaves appearing in the end of the branch. The red colouring early on in the growth is quite lovely

The early flower buds were a mix of colours which I hadn’t noticed in previous years. I have a couple of varieties and the red one looks so different. At first going though the photos I thought this was a red versions buds

As you can see the flowers opened to the white and a tinge of pink with a yellow centre

Frangipannis do like to have a gradual flower opening as well

When there is a lot of flowers the scent in the air in the evening is so good

The range of colours, however subtle, on the one tree is quite amazing

They do look quite different on some branches

Today was a rainy day and I wanted to get a photo of the last flowers. I also would have like to see insects on the flowers but hadn’t found any until this afternoon. Can you see the tiny Green Crab Spider sheltering from the rain under the lip of the flower?

It was so hard to get a good photo for you

While I was trying to photograph the spider, an Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly can drifting past. I wondered where it had gone.

The difference in the flowers on the one tree is quite amazing. These flowers have more pink on the petals that others.

The flowers are at their end. One dropped and has been caught on the leaves

The last flower with a dead flower and leftover stalks. I am not sure whether the last two what I think are buds will open

The tree in the garden

Also for Cee’s FOTD and Brens Floral Friday

A joy to hear

Published on by bushboy11 Comments

Todays Prompt: Sing
Ragtag Daily Prompt Friday: Wonderment

A wonderment
morning
horizon and sun
collide
explosion
colours ablaze

Quiet
listen
the gullies
resound
low at first
Crack

I had never had Whipbirds at my place until after the fire that caused so much devastation across the whole Clarence Valley in 2019. My place was a little oasis where I fed and watered as many birds and animals who came to see what was on offer. I was hoping the Whipbirds would stay and they have. They even came into the garden after a while as they are shy birds and know how to hide.

Have a listen to a Whipbird singing.

Recording from Graham Chapman

The last of France

Published on by bushboy17 Comments

Dan’s Thursday Doors

Almost finished my European doors. This time we are in Lyon and Paris.

Starting in Paris. Sorry no idea where

I do know that these doors are on Notre Dame

A couple of doors from Lyon. The lower part looks a bit weather beaten don’t you think?

This is a fabulous I was thinking Art Deco or Art Nouveau but perhaps older. I really have no idea do I.

The birds and the bees

Published on by bushboy16 Comments

Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge March Alphabet: Two EE’s

Birds of Prey in order of size

NankEEn KEstral

Black-ShouldErEd KitE

SquarE-tailEd KitE

WhitE-bElliEd SEa EaglE

WEdgEd-tailEd EaglE

A few bEEs in no particular order

HonEy BEE

CarpEntEr BEE

TEddy BEar BEE

BluE-bandEd BEE

StinglEss NativE BEEs

A bit of an oldie some may remember from JEwEl AkEns

Sometimes they just drop in

Published on by bushboy46 Comments

Denzils Nature Photo Challenge #6: Sharp

If you live in the bush, you have to expect the unexpected. This big bloke is a regular around the place. I am on one of his places to check out in his territory. It used to be worse when I had chooks.

This is on his way to the front verandah. He is so big he just knocks stuff around, he doesn’t mean it. Most things usually get out of his way!!

Don’t you love the side eye. Ah now you can see a bit of sharp. The tongue isn’t rude, he just wants to know where I am. The Goanna’s tongue is how it finds food and its way around.

Their main defense is to climb a tree or the closest vertical object. They don’t have the best eyesight so it’s best not to stand still if there is a Goanna running around in fright. Here you can see what those sharp claws are for as well as holding on while it munches with jaws that can crush small bones

Is that a smug smile for getting a good way up the tree or a grimace when it banged itself when it got scared. Those sharp claws came in handy

You really should get a close up of the scaly reptilian foot and sharp claws. I guess they are about 50 to 75mm long

They have such lovely markings. This bloke was probably a bit hungry. It was after THAT fire and here this Goanna is on one of the burnt trees. I bet he hated getting charcoal on that lovely yellow belly.

When Goannas are on the ground they hang on holes in the ground or under logs when they aren’t hunting which is a lot of the time. They are a bit lazy and eat eggs but will eat anything they come across. One time I caught a Goanna in the chook house, I grabbed him by the tail and lifted him off the ground as they can’t do any thing dangling. As I was heading to get a bag to put him in came two slimy hens eggs.

Goannas can live for up to forty years. The bloke in the first photo has been around for a s long as I can remember. There is a white patch towards the tip of his tail and he the only one. It is quite distinctive.

What to do

Published on by bushboy29 Comments

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge: Improvise

A while ago I bought an old wooden suitcase with the aim to restore it and sell. I bought it for $20 and it wasn’t in the best of condition. I stripped it down and tried to tidy the bits and pieces. It was basically made from plywood and was a fit difficult to replace the parts that were broken.

I kept most of the hardware, the hinges, handle and locks but had to replace the corner protectors as a few were bent or missing. I bought a set for less than $10. The old one is on the right. I rather like the new ones which are a bit more ornate.

Once I had it almost finished I thought it looked not all that good. The repairs to the wood on the outside were hard to get matched to the original so I decided to paint the case black. The interior needed a bit of a lift so a few pages of old music books were used to line the inside.

I put the finished suitcase on the local Buy, Swap and Sell FB site. A young lad bought it for $60 and he was going to use it to carry his bagpipes around.

A song to go with the finished suitcase

I am frond of this one

Published on by bushboy16 Comments

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

During last years walk in the Gibraltar Ranges National Park to see the Waratahs flowering, I also found a bit more to photograph as well. Not only were the Waratahs in flowering glory but so many other plants were doing well. The fire of December 2019 laid the whole mountain bare of vegetation so it was so lovely to find that there has been a good recovery commencing.

One of the first to return were Tree Ferns and three years later they were al growing well. Many of Australians flora are adapted to fire and some require fire or smoke for the seeds to germinate.

This is a classic Tree Fern frond curling photo.