lichen – bushboys world

This is May 2018

Published on May 31, 2018June 28, 2018 by bushboy32 Comments

Another wrap up of whats been happening in bushboys world in May. This month has been so dry. Many of the usual birds that are around here in May are absent. The most exciting thing is that I have two new birds that have dropped in on their migration to warmer places.

Some of the photos are from my besties place where it has been raining almost every day. There isn’t a huge amount of photos but I still recommend grabbing a drink suitable for the time of day you are scrolling through This is May 2018.

I think I’ll start with a couple of flowers. I can’t wait for some of the plants which flower in the cooler months to flower.

I love the purple colour

The last hibiscus flower

Just a mud puddle with a bit of the sun and sky

This is the shell of a Frasers Banded Snail. One of the advantages of following scientists on Twitter is that if I can’t ID anything, there is always someone to ask. Bronwen Scott gave me the name of the snail. Bronwen is at Snailseyeview

Another view of the Frasers Banded Snail shell

When the cooler weather arrives, quite often so do some of the marsupial mice from out of the forest looking for somewhere warm to nest. I have a live trap where I can trap, ID and release back into the forest.
This is a view into the trap with a House Mouse, not an Antechinus as I first thought, who has been enjoying a bit of peanut butter. ID help from Dr Dave and Dale Nimmo

Here is the little bloke ready to hop off and find another place to spend Winter other than my pantry

Another new discovery at my besties was this Eastern Stoney Creek Frog. The ID on the frog was also from a Twitter. The wonderful Jodi Rowley

Here’s a bit of orange fungi growing on the side of a tree glowing in the afternoon sun

This fungi was so soft and really did feel like velvet. Also an added bit of Lichen as well as some Moss. Yes it was a wet habitat.

Here is the usual warning for those who have an aversion to spiders. Try to have a peek as the Golden Orb Weaver is a rather beautiful spider.

Lets break in gently with a tiny but lovely web glowing in the morning suns golden glow. Not an Orb Weavers web as this spider is tiny

Here she is, a Golden Orb Weaver looking lovely against the blue Autumn sky.

The markings underneath are so wonderful. She is not quite 75mm long.

This is why she is a Golden Orb Weaver. She is attending to her larder dangling on the golden threads of her rather messy web

A rainy day in Ballina. A Willie Wagtail found a place to try and stay dry during a downpour

Only a few bits of green grass when this photo was taken of a Willie Wagtail hunting for a snack.

The Eastern Spinebills have arrived. A few will hang around over winter as long as the Grevilleas have flowers.

A small flock of Silvereyes have taken up residence as well

Not sure who this Silvereye is yelling at while at he bird bath

On a drive I spotted a group of Ibis resting and preening. Among the group were a couple of Spoonbills having a rest.

It was disturbing to see 4WD wheel tracks on a section of South Ballina Beach which is a no go zone as the birds rest and nest on that part of the beach.
A Sooty Oystercatcher and a Little Tern in the wheel tracks, with some Crested Terns in the background

A Little Tern resting on the beach
Sometimes you have to wait for your turn in the bird bath. A White-throated Treecreeper hangs about waiting for a Lewins Honeyeater to finish his bath.
Ahhh……that’s better. I love how the White-throated Treecreepers sit in the bird bath, the totally opposite to all the other birds.

The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are on their migration too. Some of the flock will stay here over winter. They are the bullies of the bird bath and chase the other birds away.

The Northern Yellow Robins are always around the forest . This bloke and his family are hanging around my garden

My bestie has sold her place. Here is one of the last photos of Bobbin, the Northern Yellow Robin who lives at her place on the garden chair where he loves to survey the garden for something to eat. Bobbin is such a cutie isn’t he?

An Emerald Dove found a good drinking spot in the garden. A stem of a Bangalow Palm filled with rain water.

