Sunshine’s Macro Monday #13
Last week I promised Irene some water drops for Macro Monday. Last weeks bit of rain helped me fulfill my promise.
Category: durranbah
The Bushfire October 2019
Tuesday started well. The expected temperature was going to be in the high 30’s C after an very hot Monday 39C. It was then that the wind started to blow and blow with gusts of around 45kmph. The electricity went off at around 11:30am so I decided to go down to my shed and get on with some of the projects that I have on the go. After a while I decided I needed a drink of water, so I headed up to the house.
I grabbed a drink or two and checked my phone. I had a voice mail from the neighbour across the road telling me that the farmers up the road had seen the power lines fall and the wires crossed and the sparking started a fire in the already tinder dry bush.
The hot day and strong winds just set the fire racing through the bush luckily for me away from my place.
Later in the afternoon I looked to the sky and saw the plume of smoke which didn’t look all that far away. Then the helicopters and planes were heard as they water bombed the fires hopefully in the other side of the ridge. I did wonder why I didn’t hear much traffic on the Gwydir Highway. Checking on the web I found out that the highway was closed due to thick smoke from the fires.
That night I kept looking at the red glow in the sky. One time I went out I saw the red and blue flashing lights in the near distance going back and forth along the road. I realised that the Rural Fire Service volunteers were doing a back burn along the road which would protect the houses along my road if the fire came our way.
The next morning I decided to go and check on what had happened over night and make sure that things were safe. I also wanted to check on the old road marker on the old road that went from Grafton to Glen Innes on the tablelands. This has been there for many a year and being made of wood it is susceptible to burning. Every now and then I go over to the marker and make sure there isn’t any sticks or leaves against it.
While I was there I heard a rustle in the leaves and a skink scuttled past. A bush fire survivour.
Some old tree stumps have seen many a fire and this one has survived another.
While I was walking about I could hear trees dropping in the bush. Even what appears to be strong healthy trees can be felled by fire.
Further along the road the fire was blazing away on logs
I heard a vehicle come along the road and a Rural Fire Service 4WD came along. I think they noticed the logs still burning and hoped that they would send a crew to extinguish the flames.
That afternoon the smoke had become thicker, the helicopters were still buzzing in the air. This photo was at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Taken with my phone.
Another sleepless night as I kept an eye on the glow through the trees every now and then. The wind had dropped thankfully so I hoped the fire crews would be able to get ahead of the fire. The next morning there was still smoke in the atmosphere, helicopters constantly fly around but the wind wasn’t as strong as the past two days.
That afternoon it looked like clouds were building sending the promise of rain. This was the sky at 3 o’clock that afternoon.
The sun was obscured by the smoke and clouds and burned a dull orange.
Today, Friday, the morning started with light showers. By 1pm there was 1/2ml in my rain gauge and the helicopters started flying again. They stopped at around 4pm. At about 8pm there was a heavy down pour of rain so hopefully all will be well in the morning. So far the fire has burnt 2209 hectares
Thank you to all those people in the Rural Fire Service and other volunteers who have been working hard to ensure our little street was safe from fires.
I know what they have been through as I was a RFS volunteer years ago. At one stage the Deputy Captain of our local brigade and spent quite a number of days on the fire line in the heat and smoke. It is definitely a job for younger fitter people than me.
My place is to the right of the “y” in Jackadgery
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Tree Art
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Tree Art
The roots of a Strangler Fig
Insect made patterns on a Scribbly Gum
In the bush, someone is always watching
Spiders help make tree art
Wonderful zigzag patterns
Getting in close
The wondrous colours revealed when the bark strips off
and of course I had to revisit my own shadow tree art
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Secret
Debbies quotation inspired image photo challenge
“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know. “ Diane Arbus
I was in a quandary of which photo should I use. I quite like taking photos that aren’t quite right or in focus just to see the resulting image. The photo Debbie used set me on this path so for this post, I am using multiple images as I cannot decide on which one fits the best.
This was my first idea
But when I was looking for the above image I found this taken on the same day
Which made me think of some other images like this one
and this one
Perhaps I should have stopped at one as the photo challenge is quotation inspired IMAGE
What do you think? Should I have stopped at one? What is your interpretation of the images?
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A King Parrot – up close
Dilapidated Sheds
Silent Sunday 6 October
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Filling the frame
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #66: Filling the Frame
So many to pick from. So a taste of birds, flowers, objects and animals
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This is September 2019
What a month September was. A month of fear of fires, another month of not much rain, watching the dam level drop and not being able to water the garden with the last bit of water in case I needed the water in case a fire appeared. The fires were not close, over 40kms away from my place but the sky and atmosphere was choked with smoke. A few rainfalls during the month helped alleviate my concerns, topped up my water tanks so I have enough water for my household needs and I have been watering the pot plants around the verandahs and in the house with the tank water. I also use this water to put in the various bird baths around the house as well as other water containers for the animals that may pop in and need a drink.
