Wordless Wednesday
Tag: blue banded bee
In My Garden
The Ragtag Daily Prompt for Tuesday: Garden
Have a quick wander about my garden.
Blue-banded Bees like dropping in
When the pink Crocus flowers the Stingless Native Bees all come around
One of the wheelbarrow gardens with Hippeastrums
The Frangipanni flowers scent fills the air
The Bromiliads flower too
One of my favourite flowers – Cats Whiskers
The Dietis look great buit trhey are taking over in places in the garden
One of the many Hibiscus flowers
The Agapanthus put on a show around the garden borders
The garden is a place to relax
Even Long-necked Tortoise stroll through heading to the dam
Every now and then when working in the garden, I surprise a frog. The Broad-palmed Frog took a while to wake before hopping off
Lots of Bottlebrush flowers
The Pelagoniums add colour
There is always help in the garden
So many Grevilleas too
The Native Wisteria winds its way among the foliage
Always wear gloves and shoes as you never know who you might disturb. The Mouse Spider was rather fiesty
The Bullants let you know if you are getting too close to their nest
Every now and then another variety of fungus appears
The garden is a lovely place to raise a family
The fruit trees look wonderful in Spring
and of course the garden is home to lots and lots of birds from the smallest Honeyeater, the Scarlet Honeyeater
to the larger birds like the Satin Bowerbirds
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A bit of blue
The word prompt from Debbie at Travel with Intent: Blue
Here is a bit of Blue from my world
Tiny Native Flowers
Blue Triangle Butterfly
More butterflies. This time a Butterfly Bush flower
A double blue, a Blue Ginger with a Blue-banded Bee
Blue Figs, the fruit from a Quandong Tree (Elaeocarpus angustifolius for those playing along at home)
The lovely Blue-faced Honeyeater
A delightful Superb Fairy Wren
And the blue of blue………..
The featured image – a Blue Tiger Butterfly
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This is December 2018
First of all, thanks to everyone who has been part of my life this year. I have enjoyed sharing my part of this world with you. Your comments and feedback has been quite overwhelming at times. I take photos because I enjoy the results I achieve. I have a basic Canon PowerShot SX60HS which takes great macros, amazing telephotos and does everything I could ask, except focus where I want sometimes. Even then the capture can be a photo that goes into my Arty Ones folder. Some of those are posted in a recent photo challenge – Abstract.
On to December. This month was taken up in part with Becky’s great square format photo challenge #timesquare The featured image is one of the photos from Beckys challenge. Sometime last year I made a suggestion for the challenge which I cannot remember.
I have tried to cut down the number of photos but again it may be a bit of long read, so a drink, perhaps a snack may be in order. All settled back and ready. Join me in looking at This is December 2018
Sunrise is always a good place to start
The wind blew the grass seed heads
One morning, the tiny Line-blue Butterflies were all over the grass area while we were having breakfast. They loved the clover flowers.
A Blue-banded Bee made a morning ritual of visiting the Chinese Lantern flowers. I never was ready to get that photo.
A delicate flowering plant we were told was called Herb Robert. A lovely flower and bud.
A Mistletoe Bird was a visitor for a few days
After the demise of the terracotta bird bath, a tempory replacement was found. A Rainbow Lorikeet looks unsure.
Since the hatching of the Brown Honeyeaters, they have stayed around the garden. This is one of their favourite sitting places in the morning.
Luckily one of the Grevilleas is flowering for them.
I love it when you can see our Moon during the day.
Many people call Dandelions weeds. The flowers add a great splash of colour in the garden.
The Bees love the flowers too. Look at how much pollen has been gathered into the bees pollen sacs.
I think it is wonderful.
A Pumpkin display at the markets. So many varieties to choose from.
This van belongs to one of the market stall holders at The Channon markets. I would love this van.
Now Summer is here and it is hot and dry, the birds have to share the bird bath.
Coming in for a landing
“I made it safely….so what are you looking at?”
The Brown Honeyeaters. An adult and one of the young ones. Always look up to your elders.
This is my bird bath the Magpie Lark (or better known as Pee Wee) is telling everyone.
A spot of grub hunting has paid off.
The Cape Chestnut Tree at The Channon Market was in full bloom.
Now for a couple of native flowers I found at my daughters place. I looked in my books to try and identify so I could tell you their names, but wasn’t successful. I will have to ask an ecologist who said I could send him photos and he would try to tell me their names. Isn’t this one pretty?
Like the above flower, most native flowers are quite small. The one above was about 10 to 15mm from petal tip to petal tip. This little flower is about 5mms
Another tiny flower with an amazing structure
Such a delicate ball of even smaller flowers. Each ball is around 10-15mm in diameter.
The Stingless Native Bees just love the native flowers. The flower seems huge compared to the bee
The start of Summer. The Frangipanni flowers around the garden are stating to emerge.
I love the soft pink and yellow of this Frangipanni flower which has a heavenly fragrance.
The pinks and yellows of this one are much more stronger.
