fly

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.
donky_furry_named_lismore_sept 2019
I love going past the dairy and seeing these beautiful cows. cow_dairy_named_kyogle_sept 2019
It is never good to see one of these ants on the verandah. Their bite is quite painful for such a small insect. ant_verandah_named_caniaba_sept 2019
I do enjoy finding a spiders web in the right light. spider_web_small_named_caniaba_sept 2019
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. butterfly_caper_white_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Meadow Argus are enjoying the early Spring flowers on the Pittosporum. butterfly_meadow_argus_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
The Stingless Native Bees certainly loved the Rocket flowers. bee_stingless_native_flower_rocket_named_caniaba_sept_2019
As did the honey bees. bee_flower_rocket_named_caniaba_sept_2019
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. fly_insect_flower_nursery_named_byron_bay_sept 2019
Saw this amazing flower but forgot to write down the name, sorry. flower_petals_nursery_named_byron_bay_sept 2019
The Cacti were in bloom as well. flower_pink_cacti_nursery_named_byron_bay_sept 2019
Yes it is a bud, a very weird hairy bud. Can you guess what flower may appear from this in my besties garden? poppy_flower_bud_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The yellow Poppy enjoyed the sunshine. flower_poppy_yellow_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Here is the hairy buds flower, a red Poppy. flower_poppy_red_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Spring brings out the Begonia flowers flower_begonia_verandah_named_caniaba_sept 2019
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. bottlebrush_flower_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Her Roses are looking wonderful. This one is a Double Delight just opening. flower_rose_double_delight1_named_caniaba_sept 2019
This Double Delight is open showing lovely delicate colours. flower_rose_double_delight2_named_caniaba_sept 2019
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. leaves_white_fig_colours_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
It also likes to show its true Aussie colours of Green and Gold leaves_white_fig_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019

There are lots of birds around at the moment too. The Red-browed Firetails are cruising the grass eating the seeds
red_browed_firetail_finch_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The Straw-necked Ibis are also wandering about looking for grubs in the paddocks. straw-necked ibis_ named_caniaba_sept 2019
I have a few Australian Ravens who have a walk about the garden looking for snacks. australian_raven_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019

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.
chestnut_brewasted_mannikins_fence_named_caniaba_sept_2019
The King Parrots are enjoying the last of the seeds in the Leopard Tree. king_parrot_garden_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019

The Mistletoe Bird has wonderful red colours.
mistletoe_bird_named_caniaba_sept 2019
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. willie_wagtail_chick_nest_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The Welcome Swallows have four chicks in two nests at my besties under the verandah. They are always hungry. welcome_swallows_chicks_feeding_named_caniaba_sept_2019
Some years, Welcome Swallows have two nestings. Here comes another feather to line the nest for the next lot of babies. welcome swallow_feather_nest_named_caniaba_sept 2019

The Restless Flycatchers like to patrol the fence lines in the morning. satin_flycatcher_fence_named_caniaba_sept 2019
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. satin_bowerbirds_verandah_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
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. waterhole_drinking_yellow_faced_honeyeater_white_throated_honeyeater_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
The little Striated Honeyeater just jumped straight into the bird bath. striated_thornbill_bird_bath_diving_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Whereas the White-throated Honeyeater just dived straight in. white-throated honeyeater_bird_bath_diving_named_caniaba_sept 2019
This is the first time I have seen a Little Friarbird and a Noisy Friarbird together. friarbirds_noisy_little_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
A female Olive-backed Oriel came to the bird bath for the first time at my besties. olive-backed oriel_female_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The Male shows why they are Olive-backed Oriels. olive-backed oriel_back_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
He doesn’t look to pleased to see me with my camera does he? olive-backed oriel_looking_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Everyone like the Australian Raven skipping down the hill last month. How about a Silver Gull dancing? gull_dance_named_brunswick_heads_sept 2019
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 sun_red_named_jackadgery_sept 2019
Other sunsets were quite orange. sunset_red_named_caniaba_sept 2019
or a blaze of yellow! sunset_fires_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The smoke mixed with cloud made for some interesting shapes and spooky atmosphere. sunset_fires_orange_named_caniaba_sept 2019
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. sunsegrass_seeds_insect_named_caniaba_sept 2019

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my September.

