Thank you to everyone who contributes their good and not so good photos. I am heartened by your comments and photos. Like a lot of people I forget and am surprised at what was the last photo on the four devices I use to take photos.
So let’s see what you have for October 2022
The rules are simple: 1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 31st October 2. No editing – who cares if it is out of focus, not framed as you would like or the subject matter didn’t cooperate. 3. You don’t have to have any explanations, just the photo will do 4. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments 5. Tag “The Last Photo”
This Lilli Pilli is called Powder Puff Lilli Pilli (Syzygium wilsonii) There are so many different way that Lilli Pilli is spelt – Lilli PIlly, Lilly Pilly but I have always known the bush to be called a Lilli Pilli. When I thought about doing a Life of a Lilli Pilli flower post, I didn’t count on it raining nearly every day, so photography was a bit difficult to really showcase these wonderful flowers.
A beautiful shrub that has a weeping habit and glossy large green leaves with very attractive red-bronze new growth. Lilli Pilli are native plants to the East Coast of Australia mainly in the rainforests.
In full flower it is absolutely joyous, with dozens of big pink-red pompom flowers, followed by pure white edible (when cooked) bushtucker fruit in autumn. I don’t seem to have any fruit photos from years gone by and I can’t wait until Autumn to show you the fruit. This one is a similar fruit just a different colour from an Acmena smithii.
Let’s have a look at how these wonderful red pom poms grow. At first, the buds just seem to appear overnight as long shaped almost small clubs.
They then push outwards from the floral tube with white ends on the bottom .
The tip turn white after a few days as well
Slowly the stigma reach out from the filaments and the on the stamen the anthers turn white as they burst forth from the buds
A view from the rear of the flower showing the floral tubes
The pom pom is starting to fill out
Every day there are more filaments appearing and the buds have almost disappeared
The full flower is finally here and nearly always hang down like this. This year there have been lots of flowers
They are like a burst of sunlight or even fireworks
As the weather hasn’t been favourable for the bees either I dug out an old photo with some Stingless Native Bees enjoying the sweetness of a Lilli Pilli flower
Once the flowers are finished, the filaments drop off onto the garden leaving a quite straggly looking flower
As it has been raining I have been trying to get a few water drop photos
I have also been waiting for the Scarlet Honeyeaters to seek out the flowers. They have been in the garden but this year the Bottlebrush have been also having a bumper flowering and they seem to prefer to snack on Bottlebrush flower. I also have some Pied Currawongs who seemed to have decided to stay around. Most years, when it cold in the mountains, the Currawongs come to my place but leave once Summer arrives. Currawongs are predators on small birds so small birds aren’t as prevalent in my garden for awhile now. Here is an old photo as I love seeing Scarlet Honeyeaters feeding on Lilli Pilli flowers
This is my first contribution to this challenge. I haven’t had much loveliness in my life with the floods and rain over the past week. I have been able to get out into the garden and have found a bit of respite with my camera. Here is a bit of what I have found.
Some insects like a Dragonfly who seemed to follow me in the garden
A poor old Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly on a Pentas flower. She has seen better days. I used this angle so you couldn’t see how ratty her wings were at the rear
A Brown Ringlet Butterfly was resting on a leaf in the brief morning sun
The Wanderer Butterfly preferred the Bauhinia flowers
and not an insect but one of the smallest Honeyeater, a female Scarlet Honeyeater. This is the second mass flowering of the Bottlebrush tree bring so many birds into the garden.
It is a question that gets asked a bit…..why do I live so far from town?
So far from town is about 35 kms and takes me around 20 – 25 minutes…..so I wonder what they say to people who live further than that from town!!!
My place is in there somewhere….
The silence of the bush is great, which can be broken by the occasional doff doff from the kids across the way or racing up and down the road on their motorbikes.
I love the animals and birds that hang around the garden
Red necked wallabies love the grass around the house and I think they feel safe
A variety of honeyeaters hang around from time to time…scarlet honeyeaters are always around somewhere.
The numbers of birds are on the rise and there are the occasional ones who tend to piss me off. At the moment the Australian Ravens have taken to eating the chooks eggs. When the winter cold starts to bite in the mountains, the Currawongs come down to here and they just hang around the chook house eating food out of the hopper. Also the Satin Bower Birds arrive as well but for the first time this year, they have stayed. So a few Bower Birds also hang around the chook yard. I have a new rooster, after a few months without a bloke around to look out for the chooks, so I think he may sort out the Ravens.
The Ravens just wander about
I guess my biggest challenge is the weeds. Luckily they aren’t too bad to control. Lantana is easy to knock down but it is in many of the gullies and Fireweed is along the power line clearings. There is a bit of Parramatta Grass and Cotton weed in patches. I found a small patch of Balloon Vine yesterday and will have to remove that as it is flowering.
One of my favourite spots. This waterhole has never dried even in the north coast drought of 2000 – 2002
I love living in the bush maybe that’s why I am bushboy
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