The Pink Frangipanni is stunning.
This Poinciana tree I see on the way home was the best I have seen.
The tiny flowers of one of the Tea Trees I have in my garden is waiting for the bees.
This year, my Agapanthus flowers were the best flowering ever. All through the garden was spots of white and blue
One of the blues.
The tree Begonia decided to have another flowering this December.
I have a number of Datura Erecta plants around the garden. The berries looked lovely one morning. I think they may be poisonous as nothing seem to eat them.
If anyone would, it would be a Fig Bird, seen here keeping an eye on me as I walked about.
The King Parrots are starting to want some food as a couple of people who fed them in the street have since moved on. I give them a small amount of wild bird mix occasionally. Actually I hadn’t been home for a couple of days and this bloke came to the verandah and whistled to get my attention
A migratory visitor to my place are Leaden Flycatchers, This female was scouting the verandah for a snack. Yes a photo taken while I was inside at my desk.
One afternoon as I drove through the front gates, a Forest Kingfisher swooped in front of me and sat in the tree, almost like a welcome home.
The Australian Air force is saying goodbye to the fleet of Orions. One of the planes is going to an Air Museum at Evans Head. It flew into Lismore. This was taken from my besties backyard.
The old swimming pool, which is now a frog pond of sorts, is host to so many water insects and frogs. One of the frog species in the pool is the Perons Tree Frog. I think this may be one just emerging from tadpole to frog.
I am unsure who these beastly looking gang are. Hopefully are dragonflies.
Christmas is always a wonderful time in December. I wasn’t in a Christmas mood this year. My bestie had some decorations at her place. An op-shop angel and some lights looked great.
An Australian Lilli Pilli tree in the corner with some little lights mad the room look bright.
The Full Moon, just before Christmas Day was big and bright.
One of the photo challenges was Abstract – see the opening words – I didn’t include this Moon photo as I thought it was rather special and needed to be in my monthly wrap-up post.
I didn’t have my tripod so just had to have a go hand held. At least one turned out OK lol
Summer arrives and the plants start to thrive so along come the Grasshoppers to have a snack. This one likes Basil….or used to.
Another little Grasshopper from my daughters place. Her garden hasn’t been attacked yet.
The Ponytail Palm has so many flowers, the bees don’t know where to begin. I walked outside and the buzzing was quite loud I looked up and the flower spikes were full of bees.
The Blue-banded bee I couldn’t get in the Chinese Lantern Flower didn’t escape my attention as it buzzed about the Basil flowers.
The Hover Fly loved the garden too
The Palm Trees, the water and the ripples
Late afternoon looking from my besties verandah across the paddocks
The December sun is almost set.
Goodbye December and 2018.
Thanks for being a part of my world. I hope to see you again in 2019.
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Happiness is….
The photo challenge #22 from Ann-Christine at the Lens-Artists: Happiness is…
So many things to explore with happiness is.
Among other things, I get great pleasure from nature. Happiness is sitting down and watching the world drift past, from the big to the small. Hope this post can bring a bit of happiness into your day.
A Blue-banded Bee scrunching into a Blue Ginger flower always makes me smile
Stingless native Bees whizzing about with full pollen sacs are a joy
A Blue-banded Bee getting a look at me too
Finally finding a Blue Triangle Butterfly was a happy moment
Having the Caper White Butterflies come into my garden on their migration is lovely
The Black Jezabel is usually high in the canopy and when they come down for a visit I smile
Orchard Swallowtails are large butterflies who make the garden their home
Figbirds song is always a welcome sound around the garden
A cacophony of sound and colour means the Rainbow Lorikeets are here
Even a female Satin Bowerbird snacking on a bunch of bananas is something special
A Whipbird calling in the forest is a sound of delight
Having birds nest and raise their young close to the house is happiness
Or a Hornet building her nest on the wall is nice
Finding a spiders web in the morning with the dew shining like gems makes me happy
as is finding an Hyacinth Orchid for the first time in the forest around the house – elation
I hope you enjoyed my Happiness is…….
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Blue
The word prompt from Debbie at Travel with Intent: Blue
A pile of Blue Figs from a Quandong Tree
A Superb Fairy Wren looking down
The Blue-faced Honeyeater and a Bottlebrush
The wonderful Blue Triangle Butterfly
A Blue-banded Bee buzzes past
The clouds are dark and stormy
The blue hour
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Pink #3
My third photo for Becky’s square photo challenge: In the Pink
The Pink Pentas and a Blue-banded Bee. Always tickled pink when I get a photo of a Blue-banded Bee. Actually I call them Blue Bummed Bees.
If you want to join in here are a few ideas from Becky.
The theme for squares this month is ‘In the Pink‘ and the one rule as always is that your main photograph must be square. After that the world is your oyster, or should I say flamingo?! To help you get started here are some ideas you might want to consider;
- ‘In the Pink’ – means perfect condition or in good health, so that could be human or not!
