Everyone who contributes their good and not so good photos has fun I hope. I enjoy seeing your photos. Thanks to those being brave enough to show everyone your last photo or photos from your phone and camera. It doesn’t have to be on the very last day of the month if you didn’t take any photos. Maybe it was earlier in the month when the last photo was taken.
So let’s see what you have for May 2023
The rules are simple: 1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 3ist may or whenever your last photo was taken. 2. No editing – who cares if it is out of focus, not framed as you would like or the subject matter didn’t cooperate. 3. You don’t have to have any explanations, just the photo will do 4. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments 5. Use the tags The Last Photo and #LastOnTheCard
Here’s mine. Last month an unintentional floral theme, this month, an insect leaning.
Well May was the absolute turn around in weather. From a very warm Autumn to Winter conditions arriving in the last month of Autumn. My daughter and her partner came out and we went bush and cut a good trailer load of firewood. Luckily found a couple of good logs, one was blocking the track and the other was one that had fallen after the fires in December 2019. There are a lot of tree that are down so I might have a good selection this winter.
That was the first May that I can remember putting the flannelette sheets on the bed and lighting the fire. The days are in the mid to low 20’sC but the nights are into the low single figures. Last night was 3C and today was 25C. May is also the time for some birds to drop in to have a feed and look around. More of that later.
I went to the State Landcare Gathering in Coffs Harbour, a beach town down the coast from here. It was a good gathering and I enjoyed seeing a lot of people from around the state I only get to see at conferences like this.
This song is a bit long so maybe listen to a bit while you have a look at my May
As I mentioned, I went to Coffs Harbour for the State Landcare Gathering. I was hoping to get some sunrise over the sea photos. Defeated by cloud each morning
Nearby was a little creek that offered some photo opportunities.
I saw a couple of ducks feeding and having a paddle. Until I looked at the photo I didn’t notice the Eastern Water Dragon. Did you?
Back home. An Eastern Yellow Robin contemplates a bath. It has been quite cold at night but the days warm.
Looks like he went in
A wonderful song that has been ringing out lately in the high canopy has been from the Golden Whistlers. They are here on and off but are here in May.
Silver-eyes have been dropping in as the flocks move north
A regular May visitor is the Rose Robin. Isn’t that blush of pink delightful on the male
The female Rose Robin checking out the verandah for snacks. She only has a light dusting of pink.
Another drop in was a Brown Pigeon. They sporadically call in to give the garden the once over
I never know when Crimson Rosellas will turn up. They don’t squawk and carry on as most of the other parrots do. Mostly I hear their quiet chatter among themselves
One morning I looked out of the kitchen window and saw this Grey-crowned Babbler. It looked like a young one and was by itself, which is very unusual, as Babblers are family birds. I can only guess is that it is a male and they have said it’s time to leave the nest. He hopped about for a while out front, flicking over leaves and probing Bandicoot snuffle holes. I saw him again yesterday and he almost hopped onto the verandah.
The little Red-backed Fairy Wrens are always hopping around the garden eating insects and seeds. This is a female called a Jenny wren
Another Jenny wren. This time a Variegated Fairy Wren enjoying a nectar drink from a Honey Gem Grevillea
The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are one of dominant garden birds. They are small but will have a go at most other honeyeaters to protect their patch. They also are one of the alarm birds. They have a “look out there’s something about” call that is distinctive. I know it well as they do it when I walk off the verandah. This one is enjoying the morning sun.
One of the “victims” is the Brown Honeyeater who is smaller than a Yellow-faced and has to zip in and grab a drink before they get noticed
The Eastern Whipbird is notoriously shy. They come into the garden a couple of times a week for a feed and let off a few whips which is so great to hear.
The ever present Laughing Kookaburra. They are not shy and will sit on a branch for ages keeping a look out for anything that moves – lizards, skinks, frogs, grasshoppers or basically most things. They will even grab a snake. Once in its bill, the Kookaburra just smashes it against the branch until it doesn’t move any more
As always, Tiny the King Parrot is keeping an eye on me
It is so hard to capture the actual colour of this Bottlebrush. The Bottlebrush trees have a had a second flowering, maybe it was the warm wet April tricked them into thinking it is Spring
The Camellia had a great flowering this year although I didn’t see the flowers until after a lot had already gone
I love this plant. It was called “The Pink Thing” from a good friend ages a go. Last year was the year the bushes took off and this year they are full of these tubular bell shaped flowers
One of my passions is growing Begonia Rex, any of numerous usually rhizomatous hybrid begonias from an East Indian plant. They have rough-textured leaves patterned in silver and bronze and purple and so many other colours. I grew this plant from a leaf a few years ago. It outgrew its pot so I re-potted it to a lovely but heavy pot and put it on the verandah, where it is thriving. I love the little buds.