The downside is I am watching a lot of my garden die. Some palms that provide lovely shade for my house have already lost their tops and the others are struggling. Most of the garden is Australian native plants and some, like the lilli pillis are not looking all that flash. The Wallabies and Possums are also eating some of the garden plants so I may have to put fences around gardens so the new shoots appearing now the weather is warming don’t get nibbled.
There are a few photos to get through, so maybe a cup of tea, coffee or glass of wine or beer, depending when you are reading, Sit back and I hope you enjoy a scroll through my September.
I have found a few photogenic animals on my travels. The horses have already had their post and some others have appeared already as well but I have to put this fluffy Donkey in again.
I love going past the dairy and seeing these beautiful cows.
It is never good to see one of these ants on the verandah. Their bite is quite painful for such a small insect.
I do enjoy finding a spiders web in the right light.
The start of Spring has a few butterflies appearing. The Caper White Butterflies are migratory and this one is one of the first to arrive.
Meadow Argus are enjoying the early Spring flowers on the Pittosporum. 
The Stingless Native Bees certainly loved the Rocket flowers.
As did the honey bees.
Flies are pollinators as well. This one was in a nursery we went to in Byron Bay. There were lots of other insects on the flowers too.
Saw this amazing flower but forgot to write down the name, sorry.
The Cacti were in bloom as well.
Yes it is a bud, a very weird hairy bud. Can you guess what flower may appear from this in my besties garden?
The yellow Poppy enjoyed the sunshine.
Here is the hairy buds flower, a red Poppy.
Spring brings out the Begonia flowers
And the Bottlebrush are starting to look fabulous at my besties but mine are having a hard time and the bushes haven’t looked like flowering yet.
Her Roses are looking wonderful. This one is a Double Delight just opening.
This Double Delight is open showing lovely delicate colours.
My White Fig tree is struggling a bit in the dry weather. The figs often drop their leaves at this time of year. The ground is covered in the yellow and orange leaves.
It also likes to show its true Aussie colours of Green and Gold
There are lots of birds around at the moment too. The Red-browed Firetails are cruising the grass eating the seeds
The Straw-necked Ibis are also wandering about looking for grubs in the paddocks.
I have a few Australian Ravens who have a walk about the garden looking for snacks.
We saw some Chestnut-breasted Mannikins down the road. They must have followed us home as later on I saw around 20 to 30 sitting in the fence.
The King Parrots are enjoying the last of the seeds in the Leopard Tree.
The Mistletoe Bird has wonderful red colours.
Remember the Willie Wagtails nest that was destroyed by something a month or so ago? Well they found a safe place and have raised three chicks. Only a mother could love a baby like this.
The Welcome Swallows have four chicks in two nests at my besties under the verandah. They are always hungry.
Some years, Welcome Swallows have two nestings. Here comes another feather to line the nest for the next lot of babies.
The Restless Flycatchers like to patrol the fence lines in the morning.
As the season was so bad I felt sorry for the birds and put a container of food out every now and then. The Currawongs tended to dominate but one morning a small flock of Satin Bowerbirds turned up. I have never seen so many bower birds together. These are females and juveniles. The male sat by and kept watch from a nearby branch.
A lot of the birds at my place are not hanging around the house as there isn’t much food in the garden. Normally the grevilleas are full of flowers but a lack of rain has seen a reduced number of grevillea flowers. There are a lot of birds down the lower part of my property at the waterhole. A Yellow-faced Honeyeater and a White-throated Honeyeater enjoy a drink together.
The little Striated Honeyeater just jumped straight into the bird bath.
Whereas the White-throated Honeyeater just dived straight in.
This is the first time I have seen a Little Friarbird and a Noisy Friarbird together.
A female Olive-backed Oriel came to the bird bath for the first time at my besties.
The Male shows why they are Olive-backed Oriels.
He doesn’t look to pleased to see me with my camera does he?
Everyone like the Australian Raven skipping down the hill last month. How about a Silver Gull dancing? 
AS I said, the sky was been choked with smoke from the fires. I couldn’t quite capture the red sun at sunset one afternoon
Other sunsets were quite orange.
or a blaze of yellow!
The smoke mixed with cloud made for some interesting shapes and spooky atmosphere.
Well here we are at the end. The grass seed heads made a lovely part of the afternoons walk. When I looked at the photo on the computer screen, there was, I think, a Grasshopper winging away for the night.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my September.
Also a contribution to Su’s The Changing Seasons
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