The Lens-Artists Sunday Word prompt: Delicate
Caper Berry flower
Bee
Superb Fairy Wren holding a gift for his mate
Butterflies on flowers. Ever so delicate
The tiny Water Snowflake flowers
A Scarlet Honeyeater assessing the juiciest flower in the Pink Euodia
What a month of differences. I had some good rainfalls in February but March became quite dry. The dam I use for watering the garden and use outside didn’t receive any run-off and is very low. I am in water conservation mode and back to watering the garden plants sparingly. The pot plants on the verandahs are getting the precious tank water. I have lost a number of my Begonias sadly. I have a number of plants of the same species and nothing has been lost altogether.
The coming of Autumn is usually a time to plant but as the same as last year, there isn’t the promise of rain and soil moisture. I have a number of plants that are now going to re-potted into bigger pots. The best thing is the sunsets this Autumn so this post has a number of sunsets as I couldn’t decide which ones to use.
I haven’t included the photos I have used in posts over the past few weeks, such as the Wedged-tailed Eagle having lunch on the side of the road. I have also put some in reserve for posts to be written later on.
There is a a good selection so maybe a cup of your favourite beverage, a snack and get comfortable to see some of the stuff I found in my world in March.
I was very privileged to be part of a smoking ceremony. A traditional Aboriginal welcome to their part of country. The leaves that were on the fire, Lemon Scented Gum, Cinnamon Gum and another type of eucalypt leaf I can’t remember.
We stood or sat around the circular fire pit. One of the most amazing part was we were told that the smoke would touch us all. They began playing a welcome tune and the smoke went in a spiral around the circle of people, the smoke touching everyone. Yes the hairs on my arms and neck stood, it was a magical moment.
The leaves had to be put on regularly to infuse the people and the moment which gave us a sense of being part of country. 
One of the murals inside of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence where the NSW Landcare Forum was held
The city sunset
One afternoon, the sun was so yellow bathing the countryside giving an eerie glow to the Grass Tree sentinels that watch over my besties place. 
I wish I had more time to explore Redfern its streets, houses and gardens. I love this ornate piece on a gate.
Back at my part of the world, I found a bit of rust.
One of the jardinieres in the front of a house
Meanwhile at the beach, the shadows on the sand caught my attention.
The colours of a Small Common Yellow Butterfly seemed to change as it sat on the lomandra.
My nighttime visitor who dropped in and commenced doing her laundry. 
The early morning rain at my besties on a spiders web.
The water drops
While on the hunt for spiky things for Beckys March Square Photo Challenge, a purple Spider Orchid said pick me.
Another angle
Some Eucalypt flowers look spiky but are so soft
Purple flowers in the morning sun.
Another orchid found at the Lismore Farmers Market where we go most Saturdays for breakfast and get some produce from the growers.
The Desert Rose is also for sale at the Market
After not doing much, the rain came to my besties in March (but not my place) and the bean plants started to grow and flower.
This is the very first time I have seem coconuts growing on a tree.
Time for a few bird photos. The cute little Striated Thornbill enjoys dropping into to use the bird bath
OK….now we are back at the beach. The Crested Terns flew in and sat on the beach with us.
On Macleay Island, the Bush-stone Curlews had a young one.
Having a drive around we came across a family of Grey-crowned Babblers having a feed along the side of the road.
One afternoon the sky was filled with a cacophony of squawking Little Corellas, the most Little Corellas I have ever seen in one huge flock. There were hundreds.
The flock stretched across the sky in the afternoon sun.
I love the graceful Ibis as the soar overhead.
The Black Kites are always hovering and swooping at the waste facility.
A look at the steering mechanism on a Black Kite.
I am so happy that the Scarlet Honeyeaters are still around the garden at home.
It is always a treat to come across Eastern Rosellas
The rain at my besties has bought out the happy looking Green Tree Frogs.
On the drive around we came across an Eastern Grey Kangaroo and her Joey.
The morning sun on the pampas grass seed heads
The car ferry on the way to Macleay Island was soon overtaken by the catamaran ferry
It was a treat when the yacht owner put up the red sails
The sunset over the bay made the end of a busy day worthwhile.