- ‘Tickled Pink‘ – means delighted, so I’m thinking happy, fun and of course delighted. That could be you or the subject of your photograph.
- Pink – you can of course simply share anything that is coloured pink
- There is an extra challenge for those of you up for it – can you manage to combine two of these, or maybe even all three?
Squares is a daily challenge, so your photographs can be from the archives or brand new. Don’t forget though to keep your photo square, and to pingback with #InthePink.
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The Blue-banded Bee
I can’t remember the last after and before photo challenge I participated in. I enjoy converting photos and when a Blue-banded Bee is looking for nectar I have to wander around the garden chasing bees
The Blue-banded Bee and the Blue Ginger.
I wondered what the photo would look like with a bit of selective colour
Pop into Lost in Translation: After and Before to see more great photos.
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This was June
It has taken me ages to sort through the photos that I took in June. Luckily I took out the photos of birds that I encountered and put them in this blog. I was surprised at some of the subjects that I managed to capture as it is Winter here which is normally a bit dry but we have had a rather wet Autumn. I am wondering where to start as I have quite a number of photos so maybe I will get going with some of the old bits and pieces I came across in June. The photos are at my place unless otherwise stated.
When I visited a neighbour, I had to stop and photograph the old farm stuff they have near their front gate. I think this is a horse drawn stick rake.
The old cart has seen better days. My Grandfather was a Wheel Wright and I reckon he would love to have a go at restoring this cart.
As you know, I love rust, the colours and the shapes that make the metal into an art work.
The chains and hook are a wonderful knot of rust.
This old pulley is hanging on the besties verandah. It may have been part of the old dairy that used to be on her place years ago.
I love the tiny water drops in the spiders webs from the misty rain.
The rain has put water drops on the flowers in pots on her verandah.
The Zygote Cactus water drops seem to be able to defy gravity
Even the spiders web caught a water drop or two.
The spiders web in the Red Ironbark had a golden glow. The Red Ironbarks are majestic trees on my place.
The rain drops on the spiders web in the grass looked like jewels.
Moss and lichen are other favourites of mine to photograph. A lovely green on the Bloodwood tree.
The wonderful coloured red sap from the Red Ironbark oozes from fissures in the bark.
The Tuckeroos are in flower and the trees are full of these tiny flowers.
The trees were abuzz with the sounds of bees and insects.
I am not sure if this is a bee or a wasp.
The bees certainly have to scrunch to get to the pollen and nectar.
I didn’t notice the red eye on this insect until I down loaded the photos.
The Blue-banded Bees were still hanging around the Pentas. I love their blue bums.
They hardly sit still and this bee looks like he hasn’t any wings.
Down on the forest floor, I was trying to get the right angle for a photo of the fungi when along came this fellow. I love the colours of the fungi. The reds are very striking to see. just little red dots on the ground.
I found this bunch of fungi during a Landcare visit to a site in Tucabia emerging from the mulch.
In the rainforest on my besties place I always come across fungi growing on the fallen trees. This is the first time I have seen this wood fungi which went the length of the log. Amazing colour isn’t it?
This wood fungi was on the end of a log nearby. Such a contrast in colour from the fungi above.
I found this little Stink Horn Fungus walking down the driveway at her place. I think I was stalking the Brush Turkey trying to get a photo of him on the mound he built.
Isn’t the yellow of this fungi just lovely? And it even curled its edge to show me its frill.
The Gold Top mushrooms are everywhere at the moment on my place.
I love looking under the fungi to see the frills which have a fascinating shape and texture.
Growing on a log in the forest, the mix of moss with its seed pods and the fungi looked like a tiny elfin garden.
The Bromiliads in my besties garden are flowering but mine haven’t as yet. The mix of colours on this flower is just right.
The Matchstick Bromiliad flower is different.
This is me being a bit artistic with the hanging Hibiscus flower.
I can’t remember what this vine flower is called but it certainly caught my eye in my besties garden. I love the curly tendril as well.
Looking deep inside the flower, it almost looks like it is exploding outwards.
The Banksia flower in the afternoon sun.
My neighbour has a wheelbarrow full of these Pancake cactus. They are becoming one of my favourite cacti.
When I was watering some pot plants on the front verandah, out popped the little Broad-palmed Frog.
Isn’t it one of the cutest frogs you have ever seen?
At the Landcare walk at Tucabia you know I couldn’t resist chasing a butterfly. The Large Grass Yellow was feeding on a Farmers Friend or Cobblers Peg plant.
The Orange Palm Dart butterfly just happened to sit on a leaf while I was stalking a bird in my besties garden. What wonderful colours
The Orange Palm Dart was very co-operative in getting its photo taken.
In Winter, you have to be careful when you go to the wood pile. You never know who is getting the warmth of the afternoon sun. Luckily I saw this small Red-bellied Black Snake
Well the sun is setting so I better get off and do stuff. Hope you enjoyed the things I found in June.
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Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Anything that Flies
So many subjects to chose from but the Blue-banded Bee is one of my favourites
See more photos in Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge
