Lost in Translation’s: Pick a Word – May 2023
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.
FIBROUS
MOTTLED
NATURAL
PENSIVE
SHORN
July saw Winter arrive here. The first week was wet on the odd day or two but then the rest of July has lovely sunny days – 20c plus. The nights then dropped into single figures and the fire was lit earlier in the afternoon as the cool breeze blew down the mountains.
I didn’t get out very much to take photos so most of this month are photos from my garden. The only exciting day out was going to Ballina and seeing the Humpback Whale migration.
Your July song to scroll to
July saw the start of the foggy mornings. I took this one early in the month when I went down to check on how much rain was in the rain gauge.
The Nectarine and Peach trees are starting to come into blossom. The foggy morning provided a good background.
One morning I looked out of the kitchen window and saw all these Peaceful Doves on the ground. This was most unusual as when they are around there, they are foraging for food, not sitting still. At first I wondered if they were dead, so I grabbed my camera to have a closer look and saw some fast asleep and others opening and closing their eyes. Next time I looked they were gone. Most unusual.
The mornings are always punctuated with Whipbird calls echoing around the gullies that are on both sides of the house.
In July, the Whipbirds have been in the garden most days. All the photos have been taken out of the windows as they are quite shy and will disappear at the slightest movement. This is the first time I have seen both of them together.
They are quite striking looking birds
Yes it does look like I was spotted in the sun room trying to sneak a few more photos. I probably took over a hundred photos over the month, many duds or the window does need cleaning.
One morning I spied a Lewins Honeyeater lurking in the Honey Gem Grevillea.
A Blue-faced Honeyeater was quite serious getting some nectare from the Honey Gem flower.
Outside of the office, Satin Bowerbirds hopped onto the branch to see what I was doing. It is so hard to get the amazing colours and shades with a photo.
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters can always be heard chattering away around the garden all day.
The garden wouldn’t be complete without an Eastern Yellow Robin splashing yellow about the garden as they fly about.
The female Golden Whistler comes into the garden but the fabulously coloured male doesn’t seem to. He stays in the gullies calling the most splendid song.
A Grey Butcherbird hangs about occasionally looking for a snack or two.
One day I saw a lot of movement in the garden. Venturing out onto the verandah I saw a small flock of Variegated Fairy Wrens investigating the soil as well as under leaves and on branches for food. A female Jenny Wren hoped to find something on a Fan Palm leaf.
The flocked never stayed still for long so it was hard to follow them through the garden. I eventually came across the male Variegated Fairy Wren as he made sure his harem was safe.
The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos have been around for the last few days of July. Their raucous calls let me know they have arrived in the late afternoon to chew the bark of the Eucalypts to get the grubs. It was hard to get good photos as they were high in the trees.
The Eastern Spinebills have been around in the garden for a few months now. It is hard not to want to get photos of them especially when they are in the Firesticks Grevillea. This one eyed me suspiciously early in the month but now they don’t mind me wandering about.
The bees don’t have much to feed on at the moment but the Pentas were still flowering at the start of July.
The Bottlebrush, just like the Grevilleas have had another flowering. Perhaps once the rain slowed down and the ground is starting to dry, they decide to have another flowering. Lots of bees and birds are always hanging about.
One day I’ll find out the name of this pretty orchid that grows on long spikes. I love the splash of colour they provide amongst the green of the plants in the garden.
When at Ballina Beach for a fish and chips lunch and hoping to see some Humpback Whales, the Sooty Oystercatchers patrolled the beach looking for their lunch.
I did manage to get one whale photo out of a lot of splash photos. It is quite difficult when trying to get a photo from the shore
Late in the afternoon, the Buddha sits serenely in the last of the warming sun.
I hope this finds you serene and at peace with all that surrounds. Did you have a favourite?
Perhaps you would like to join us with your post?
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.
Tag your photos with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them
Create a ping-back to Ju-Lyn at Touring My Backyard or this post, so that we can update it with links to all of yours.
Last month was the first post from Ju-Lyn at Touring My Backyard for The Changing Seasons. Ju-Lyn and I will be taking turns at hosting The Changing Seasons that Su from Zimmerbitch hosted with great results. We hope you will enjoy, as you have done in the past, and keep posting your Changing Seasons with us. Just add your link in the comments or pingback to this post for your Changing Seasons.
I have had an action packed July with my camera being able to get around the local area despite the Covid restrictions that the state of NSW is currently under. There has been a couple of “incidents” on the North Coast from people coming from Sydney Covid positive. A lot of businesses are starting to not allow customers from Sydney into their premises.
Enough of the doom and gloom, something I am not used to posting on my blog. Let’s start with an Aussie song you all should know to get you through the photos.
I thought we should start a bit bright and cheerful with some flowers.
My Bromiliads flowered with such unusual flowers
My besties Gymea Lily sent up a spear. It’s about three metres tall.
The flower is yet to open and as I haven’t been there for almost two weeks, I hope it waits until I can get there to show you the flower.
A while ago I was talking about my poor sad Peach Tree. It seems to enjoy July don’t you think?
The flowers have a lovely deep pink colour. I know a couple of people will love this colour.
The bees love the flowers too.
Just beside the Peach is a Nectarine Tree and the Stingless Native Bees are loving the blossoms of light pink petals with a rosy centre.
There has been a few Black Jezebel Butterflies in the garden too.
It’s not just the insects who love the flowers. The Brown Honeyeater enjoys snacking on Lions Tails flowers.
The Rainbow Lorikeets flock to the Honey Gem Grevillea in the morning.
Lewins Honeyeaters like to pick the centre from the Ornamental Ginger flowers
Can you count the number of King Parrots in the red Bottlebrush? I have lot of King Parrots in the garden.
This female King Parrot was watching me as I was walking in the garden.
There is always someone peeking through the window to see if I am home.
or peeking over the gutter
Or sitting in the tree where this Pied Currawong was outside of my office door.
One wonderful thing is that a Chatter (yes that’s the name for a group of Choughs) of White-winged Choughs have increased in number and often cackle away while picking their way through the garden.
Driving home a few days ago I heard the sounds of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flying overhead. I saw them start to land so jumped out of the car camera in hand. Of course they decided to fly off to a distant tree. There were a lot of Cockatoos in the flock. This is just a few as others had landed in other trees further away.
Getting out to the beach was good way to spend the day even though it was very windy.
I think that there is a system of ownership of this rock. The Crested Terns were sitting there as I walked past.
On the way back, the Cormorant had taken over
Pied Oystercatchers were combing the beach for morsels in the sand.
The Sooty Oystercatcher decided the rocks was the best place to find a snack.
A Pelican was taking a stroll along the sand.
and another Pelican enjoyed a cruise on the Clarence River
Overhead it was rather busy. A Brahminy Kite scanned the beach intent on stealing whatever the Gulls had found.
A White-bellied Sea Eagle was hovering and circling in the wind right near us looking among the rock pools where the Sooty Oystercatcher was as well.
The brown on the outer side of it’s wings is lovely
At full stretch doing a turn in the wind ready to circle back and scan once more
We were also lucky enough to see the Humpback Whales on their northerly migration even though they were not very close to the shore.
It was an amazing sight to see hundreds of Ibis heading west to the wetlands where they will spend the rest of Winter and in Spring, raise their hatchlings.
One afternoon in the grey afternoon sky, a pair of Ibis were heading to roost.
Speaking of roosting. Down at the beach there is a colony of Red-Headed Flying Foxes who were squabbling over the best places and getting ready to fly off for their nightly foraging.
While in the trees, for Becky’s July Square Trees photo challenge, I posted the avenue of Fig Trees but from one end, I commented to Becky that I should have taken a photo in the middle. Yesterday in the late afternoon I did just that – and it’s even square.
Sitting in the garden the sun reflected off something that caught my eye. It was a rather ragged spiders web which had the most amazing colours.
Only a little bit of rain for July but thee is always the opportunity for a water drop photo.
One thing I like to photograph is rusty things. The steel and the rivets plus their shadow on the Grafton Bridge.
While looking on the other side, the setting looked rather idyllic
I love clouds and these in horizontal layers with varying colours one afternoon looked wonderful.
OK folks it time for sunset and to reach the end of my July and Changing Seasons.
I hope you enjoyed a scroll though my July and enjoyed the sunset as much as the cows do.
Did you have a favourite photo? See you next month for This is August 2021 and Ju-Lyn will be hosting The Changing Seasons
Becky’s Square Photo Challenge July: Square Tree
Todays square tree is a Pandanus Tree
Pandanus tectorius is a small tree which can reach 5-6 metres in height comprising separate male and female trees. The leaves have short spines along the edges and on their midribs. The plants are supported at the base by prop roots which help to anchor the plant in sandy soil. The tree may flower throughout the year. Female plants produce large pineapple-like fruits comprised, when ripe, of yellow, red or orange segments containing the individual seeds.
Parts of the fruit of the Pandanus are edible and it is reported to form a major source of food in Micronesia. The ripe segments of the fruit and the seeds can be roasted and eaten.
Your song for today
This is a great place to sit and watch for whales
The roots certainly have a good hold on the ground and are spreading down the cliff edge.
You may remember my Monday Portrait last Monday of the little fellow sitting in the tree. He was a pandanus nut, one of the segments of the fruit of the Pandanus Tree
A lovely shady spot on a warm day
Debbie’s quotation-inspired image
“The traveller sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.
   – G.K. Chesterton
About 2 minutes into this narration from Harry Nilssons The Point, have a listen to the philosophy of the Rock Man inspired by Debbie’s quote
The traveller sees what he sees
The tourist sees what he has come to see.
How are you going so far this year? I am still not allowed to drive so I haven’t had many photo excursions and at times didn’t really feel like taking photos. Do you have times like that too?
It is time to be in the garden and enjoy the warm days. A few days at my place the temperature was in the low 30’s which isn’t Spring weather, more like Summer. The rains that have been promised haven’t eventuated so I am using the dwindling dam water to keep the garden going as best I can. I have been doing a few projects both here at my place and at my besties.
The header photo is looking from my verandah into that part of the garden where the Grevilleas are having a great flowering this Spring.
Instead of having my usual song at the end, I decided to have it up front so you can have a listen while you scroll. So grab a cup of tea or coffee, perhaps a snack or if in the evening join me in a glass of your choice as it’s aperitivo time here. Enjoy
One project around the place was to do a rejuvenation of part of the shed. This will be the potting shed and have a lot of the gardening equipment and tools.
One of the bonuses of living on the north coast of NSW is being able to get down to the coast and watch the whales migrate.
Back at home for a few insects to start the photo journey of my September. The Pittosporum had so many flowers this year it was a treasure trove for the tiny Native Stingless Bees.
The Wide_brand Grass-dart butterfly was hard to catch as they didn’t sit still very long.
Southern Silver Ochre butterflies spent more time
The Black Jezebels came flying through regularly in September. The thing you notice is a white butterfly flitting among the flowers with its erratic flight. the next photo helps to explain.
This is the inside wings of the Black Jezebel. When they fly they give a sort of strobe effect designed to confuse any predators along with an erratic flight.
Another of the Jezebels, Southern Jezebels are always a delight to have in the garden. The Honey Gem Grevillea flowers were quite an attraction.
The Honey Gem and other grevilleas had an amazing flowering with a bit of rain in late August enough to get things happening in the garden in September. The Blue-faced Honeyeaters were the bullies of the garden chasing most of the birds, especially the noisy Friarbirds, away from the flowers.
But as you see the Noisy Friarbirds still were able to sneak in for a feed
Another of the Friarbird, Little Friarbirds, were constant visitors as well
I have been putting a bit of food out fro the birds every now and then but not every day so they don’t become dependent on food from me. The Female King Parrot really looked good with her breeding plumage.
The males were quite resplendent too. Remember Tiny, well he is still around the garden most days.
Leaden Flycatchers hung around the old swimming pool always on the lookout for a snack to come along.
I love their inquisitive looks so I had to include a second photo.
The Female Rufus Whistler also has an inquisitive look around the garden
The songs of the Rufus Whistlers have resounded in the bush all September. They are all around the surrounding forest occasionally coming into the garden. This male Rufus Whistler was singing in the garden early one morning.
One afternoon coming home from town, we were driving through South Grafton when a large flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos came screeching into the trees in peoples backyards.
The Satin Bowerbird found where I dropped a few bread crumbs on the verandah. Satin Bowerbirds are quite nervous and will take off at the slightest movement. I often get a few photos through the door while sitting at my desk if I am sneaky enough.
At my besties the little Red-backed Wren come through her garden in the afternoons looking for a bit to eat among the flowers and garden beds.
We were sitting on her verandah having a cup of tea when we saw a large bird fly into the lower part of the garden. When I got to the other end of the verandah I saw a White-faced Heron walking along with a large stick. I watch where he flew into a nearby tree but he nest was too well hidden.
The tiny Scarlet Honeyeaters prefer red Grevillea flowers
If you need a break, here’s a bit of sky with a wispy cloud face or what can you see?
Yes it is Spring in Australia so no Spring post couldn’t go past without a few lots of flower photos, First up, a Daisy with an insect trying to hide. All of the following photos are from my besties garden except when I mention it’s from mine.
The Dianthus are a pretty shade of pink in the garden.
The white Gerbera really stands out
There are quite a few different Gazanias. I love this pink one
or perhaps I like this one more
The Cornflowers looked a treat
This Hibiscus was a new planting and I didn’t expect to see a flower this year on a small bush. the deep red is stunning
The violas are self seeding and springing up everywhere in the garden, even in the paths.
This is the red Hibiscus that came from my family home and is one of a couple that are in my garden.
My besties Lions Tails. Such an unusual plant.
It has been a great year for Grevilleas. Here is a selection from my place. Not too sure what this one is. I thought it was a Robyn Gordon but that doesn’t have yellow tips
This is a Robyn Gordon I am sure
The Ever strong Honey Gem, a great food source for birds as well as insects
After the fire at my place, there has been a lot of different species of Lomandra appearing. This is part of the flower stalk of a Lomandra mulitflora
A small native flower – a Gorse Bitter Pea. There are a lot of pea plants and many look similar
This pea flower is a Heathy Parrot Pea. Bunches of flowers on a long stalk. Most of these flowers are about 10mm or about half an inch as are many of the pea plant flowers.
The Paperbarks didn’t flower as well as I thought they would as most of the other native flowers like the Bottlebrush and Grevillea have. The flower is similar to a bottle brush flower only yellow instead of red.
I found this flowering plant on a walk along the trails of Evans Head. The aim was to photograph the native coastal plants flowers but by the time I was able to get there many had finished flowering. At least I saw the whales.
This Australian native flower is one of my all time favourites and is always a treat to find in the bush. I just love Flannel Flowers.
I finally found someone who laughs at my jokes.
Well it’s sunset so I better get going and you should too. Drop me a line if you found a favourite photo
One of the things about this September was that our Moon had risen before the sun had set. I love a Moon and a blue sky don’t you?
Also for Su’s Changing Seasons, September 2020
The first Ragtag Daily Prompt from Emily: Return
Every year
the water’s filled
with splashes
with gasps
from the crowd
who line
the coast
hoping for a glimpse
of majestic
Humpback whales
as they return
to warmer waters
to calve
and mate
giving hope
of a new life
as they travel
giving pleasure
to people
who return
every year
to watch
and wait.
PS It’s my turn tomorrow for my first Ragtag Daily Prompt
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