The sunset on the water
The farmer next door ploughed and planted a paddock next to my besties place. When it was ready, he let the cows into the paddock. This cow certainly seemed to enjoy having a snack.
The calf kept a wary eye on me.
The calf at sunset.
Another fabulous sunset.
Another day, another sunset. This is the eastern sky
I think this was my favourite sunset of March
Probably my favourite sunset photo. Well the suns gone down…..
…..and our Moon is in the sky, so it’s time to go.
I hope you have a had a good time wandering about, sometimes a bit chaotic, in my world. The featured photo is one from Beckys photo challenge which a lot of people liked. Maybe you have a favourite photo too?
Becky has started a new photo challenge for March #SpikySquare Drop into Beckys Spiky Square site for some details and other peoples spiky photos.
The rules are simple:
Have fun interpreting the spikiness but don’t forget there is ONE absolute rule for this daily photo challenge – your main photograph must be square.
The word prompt from Nancy’s A Photo a Week Challenge is Orange
Of course we go to nature for our orange. I found a selection that I think work better in a slideshow. What do you think?
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With an orange sunset and clouds to say goodnight
Who could resist a photo challenge from Nancy Merrill with the theme: Purple
So much Purple, here is a taste. Do you have a favourite?
Berries on a Native vine
Among the Wisteria flowers
Another beautiful Native flower
Caper Water Lilies
A Purple Swamp Hen
Inside a Torenia flower
An orchid flower I think
The wonderful Native Purple Fringe Lily
The Native Hyacinth Orchid that grows wild at my place and this year appeared in my garden for the first time
The final installment of This is November. The flowers that appear in November are fabulous. The small native flowers shoot out of the ground for a short time. The garden is resplendent with most of the flowering shrubs a hive of activity as you saw in This is November: The Insects. Enjoy the flowers of November.
You saw the Jacaranda flowers in the This is October: Part Three Did you know that the Jacaranda flower is not only purple but white as well?
Some flowers are just made to be photographed.
A close-up shot of the Blue Salvia which the Lewins Honeyeater was feeding on in This is November: The Birds
A few drops of water and an early morning sun make for wonderful flower photography
The second flowering for some of the Grevilleas
The cactus had so many buds and flowers this year.
When the rain comes, the Crocus add splashes of colour throughout the garden.
One of the Day Lilys I was given by my mate Geoff. There is always a Stingless Bee flying around somewhere.
This orchid was at my besties sons place. An amazing cascade of flowers.
Here is the orchid flower
The Pandorea were flowering high in the canopy
My White Hydrangea has a pink hue
One of the best years for the Silk Tree flowering
The Roses at my besties are magnificent this year too.
And the scent is divine
The little yellow puff balls are everywhere
I love this Hibiscus which seems to have many names – I like Dancing Ballerina
The Lomandra growing on the forest floor has many flower spikes
The new leaves on the Paperbark are fabulous
The Paperbark was covered in white creamy flowers from top to bottom.
Growing in the paddock was a tiny yellow flower about 5mm in diameter. Once I saw this one I then noticed all the others.
The Bottlebrush flowers were their showy best this year. The Pink Bottlebrush flower is the second year it has flowered since planting about 10 years ago.
This is the red Bottlebrush flower I used as an experimental technique late last month
many people wanted to know what the bush looked like. Here is the Miniature Bottlebrush about 1.5M tall
The birds have been fighting over the Black Bean tree flowers
Have you ever seen a Pineapple flower? Now you have. I had no idea they had flowers like this
Last year, I found the Hyacinth Orchid growing in the forest at my place. I went looking again this year to where I thought it was but to no avail. Looking around my garden not only did I find one growing but two!
That’s the last post on This is November. I hoped you like all the posts.