Here is the first of the new birds at my place. This is a Striated Pardalote

The other new bird is a tiny Varied Sittella. A small flock dropped in one day for a drink, rest and a bite to eat before continuing on their way north. Another little cute bird.
The butterflies are becoming scarce as the weather gets colder. I have been lucky enough to get some photos of the inside wings as well as the usually more colourful outer wings. This butterfly is a Yellow or Common Albatross showing the inside wings
The outer wings are a lovely yellow with a brown edging.
A Zebra Blue or Plumbago Blue Butterfly. You can see the blue on the inside.
The outer wings have a lovely marbling and striking pattern.

The inside wings of the Common Jezabel are rather dull compared to the outer wings.

Here is a Common Jezabel sitting high upon a flower stalk on a sunny day.

I hope you have enjoyed a scroll through my May.

This is October: Part One

Published on November 9, 2017November 9, 2017 by bushboyLeave a comment

I have so many things I have found and want to share that to have in one blog would have been too much for anyone to wade through. I guess it is Spring that brings so many things to life and into my camera lens. I hope you can stand a rush of blogs with a bit of my world.

The first part is the miscellaneous stuff, a bit of this, a bit of that with some nature thrown in.

We went on an expedition to South-East Queensland. In the town of Esk we found a timber mill. I wonder how long the shed has been there?

In the Newrybar Produce store, high in the roof, it looks like no one has used a cobweb broom since the shed was built. They draw straws to see who changes the light bulb I reckon.

The outdoor table has just the right amount of rust.

The shelf has some interesting bits and pieces hasn’t it?

It may be Spring but the trees are dropping leaves. Eucalypts drop leaves when it gets hot to conserve energy. Here are a few leaves with such wonderful colours.

A bit of rain and some warm weather has teased a couple of wood fungi out.

The rain has also bought the mosses to life. This little mound of moss appeared in the middle of a track.

There was a small hollow where a branch had fallen from a tree. I couldn’t see into the hollow to see if anything was in there, so I held my camera up and look what I found. A little world within a world. I was hoping for an insect but it looks like no one was home.

The ferns are coming up all over the place.

That’s it for Part One………..are you ready for Part Two?

This was my March

Published on April 7, 2017April 7, 2017 by bushboy4 Comments

March was a month of contrasts, a couple of hot days followed by a bit of rain and then Cyclone Debbie came along. I was fortunate not to be in the path of Debbie but on the edge of the system. I missed the strong winds and abundant rainfall. I still managed to have 476mls of rain for March. This rainfall ended the long dry period over Summer when usually the rains come. The total rainfall for March exceeded the total rainfall for the 6 months prior.

The few dry day did allow for some wandering about and finding some interesting stuff. The weather also bought out a good variety of fungi which have their own blog.

So onward to the stuff of March.

Isn’t this little boat the cutest?

The flood waters made the creeks run and the creek at Emerald Beach broke through the sand and flowed to the sea. The strong tannin coloured water gave the rocks an interesting hue.

Rust. As you know I love rust, the colours and textures rust gives to metal.

More rust on the fence around the riverbank park in Grafton.

In Lismore, wandering the back lanes I came across this furnace door that is still in operation at the rear of a cafe.

One of the treasures of Lismore is the street art in the back lanes. The recent flooding of Lismore didn’t damage most of the art works although some may need a bit of a clean and touch up. The following selection is from just one lane way.

The art on the door is perhaps a portend.

The fish managed to swim out the flood waters I am told.

I love this ghostly face.

How clever.

The butterflies in the rainforest.

Speaking of butterflies, I just love photographing butterflies. Of course many a while is spent chasing them around trying to get THAT capture. The Common Yellow butterfly seemed to enjoy time on the ground.

The Small Green-banded Blue butterfly kept trying to hide from me.

I haven’t had such a variety of flies at my place or perhaps I haven’t really taken a close look at them. The yellow face and bottle green body look great.

The green eyes are striking. The long proboscis also lets this fly give you a very sharp sting.

This beautiful Huntsman spider lived in my house for around two months. She has now gone outside I think as I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. Her leg span from front to back or side to side is 16cm. Her body length is 5cm. How big is your hand?

The Fire-wheel trees are flowering.