Most of the Begonias are grown for their lovely patterned leaves and the flowers are small delicate bonuses. These are different flowers to all the other plants I have.
As I said, Begonias are grown for their leaves. My hand is under there with fingers spread.
The Hibiscus are having a great flowering too. All of the Miniature Red Hibiscus bushes have been covered in flowers since Spring last year.
This pink variety has never had so many flowers
The white Hydrangea is still in it’s pot on the verandah. It will go into the ground maybe this Spring or this time next year depends on how well it grows over Winter
This is the second flower and there’s new new leaves budding up so it looks like it will be happy to stay on the verandah for winter
I planted a number of Gazanias and was surprised when I found a white one
I just love the colour of this Salvia
Last Macro Monday I posted a close-up view of these yellow roses in the Cathedrals garden. Even in the shade, they just stood out
Here is a Gazania parade. Don’t the colours and stripes remind you of a circus tent?
The pink/mauve/purple petals are held on with little shiny buttons
A couple of days ago a plain but vivid yellow Gazania appeared
The tiny Stingless Native Bees enjoy the nectar and pollen that the Gazania flower gives
I went for a drive to see what’s been happening in the neighbourhood. I haven’t stopped at the old wagon for a while. It’s slowly falling apart. My Grandfather would be aghast. He was a Wheelwright.
Late one afternoon I was walking around and I saw a Red-necked Wallaby so I stood still to see where she was going. After a minute a little Joey appeared from the front garden. By the look of it, she has another Joey in her pouch. They sat and looked around then headed off.
The Moon was quite fabulous through the month. I love the crater bumps around the edge
One afternoon sunset, the Moon was bathed in soft pinks and blue
It’s time to get going. As usual, did you have a favourite photo?
About The Changing Seasons
The Changing Seasons is a monthly project where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. We all approach this slightly differently, though generally with an emphasis on the photos we’ve taken during the month.
For many of us, looking back over these photos provides the structure and narrative of our post, so each month is different. Some focus on documenting the changes in a particular project — such as a garden, an art or craft project, or a photographic diary of a familiar landscape.
But in the end, it is your changing season, and you should approach it however works for you.
There are no fixed rules around post length or photo number — just a request that you respect your readers’ time and engagement.
Tags and ping-backs
Tag your photos with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them
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Last time I posted a Bird of the Week, I showed you the Wedged-tailed Eagle which is the largest Eagle. This time it’s time to get small, the smallest Honeyeater.
“Scarlet Honeyeaters live on the east coast of Australia but are less common south of Sydney. They prefers open forests and woodlands with a sparse understorey.” This sentence describes my place
“Although they mainly prefer foraging for blossom in the tops of mature Turpentine, Melaleuca and Pittosporum trees, the Scarlet Honeyeater will drop down to ground level to drink from your birdbath and feast on the blossoms of smaller bushes.” A Scarlet Honeyeater on a Pink Euodia flower in my garden.
Being small, they are ever vigilant as they are often chased out of food trees by larger Honeyeaters such as the Blue-faced Honeyeater or Noisy Friarbirds.
The Scarlet Honeyeater feeds mainly on nectar and sometimes on fruit and insects, here enjoying the nectar of a Lilli Pilli
I wonder if it is difficult to drink up-side-down
Scarlet Honeyeaters are like a red jewel as they flash through my garden. I love having them here Enjoy a very crappy video, probably one of the first I tried to record.
Paula’s words are always interesting. I like how this month all her photos are black and white. Maybe next month I might throw in some monochromes. These words sent me down my usual nature trail with a few others who pop into my posts every now and then.
This quite easy for me. It’s a bit a walk if I feel like a bit of exercise. The only trouble is I get side tracked when on foot. There is always something to take a photo of or a weed to be pulled out so driving in Old Smoky is the best option. Plus we could get some firewood or collect rocks for the garden.
In the lower end of my place is where Frenchmans Creek begins. All the gullies that run from the ridge where the road runs, contribute water. One of they gullies that begins in my neighbours place runs into my place, trickles over some rocks and into a waterhole. This waterhole has never run dry in the whole time I have lived here.
It’s a lovely place to sit – making sure there’s not a Bullant nest nearby or you could scare the birds. They are quite aware that something is different, as you can see.
After a while there will be a small flock turn up. I was amazed at how well this White-naped Honeyeater could hang on upside-down
The Fuscous Honeyeaters were a bit more cautious.