It’s been ages since I have had time to get things sorted, to take time for things and actually sit down to set out to write a bit. I have been taking photos of all manner of stuff – as you will see. It is difficult to have a clear pathway of thoughts, to put ideas down and try to make sense so that you can follow where I have been and what I have seen. Many a time I just take off to see what I can discover and see something that I find interesting, colourful or part of our world that some people would just walk by everyday and not think of the beauty. Perhaps I look at the world in a different way, to imagine in my head what I see, grab my camera and let the lens take me where I think it should go. Enough of a jumble of thoughts – as The Beatles sang
“Thoughts meander like a restless wind
Inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe”
So lets go across the universe or through a small part of my world. Starting at the beginning. Early one misty morning, some rogue cattle were walking along the road when we was taking a walk.
Further down the road, the spiders webs were all through patches of grass. Small cup shaped webs dotted the side of the road in their hundreds.
As it is still rather cool here I am still out in the bush every couple of weeks to cut some firewood. One morning I noticed the White-winged Choughs doing their daily march along the clearing with their incessent chatter as they kicked over sticks and rocks looking for their breakfast. They had an almost straight line as they marched up the hill.
Sometimes you can look up and see a Spangled Drongo fly past the moon, even in the late afternoon.
I though the Bellwood Cormorant Hotel was rather fab but the double decker Osprey nest near Chinderah has a far better vantage point.
While we were having lunch in the Tweed Heads industrial/shopping complex, we watched as a bird swooped across the car park, grab what we think was a lizard and go back to the roof top and eat away. After I took the photo (OK I took heaps of photos), I discovered it was an Australian or Nankeen Kestral. What a pretty bird don’t you think?
Speaking of pretty, the Emerald Doves are out and about in numbers at the moment. This bird was not all that content having me stalk it to try and get a good photo.
It stuck its bum in the air as if to say “Go on….take a photo of my best side!!!”
This little bird was sitting in the tree singing its little lungs out.
Having a cuppa on the verandah one morning, one of the local King Parrots decided to pop over and see if we had any snacks.
The Bar-shouldered Dove didn’t seem to mind the Brush Turkeys leaf raking exercise. The turkey was flicking leaves so high into the air! The turkey’s litter mound is about 5 meters away from where it was methodically raking leaves.
One morning I found a Rainbow Lorikeet sitting on the ladder in the old swimming pool looking rather grumpy.
OK….now this is where things take a different direction for a while. One day we decided to walk across the Clarence River on the walkway under the Grafton Bridge. The structure has been graffitied over the years and the layers of paint with a bit of rust made lovely colours and patterns.
I like the rust colours.
This green almost looked like moss.
One of the hundred of thousand rivets holding te bridge together. Small but significent.
The walkway along the bridge also had two tunnels at either end which have always been “decorated”. Sometimes some of the graffiti has to be added to doesn’t it?
Othertimes the message is what everyone needs to hear.
One of my favourite cafes in Grafton is the Tilted Teaspoon. Skye has a wonderful sense of decoration with ever changing bits and pieces gleaned from Op-Shops and garage sales.
The water below the bridge has shapes that change as the water ripples from passing water craft. This one is rather spooky.
Speaking of spooky, what is the blue flash that appeared in my besties loungeroom?
I love the “eye lashes” on the bullet hole in the road sign.
Enough of the different stuff and back to colour and nature. The red flower of the eucalypt just seems to burst in a riot of colour.
One of the first flowers that I started to photograph many years ago were the Azalias of the next door neighbours. They had so many varieties that cascaded over the front suburban fence. The colours were superb. My besties Azalias have been a wonderful splash of colour around her garden. The deep pink flowers are lovely. One of the surprises when taking photos is the unexpected bits that are in and around the flowers.
This flower was hidden inside the same bush as the pink one above.
The red Azalias are such a stand out in the garden.
The Irises are dotted through the garden not being showy but adding a bit to the shape and form in the garden. It also is the home for a small spider.
The lillies come in a range of colours. I love these ones.
The yellow Day Lilies bring that end of the spectrum to the garden as they stand tall in the sunshine.
The undersides are just as impressive.
The Nastursiums are just starting to appear. I love their colours and shapes as the sit low in the garden trailing over rocks, logs and borders.
The Pentas are wonderful as so many little flowers gather together in a ball of colour.
These flowers like to look at what is going on at ground level. The little bells cluster together.