I have a number of Golden Lycras that my aged neighbour loved. He gave me lots of corms and this year they flowered the best ever. They gave me lovely memories of him. The view from the top.

They looked so lovely in the morning sun.

This Hibiscus was in my parents place and the cutting has lived on at my place filled with abundant flowers this Autumn.

The miniature Hibiscus adds small red spots in the garden

One of the original Hibiscus. This one is in my besties garden. Such a delicate flower. The petals almost look transparent.

Another tiny native flower that I have found around my property. The flower is about 12mm across so imagine the size of the insect that was getting some nectar or pollen.

The Bromiliads had a good flowering this March. They gathered enough water that’s for sure.

I hadn’t seen white Crocus before. Stunning flowers aren’t they?

I have loved the colours of Coleus since I first saw them in my grandfathers garden.

The rain has revived the Lichen.

Wandering around the garden looking for snacks, the Bar-shouldered Dove and Emerald Dove shared the space.

A little Jacky Winter enjoying the morning sun.

The Brown Pigeon sat in the Poinsettia striking a lovely pose.

Not the best angle for a Blue-faced Honeyeater though.

The little Forest Kingfisher sat in the tree looking about then suddenly plunged to the ground. When he resumed his perch, he did the bash bash on the branch to tenderise his snack. It looks like he managed to find a frog in the garden.

The Forest Kingfisher has beautiful colours don’t you think?

Thanks for taking the time to have a look at my March.

Spring brings life

Published on October 21, 2016 by bushboyLeave a comment

Spring has begun and is almost over so I better get going and post some of my world in spring so far. There has been a lot happening, too many photos to sort through and making time to write, sort, edit and get it out!!!!

My old friend a few properties down the street is no longer able to care for himself and has gone into a care facility. His garden has been a source of inspiration and his help has made my garden a better place. He was always coming with bulbs, seeds or cuttings some of which have survived the dry periods and some just reappear much to my amazement.

This Iris was one of the first things I saw as I visited him before he left. A stunning splash of purple.

Of course it attracted the native stingless bees

The Grevilleas begin to bud at the start of spring. They don’t look as spectacular as the flowers but have a certain furry interest……

….and then they bloom into the most fantastic flower displaying many hues and colours.

The Honey Gem attracts so many birds to my garden but when you look closely you find some of the smaller creatures in my garden.

Throughout the bush around my place, the yellows and oranges of the Jacksonias splash colour into the bush.

I love the tiny native flowers that appear throughout the bush. This tiny yellow flower is about 10mm in diameter.

Another tiny native that has the most hairy leaves.

I am amazed that the lichen has regenerated from what looked like a dead blob in the grass. A small amount of rain bought it to life.

This is part of my “front lawn” I don’t have much grass and what is here is native grasses. I rarely cut the grass as there are so many tiny flowers that either grow at ground level or are on small stalks. This moss has gone to seed or is it the flowers?

Come spring everyone wakes up. Some like to prowl around the garden and “back yard” looking for things to eat. This bloke was looking for my chooks eggs!!!

One day coming home from town, there was a raucous noise and the sky suddenly was dotted with a huge flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. This year there has seemed to be lots of them around. Sometimes in large flock or in just a few, screeching as they wheel about the sky.

I spent ages by the side of the road watching the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos argue of the best perch and change trees to find something to eat. Their aerobatics are superb don’t you think?

I am the boss of this tree and can see for kilometers.

Ahh….there is nothing as good as a pine cone.

Heralding in the morning, Kookaburras fill the air with their call. I love the bit of blue on their wings.

The beautiful call of the Grey Shrike Thrush is such a pleasant change from the usual suspects, Friarbirds, Blue-faced Honeyeaters and Ravens.

At my besties, the Emerald doves pop in for a quick drink from the bird bath. THe shimmer of green is eye-catching as they move through the bush.

A rare visitor to my road were these Crimson Rosellas. The bloke up the road put out feed for his horses and a flock of Rosellas dropped in for lunch.

Their colours are very striking. The red can be seen from a distance s they jumped about among the horses.

