
Macro Monday – 27 March

This is number fourteen in my series looking at the life cycle of flowers. The original bulbs came from my old mate who used to live down the road. He was a wonderful gardener and was always giving me plants. He had a raised garden which was quite large full of Golden Lycras. When they bloomed it did look a treat. I scattered the bulb around my garden in around five or six garden beds instead of a mass planting. Now I have splashes of gold throughout my gardens in Autumn.
I’ll spoil you right at the start with one of the clumps of gold shining in the sun.
Before the plants get to that stage, the bulb sends a spear from the ground to greet the morning sun. Can you see the little one just poking its head out?
These have pushed out with one beginning flowering, while the other spear, the buds are starting to open. The ones from the above photo are in the lower right hand corner with the buds just forming
Each spear bursts open with several buds forming and soon all of these will be flowers
The buds push out and away from each other to give room for the flowers to get full advantage for growth.
Even before the flowers are fully open, the Stingless Native Bees start to gather pollen in their pollen sacs. These bees make a spiral shaped hive in the hollows of trees
The flowers open one by one so it seems that there is always a flower open while the other buds wait their turn
The gradual opening of the cluster of flowers
One flower opens while the others wait
I spent a bit of time seeing there were any other pollinators. I didn’t see any honey bees but a few Gold Bum Ants were inspecting the petals.
I am not sure about this fly. He seemed more intent on watching me than examining the flowers
Once most of the flowers have opened the Stingless Native Bees seemed to come from everywhere.
I am glad I was looking for insects on the flowers when I spotted a Jumping Ant whose bite is most painful. They may be small but it feels like a hot needle has been inserted into your skin and it stings for quite a while. To get around they jump as well as walk and are not just on the ground. I have been face to face with one so it was quite a way from the ground. They are also fearless and can summon a gang if needed
OK back to the Golden Lycra flowers
It is quite difficult to get a good macro. This is one of many attempts
After a while, the older flowers start to die, but there is always more to take their place
This cluster is one of the first to open and most of the flowers are starting to wilt while a new lot of flowers below are just starting to open. There is even a new bud in the background.
All but one flower have finally withered
In their finality the stalks with their bulbous seed heads carry the end of the flowers. I let these go to their end so they can put their stored energy back into the bulbs, ready to flower next year.
I hope you enjoyed the Life of a Golden Lycra flower. I don’t have anything planned for the next flower in the series as yet. Let’s see what pops up in the next few months.
Cee’s FOTD
Sunday Still: I’d #Rather Be…..
I’d rather be….
in the shade of a tree
I’d rather be….
beside the sea
I’d rather be….
drinking tea
I’d rather be….
having a corroboree
I’d rather be….
watching a bee
I’d rather be….
having a coffee
I’d rather be….
sitting in a gum tree
I’d rather be….
making whoopee
Want to be with me?
Lens-Artists Challenge: Spring
Spring. Well that was a few months ago now here. Now approaching Autumn, I say approaching as Summer is still hanging around with day time temperatures in the mid to high 30C’s
So it’s into the folders and find a few Spring photos which I hope you enjoy
The first buds of a Hippeastrum
A Stingless Native Bee and a European Bee discussing the qualities of a peach blossom
Here comes Mum with some more snacks for three hungry mouths
The Frangipannis buds just starting to unfold
What can be cuter than a little fluff ball chicken
The Hibiscus had lots of buds as Spring was a wet one last year
Lots of calves in the paddocks around the place
Fresh leaves appearing on the Eucalypts
New fur and almost ready to hop out of the pouch
Well it is spring
Cee’s FOTD
Bren’s Floral Friday
Yesterday I went for a drive to Jackadgery to get some milk from the only shop and petrol station close to my place. There’s not much there any more. We have a community hall, a bush fire brigade shed and the old school house. My girls started school there and we were a part of the school community as well. The school closed in 1995 or there abouts, as there wasn’t enough children attending (my girls had left many years before to go to high school) and the Government at the time was hell bent on ridding itself of schools like this as they weren’t financial for their liking.
One thing we did to the school grounds was to plant gardens. A lot of them have gone, like the sensory garden, but some of the hardier plants are still going.
I had forgotten about this lovely light pink Hibiscus. Of course I snapped off a branch to strike some cuttings.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome
This week I decided to do something a bit different. I love Paper daisies and when I converted one to Monochrome, I was unsure, so I did another.
Do you have a preference?
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #240: The Road (most often) Taken
John wrote “This week’s theme is metaphoric–and not about a physical road. For this week’s challenge, I want you to think of your favorite type or style of photography as the road you’ve chosen to take most often. For me, it’s landscape photography as it fits so well with my traveling soul. My examples are all landscapes, but I want to see in what style you like to photograph best.”
Where do I take this prompt without being over the top. I have been thinking about what to post and why, which I do find hard and this is why it has taken me a while to think about my photos and my road.
I am leaving this lot in a bunch so you don’t have to scroll forever 😂
Left to right, top to bottom.
Row 1 – My road to get home especially after going to the Raspberry Lookout & photographing Paper Daisies
Row 2 – Flowers one of my favourite things to photograph as well the birds around my place The little Yellow Robin is a lot of peoples favourite as well as the colourful parrots like this Eastern Rosella
Row 3 – More birds, Blue-faced Honeyeater and Rainbow Lorikeet who enjoy snacking on Bottlebrush flowers and Rainbow Bee Eaters looking splendid on the branches of a dead tree
Row 4 – Of course there has to be insects and a bit of macro. A Scarlet Jezebel Butterfly in a Honey Gem Grevillea, a Native bee my favourite name, Teddy Bear Bee and a Native Stingless Bee flying into a Day Lily
Row 5 – More Macro A close up of a Scarlet Jezebel Butterfly, Tree Fern frond about to uncurl and another favourite to try to get, water drops.
Some new things I have been doing over the past couple of years which is a lot of fun.
Of course my water abstracts I create for Jez’s Water Water Everywhere
There is always a face to find for Monday Portrait. Cattle seem to be a lot of peoples favourites
Dipping in and out of Monochrome
Creating for Silent Sunday where I have been using photos of churches or religious items
There’s nothing worse that flying all the way from the hive to your favourite Blue Ginger flower only to find a huge blockage of a Teddy Bear Bee filling its pollen sacs
The little Stingless Native Bee flying in is about 10mm in length. The pollen sacs in his rear legs are empty so it will off to find another flower.
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