Also a contribution to Su’s The Changing Seasons

The fly

Published on September 9, 2019 by bushboy25 Comments

It’s time for Macro Monday with Irene with Sunshine’s Macro Monday – 8

fly_named_home_march 2017

Published on July 21, 2019July 21, 2019 by bushboy2 Comments

The word prompt for Debbie’s One Word Sunday: Fly

We look at the word fly
What do we see
Of course I see a fly
Sitting on my arm
Ready to bite

Or is it
A spider and a fly
caught in the web
Buzzing, thrashing
Awaiting the inevitable

Or perhaps a butterfly
Sitting upon a leaf
Resting after a long flight
Showing it’s splendor
Enjoying the Sun

Maybe a Dragonfly
Looking about
Watching the camera
To ensure a capture
Of its good side

But it is always
a Fly that keeps
Coming back to the thoughts
When Fly is mentioned
Some doing laps of a jug

But Butterfly is the best
Resplendent in colour
As it sits atop a flower
Drinking the nectare
In The morning sun
But no
It is always a fly
A large horsefly
Buzzing around waiting
To find a place to bite
Who could dislike
Those splendid features
Eyes that can see
In multiple facets
A proboscis ready to draw blood

But some may venture
Further afield
And wish to fly
To be aloft
ready to explore
I seem to think of birds
There are many a bird
Who will invoke the fly
A Leaden Flycatcher
Will make you think Fly
Soaring above
The sky it’s domain
A Square-tailed Kite
Showing us the wonder
Of being able to fly

But for most of us
When we see the word
Fly
It is mostly the humble
Little creature – The Fly

It’s all about wings

Published on July 15, 2019 by bushboy14 Comments

This week on Sunday Stills, Terri has prompted with Creatures and Critters with #Wings

What a theme. I did stop eventually so here is my selection
The Bees

The Birds

The Dragonflies and Damselflies

The Butterflies

The Flies

A Cicada

and this bloke

Yellow

Published on May 7, 2019 by bushboy23 Comments

Sue’s Weekly Photo Challenge word prompt: Yellow

Let’s have an avalanche of yellow. So many yellows.
Some with a surprise inside

A native flower that is everywhere on my place
I had to have a Yellow Buterfly

Some Australian native plants have amazing yellow flowers

Gazania flowers burst yellow

Lovely yellow of a Zinnia

Yellow-faced Honeyeater outside of my window

A fly with a yellow face
The beauty of a yellow Rose

The fabulous yellow of a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Zipping around the garden Yellow Dragonflies are jewels
and of course the wonderful Eastern Yellow Robin

This is April 2019

Published on May 2, 2019May 1, 2019 by bushboy15 Comments

Well hello and welcome to my world in April. What started out as an uninspired photography month suddenly came alive at the end. I was thinking that I would have to tell you that a quick flick and scroll was all that was needed earlier in April. I have included a number of photos of the same subject as I couldn’t pick the one that satisfied my desire to give you something that was a wow or hmmmm that’s interesting.

A lack of rain at the beginning of the month probably assisted my malaise and desire to get out and about. With a lack of rain also brings about a lack of insects, birds and the garden suffered. I did a bit of travelling around so there is some things I found from other parts of New South Wales.

I have put some of the April finds in other blogs. Some are repeated here but I have excluded others to make your checking out a bit less time consuming. So I do recommend a good cuppa or drink of choice as a lot of you are either sitting up late or just having breakfast. This is what makes blogging so good that you may be in any part of this world and I can show you a bit of mine. Enough blah blah blah, let’s get going if you are ready.

May as well start at sunrise

One foggy morning while at a friends place in Springwood, the sounds of a helicopter broke the morning silence.
We are going to stay in Springwood for a while. We went to the Norman Lindsay Gallery and studio. The grounds were full of sculptures including these ones. Norman Lindsay wrote a book called the Magic Pudding in 1918 The story is about a pudding no matter how often it is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten again. This is Albert, the Magic Pudding.

Bunyip Bluegum, the Koala, and Benjamin Brandysnap plus Sam Sawnoff and other animals and people who own the pudding have to defend the pudding from being stolen by Pudding Thieves who want it for them selves

Part of one of the sculpture/fountains

My friends garden is quite spectacular. There were some butterflies like the Blue Triangle Butterfly who is a bit ragged resting on a Zinnia.
It did rain a bit while we were there putting water droplets on the Pelargonium
An Eastern Spinebill enjoyed the Grevilleas

So did the New Holland Honeyeater. A very striking bird.
Had to include a side view
I really like this capture so in it came.