On a walk up the road, I found a Blue-faced Honeyeaters nest. As I was watching it became change over time.

A keen eye was kept on me before he settled onto the nest.

The best part was the Rainbow Bee Eaters as they swooped around. I played around with my photo program to see if I could get a different effect.

Thanks for hanging out with me for a while.

Out and about

Published on September 18, 2014 by bushboyLeave a comment

Last weekend was a great weekend for wandering about. We did a bit of walking around my street and found lots of things that caught my attention. A drive to Grafton and out to Lawrence yielded many an experience that I love to share with everyone. And of course there was plenty going on around my place as well. Some photos have been already seen by those who like to interact on Twitter as they were too good not to share straight away…..I can be impatient sometimes. So let’s be off…..the sky looked ominous on Saturday morning as we set off on a morning stroll.

There were birds flying around and chatting from the bush. Usually I seem to get photos of thin air but this time I got the swoop from the tree.

The spider webs were still out, all shimmery in the morning sun.

I found lots just walking down the gravel road, just like the little horse from next door who always gallops along the fence as we walk down the street. He is so cute, always wants a rub but you have to keep an eye out as he does like to have a bit of a nip.

I love wood and the shapes, patterns, colours and things that grow on it. This post just caught my eye.

The lichen growing on the post at the front gate together with the cracks looked a treat.

Further along the road, a tree had fallen in a storm many years ago, throwing the root ball into the air which looked like a modern art sculpture.

Just out the front of my place there has been a bit of a flush of spring plus the recent rains have bout all sorts of things alive. These little fungi were about the size of a 10 cent piece.

While this little yellow flower was a bit smaller.

At this time of year, following the swathes of yellow from the Fringe Wattles, the Dogwoods start to appear. Still in bud, but their little white flowers are getting ready to burst open.

In the park in Grafton, this white climbing rose had Fairy Wrens, yes those ones from this page, as well as Scarlet Honeyeaters, flitting in and out among the blooms.

On the drive to Lawrence, we had to stop at a flood shoot of the Clarence River where last year we saw a Black-necked Stork patrolling the water’s edge. This time there wasn’t a stork but a group of ducks paddling along. A mix of Pacific Black Ducks and Hardheads.

A couple of ducks decided to take off while I was taking the photo. Again for one I was lucky to get them taking off.

Just up the road there is an Ospreys nest. I have taken photos of it before but this time they have a baby. Here is the adult keeping a lookout while baby looks about constantly squawking. You can just see the small bump in the nest.

Here is a better look at the young one.

Back home it was all go in the garden. The Blue-faced Honeyeaters are the bosses of the Honey Gem Grevillea.

Chasing away everyone who comes for a bit of a snack. The Friarbirds think they own the Grevillea too.

The Scarlet Honeyeaters dash in for a quick drink of nectar while the bigger birds are busy. The female seemed to be much braver.

As usual, the Eastern Yellow Robin was always around somewhere making sure the garden was in order.

There are lots of Red-necked Wallabies cruising around the house and garden. This little bloke is last years Joey still hanging around Mum.

Meanwhile, Mum was also sampling the delights of the Honey Gem with this years young one keeping a look out from the warmth of the pouch.

That was last weekend….I wonder what I’ll see this weekend?

Flowers in the bush

Published on January 7, 2014January 7, 2014 by bushboyLeave a comment

Around my place flowers seem to pop up all the time. Many are hard to see as they are so tiny. Most of the flowers are in the open paddocks or in the margins of the bush, with some plants in the gullies that run down from the ridge country down to the intermittent creeks that flow perpendicular to the gullies.

In these gullies are the pioneer rainforest plants which have been emerging over the years interspersed with an assortment of mosses, lichens and ferns. When the seasons and conditions are right for ferns one gully’s side is covered in Maiden Hair Ferns.

Some of the flowers are smaller than a 5 cent piece but I find that small is quite beautiful. I hope you enjoy a stroll among the native plants and flowers that inhabit my special place in the bush.

Some of the lichens and mosses seem to be alive with their small stems reaching out.