Yes, even Mr Whatareyoudoinghere, relaxed and really got stuck in
In a very big tree, a pair of Powerful Owls lived. It would be a good feeding spot as at night a lot of animals would have come to have a drink, not knowing their possible fate. Hearing them call in the bush at night is wonderful
The other place of peace is the Raspberry Lookout which is about a one and a half hour drive up the mountains. A picnic, walk around and feel the serenity
Farm animals. Gosh I have lots and always share mainly on Monday Portrait So this time I am heading down a different path to what may be the face of a modern farm.
“Yes, they chose pink for me as I am the prettiest chook in the show.” “I don’t mind have a bit of a make-over as it’s just for a bit of fun for the kids plus it is a good promotion for the Rainbow Farm”
“I am stuck with green. Boy do the others have a good laugh!” “Like how come you have lettuce instead of feathers? Do you lay Brussel Sprouts?” “I’ll be glad when I get home and get a wash”
“This is madness!!!” “You have to get me out of here!!” “I keep seeing these weird looking chickens!!”
“I don’t see what his problem is.” “Do you?”
OK, you talked me into it. Here’s a bit of cute to finish
Not done a walk yet for Jo, but yesterday I did have a roam around South Grafton waiting for my car air-conditioning to be serviced. I guessed it was about time as I hadn’t had the cars air conditioner touched since I bought my ute in 2007. It does get a good work out in Summer living here.
I dropped the car off and headed off to a nearby cafe for a coffee and to think about where to go for the morning while waiting. The cafe I was in was one I used to part own many years ago. One event that we put on was a Music Cafe on a Friday night. Local musicians would put their name on a blackboard, younger readers can ask their parents, and the food was a set small menu so it was affordable and fun for us too. It is good to see the new owner bring the Music Cafe back.
I walked up the road to the river to see if there was any water action happening. Above me I could hear this bit of soft chatter. Looking up I saw two Little Corellas sitting very close, warming in the morning sun. It is a pity one turned around as they looked a sweet couple together in the tree. Little Corellas are typical parrots and will partner for life.
This is looking upstream at Susan Island in the middle of the Clarence River. I have been on Susan Island but only allowed a short distance from the end you can see, into the islands vegetation. Most of the island is a Womans Place. One thing I do know is there is a very old fig tree which is known as the Birthing Tree.
Heading to the bridge, I walked over the eastern side to see how the new bridge looks from this side. There wasn’t as much traffic as I would have thought for the time of day. The old bridge was a constant rumble over head.
I considered crossing the bridge but then decided that I haven’t really looked around this side of town. I headed down to the railway station. The Grafton Bridge is rather unique as it is a double deck bridge. The lower level is where the train line runs and the upper deck is the road. The walkways are level with the train line.
A sorry thing is that there has been a demise of rail networks throughout the whole of Australia. This is at the side of the station where busses park. These busses take passengers to where the track no longer is usable or has been removed. Some have become rail trails. The bus looks like it has taken a bit of a hit. Good on the repair shop having an almost matching colour duct tape. While I was there I asked what time the next train was due. It was forty minutes and I didn’t feel like hanging around. The station has been modernised and no longer has that charm I remember.
I had to walk back the way I came as the road I would have to cross is very busy and is only for the very brave or foolish. Anyway there was a few things I spotted walking back that I didn’t really notice before. How could I miss a bit of my favourites – rust.
I can’t help myself getting a perspective photo when I am on the bridge
I had to walk under the bridge and there has been a bit of street art around. I liked this one
This one made me laugh
This more than a photo fetish – perspective and rust, there is a story. Remember that the train was going to be a long time coming. In order to get this I had to reach above my head and try to get it right. My camera has a flip screen that can rotate 360 degrees. The original photo was crooked I have straightened it as I could hear the train coming.
I had no chance but to just shoot without doing anything else. As you can see I had to lighten the photo otherwise the train was too dark. I am lucky I was at the start of the walkway and didn’t have any pillars in front of me So here’s one for our resident trainspotter Martin at Images from Finchley. I guess this is the 2014 from Casino to Sydney XPT
On the way back I went through a little kids park. That’s over at Terri’s Sunday Stills if you want to have a look. All looked quite in the fire station. They had a big training exercise on the weekend. That’s why the hoses are hanging out to dry.
Of course I spot the wildlife no matter where I am. I used to watch the Square-tailed Kites hunt around town. My office was on the riverbank in Grafton with a view over the river. That’s right, it was hard to take. They sometimes work in pairs and swoop the bridge, scattering the hundreds of pigeons that sit there all day and night, and then dive into the confused flock of pigeons.
This is one of the Councils garden beds they have on the roadside at the entrance to the bridge from the south side.
While I was taking photos tramping around in the garden bed, my phone ran to say my car was ready. Thanks for coming a long.
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