The cooler weather of the mountains hadn’t quite began so the fungi were still about

I like Hydrangeas. This was a small flower head but has delicate colours.

Now for a bit of the flowers at my place as the sporadic rain over the past couple weeks bought out some Autumn flowers, like this Camellia

This red Hibiscus is from a cutting of my childhood home, one of my Mothers favourites.
All around the garden Impatiens self seed and they pop up in many places
Over at my besties place the Zinnias are a riot of colour
The Echinacea had it’s petals eaten by a grasshopper probably but the centre caught my eye.
A post with flowers would be the same without Pentas flowers and a Blue-banded Bee
Bees aren’t the only pollinator. A beautiful iridescent fly helps a Zinnia along
At The Channon Markets (a Which Way a while ago) a stall had Pitcher plants

in all manner of colour and shape

While on the way home from the markets, we stopped off at Rocky Creek Dam (a Silent Sunday post and the Featured Image taken with my phone) where the water lillies looked fabulous

I loved their reflections

While we are around the water, A Broad-palmed Rocket Frog likes to hang around the pot plants on my front verandah

I am not sure what this small flower is. It was growing on the small dune at the beach.
My besties Red Eucalypt is starting to flower possibly a Corymbia ficifolia.
While at the beach last weekend, yes a almost Summers day in Autumn around 28C, I came across some Small Grass Yellow Butterflies

While we are at the beach, here are some views. We climbed among the dunes to get to Broadwater Beach. In the distance, looking south, is Chinamans Beach where we often go.

The north view. The disappointing thing is the wheel tracks made by (*insert appropriate word) people who drive their stupid four wheel drive oversized pieces of junk along this beach. As you enter the walking track, there is a sign that tells you that there are protected birds who nest on the sand plus the other creatures who live in the sand, crabs plus other microscopic beings and that us walkers don’t disturb the ecology but these dickheads barge their way along the sand. Look how deep those wheel tracks are!!! Sorry please enjoy the view.
The seas were quite big. This rocky part of the headland at Boulder Beach is about 4-5 meters high.
Can you see it now!!!
One of my favourite photos is Pelicans on the light poles. The bridge has four sets of lights and every one has Pelicans. The best spot is on the light itself where a boss male sits. Further towards the bendy end is a juvenile Pelican.

Upstream of the bridge, a couple of Pied Oystercatchers sat on the sand bar.

A Silver Gull was keeping an eye on the picnickers in the park in case a chip dropped onto the ground
A White-faced Heron came to Chinamans Beach looking for a seafood dinner

I loved finding the Sooty Oystercatchers at the beach. A post with more photos of Sooty Oystercatchers here in case you missed it.

I am not sure if it was the same White-faced Heron at Boulder Beach too.

The White-faced Heron and Sooty Oystercatcher didn’t get along and avoided each other.

The cliff face at Boulder Beach has what could be Ironstone in it. It certainly looked rusty

Now for a bit of reflection. Still with me?

Speaking of rust, one of my favourite things to photograph. This old door had some wonderful rusty bits
Isn’t the sliding lock marvellous?

While at the Farmers Market, I wondered why there seemed to be more cars than usual. There was the Annual Lismore Poultry Show on. Of course because I love chooks I had to go and have a walk around. Here are some of the chooks I found, some of the more unusual ones to say the least. I don’t know all of the breeds as some I have never seen before like this one who looks like it just got out of bed.

A fabulous hat
Lace Wyandottes are one of my favourite chooks, ever so pretty.
I don’t think I have ever seen such a fat chook and purple to boot!!!
Some feathers seem to have a life of their own

So alien

A rooster who kept an eye on what was going on
Speaking a Roosters. Prehistoric is the only word that comes to mind. I couldn’t get the whole chook in the photo

Ducks always make me smile

One morning at my besties there was a cacophony of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. The flock was around twenty who all were squawking as they flew about.

They all stopped in a tree on the hill a bit of a way away. The quality of the photos isn’t that good as it was early morning and the photos are hand held but I had to capture their antics in the trees.

I thought this one was going to do forward rolls.

OK it’s almost night time, our Moon is on the rise among the clouds
The Night Spider has spun it’s web near the light to catch an insects who come to the light.