This is such a tight ball of very small flowers that have such a lovely scent as you brush past.
The orchids are out now as well. Again, this flower is so small as it spikes out from the plant with it’s almost see through petals.
Walking about, it is always good to look up. The shapes colours and forms of the Foam Bark leaves are great.
A good discovery walk wouldn’t be complete without a fungi find. I have never seen a pink fungi before, have you?
The fire has been lit, giving its colours that always surprise.
Or the swirling shapes where you can see so many different things. What can you see?
Looking deep inside the fire.
The Moon was smiling that night. A glowing grin in the sky.
Well it’s time to sweep and tidy up before I get going. See you next time OK
“Limitless undying love
Which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe”
It seems like ages since I had time to sit down and look through the photos I have taken over the past few weeks. Some of these are from the end of February as I decided to just do the butterflies. I took a lot of butterfly photos in February and since then, have even taken more. I was asked about taking butterfly photos and had to say that out of twenty or so photos, there is usually only a couple that are ok.
This blog hasn’t any butterflies but has some other insects that I came across when walking around the garden or other people’s gardens. I was getting buzzed by this black insect. It wouldn’t go away but finally tuckered itself out and sat on a leaf.
I also spend a bit of time chasing bees around gardens. Coming in for a landing with rear legs full of pollen.
It took a bit of wrangling to get the caterpillar a bit angry to expose his red antennae while holding the camera in one hand and keeping the spikes on the bush lemon at bay as well.
Always have a close look inside of flowers. You never know who you may find!
I love these little orchid flowers. They grow on long stalks and this year have been flowering all the time.
The tiny Native Wisteria flowers are so perfect as they gradually open along the stem giving a blush of colour throughout the garden.
One of the old cottage style Hibiscus flowers. One of the original plants over thirty years old in my besties garden.
I found hundreds of small flowers growing on the breakwall at Ballina.
The Pink Bloodwoods were covered in blossoms, with bees buzzing about making a bit of a racket.
I was walking through the bush at my place when I came across a small shrub covered in white flowers. I haven’t seen this plant in flower before. It is quite pretty isn’t it?
Here are the flowers up close. Can anyone tell me the name of the shrub please?
I love the Tiger Lillies when they bloom, adding a splash of colour through the garden.
While we endured six months of no rain towards the end of last year, my favourite Honey Gem Grevillea suffered with the lack of water and still hasn’t flowered as strongly as it has in the past. Luckily the Pink Euodia has stepped up for the birds with bunches of flowers covering it, attracting so many birds. The Rainbow Lorikeets did their usual antics, hanging upside down to get a snack.
The Little Friarbirds kept an eye on the lorikeets when they popped in for lunch.
This is the first time I have seen the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets at my place. They only stayed for a couple of days.
The Musk Lorikeets returned to feast on the Euodias bounty.
They are so striking with their red heads, cheeks and beak
I really love the smallest of Australia’s Honeyeaters, the Scarlett Honeyeater. They can sit on top of the blossoms and not even bend the boughs at all.
They look so lovely among the pink flowers
They really are like “tiny red jewels” among the foliage around the garden.
One rainy day, I heard some disgruntled squawks and found some less that appreciative Rainbow Lorikeets sitting in the rain.
As always, the Kookaburra kept an eye out for any small creature or insect to wander across the grass. I was going to say lawn but that would be stretching the truth a long way.
The Galahs in the reserve behind the beach at Ballina found the Casuarina nuts irresistible.
Down at the water’s edge, a Seagull looked wistfully out to sea.
The Seagull kept an eye on us in case we had some chips.
Some birds have shown their funny side. I wonder if this is why this one is called a Drongo.
The Wedged-tailed Eagle is the biggest bird. I spotted one down by the side of the road ripping into a Wallaby road kill while it’s mate and the young one sat in a nearby tree. I didn’t notice them until one glided off the branch and into the forest leaving the young one. It sat there for a while until it too flew off. Such magnificent birds.
Well it’s time to kick back and relax. If anyone knows the names of any of the flowers or insects in this blog, please let me know. Thanks
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