Sunshine’s Macro Monday #13
Last week I promised Irene some water drops for Macro Monday. Last weeks bit of rain helped me fulfill my promise.
Tag: water drops
This is June 2019
About time I hear you say. Yes I am a bit late with last months wrap up. I didn’t take as many photos early on and then I seemed to find lots to photograph. This months photos have a couple I have used in other photo challenges but I decided to keep this post a bit shorter by not including the those photos.
So sit back and have a scroll through my June
Let’s start in Inverell, a town about 200kms from my place. We decided to have a mini holiday and ventured west. My goodness the drought has really hit hard out there. Didn’t see the usual paddocks with sheep and cattle in them. Many farmers have de-stocked and just holding onto their core breeding stock for when the drought breaks.
We stayed at a fabulous B’n’B, Blair Athol a Manor house from the early 1900’s. It is a great place to stay
We did venture around the countryside. It was quite sad. I think this granite outcrop says it all.
I found a Pied Cormorant just after a bit of a dip in the water. I love how Cormorants do this. Makes me smile every time.
Back home I was surprised to see ducks on my house dam as the water level is quite low. Three Pacific Black Ducks cruise the dam.
Sometimes when I am about in the garden doing a bit of bird spotting I get a feeling I am being watched as well. This Grey-shrike Thrush was making sure I was being good.
Another Winter visitor to the garden are Golden Whistlers
Of course a monthly wrap wouldn’t be the same without the resident Eastern Yellow Robin who found a post to sit on while surveying the garden for a snack.
Little Striated Thornbills are flying about the garden in the afternoons
The Rose Robins are still around as well
The Agave looked lovely in the afternoon light
This is called Witches Broom it is on a small Eucalypt. 
The variety of plants that are growing on a palm in the garden is wonderful. At the front is an Elk Horn, behind it on the right is a Birds nest Fern. They are surrounded by Hares Foot Fern and to the left rear is Fishbone Fern. All of these plants have decided to grow among the palm’s trunk.
Nearby, a Jacaranda has a lovely growth of moss that cascades to the ground.
My mate Geoffs Iris has flowered. Always will bring back a memory.
All around the place Lichen has sprung up as there has been showers of rain over the last part of the month enough to keep the garden happy and for some plants to emerge.
I love finding water drops. My besties place has had much more rain than here.
These are the seed pods from an Eucalypt tree I found in Inverell.
I haven’t taken many photos of the Red-necked Wallabies that hang around my place. I caught this bloke with a mouth full of grass.
Late one afternoon at my besties, she called out to come over to where she was in the garden. She found a little Bandi Bandi going across a log heading for a safe place to spend the night.
There appears to be lots of Wanderer Butterflies about at the moment. Found this one flying around the lane-ways of Lismore.
Meanwhile there are Wanderers in my besties garden feeding on Echinacea flowers.
One day we decided to head to the coast for lunch at the Ballina Beach Surf Club. Afterwards, after watching whales from the window while eating, we wandered up to the headland and watched the Humpback Whales cruising past. I bit of blow usually let me know where they were.
I love it when they gave a wave.
Managed to get some tail shots.
but could never be focused on the right place when a Humpback breached
Now for a bit of weird. Walking down a lane in Lismore we always look to see if this window has changed. I think the hand and flag on the right have been added.
A stack of chairs in a window.
One morning, the mist was settled in the valleys. I used to tell the kids that the mountains have captured the clouds.
A bit of my playing around with photos. A Magpie on a steel post
OK the sun is down so time for me to go.
I hope you have enjoyed a bit of a look at my June. The feature photo is a butterfly among the Zinnias in my besties garden.
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Droplet
The Ragtag Tuesday prompt: Droplet
I have to include my all time favourite droplet but this time I used it as the feature image.
Here is a few droplet photos I could find
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This is May 2019
Here we are to have a look at my May. I didn’t take many photos to add to this post that I haven’t already shared in some of the photo challenges I contributed to in May. Again the rainfall at my place was very sparse but some of the Australian Native plants had some flowers which received a water from the dwindling water supply in my dam. I have been trying to ensure that most plants in the garden survive by a bit of water every couple of days, hoping I can harden them off for Winter. The weather has been quite warm during the day – mid twenties and the nights were in the low teens so I think some plants may be a bit confused with warm Autumn days.
I don’t think you will need supplies to have a scroll through This is May 2019
Let’s get hopping
I don’t seem to take many photos of Kangaroos, so when some were in a nearby paddock when I was out, I just had to grab a photo. This male was quite wary of my and I made sure I didn’t venture too close as he may have thought I was a threat to his female and joey
The She Oaks or Casurinas with the seed pods and hanging leaves caught my eye as I was walking on my place.
A small shower of rain and the mosses and lichens appeared
My besties place had so much rain it didn’t seem fair. It did make for some great photo opportunities. The water drops like jewels on the spiders web one morning.
One afternoon the sunset lit up everything. The Bottlebrush flowers just seem to glow
May was the last huge flowering of the lovely red Hibiscus in the garden
The sunset, a leaden sky and a red flowering gum.
The tiny Stingless Native Bees loved the Echinacea flowers. Look how full her pollen sacs are!
The little Grass Dart Butterfly was almost hidden among the flowers
The Eggfly Butterflies love the Zinnias
As did the bees
Water drops on leaves is a must photo opportunity
One foggy morning, the old shed on the property next door looked quite spooky
While walking about my place, I heard just one slight screech and the sound of crunching. I finally saw the Glossy Black Cockatoos in the She Oak enjoying a snack of seeds high up in the tree.
While further down the track, the Bowerbirds have made a new Bower decorated with blue stuff from all around the neighbourhood. Perhaps a blue peg of mine has gone missing but the rest of the treasures I don’t know where they came from.
Every afternoon at my besties, there is a fly over of Cattle Egrets and Ibis as they head off to roost
Most days the Wedged-tailed Eagles are riding the currents high in the sky
A great first for me was finding a small flock of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins as we drove down a lane near my besties. They certainly had a good selection of seeds to choose from.
Bare trees and sunset is another must try and get a photo opportunity.
Speaking of sunsets, May had so many wonderful sunsets I had to whittle down the pile into just a few. The red tinged grey clouds looked wonderful
Some sunsets were orange
Some sunsets had could formations I have never seen before. They were like lumps hanging below the other clouds
A grass seed and subset, who could resist
Sunset…….bare trees………the black and red won me over.
OK here we are at the end. See I told you it was a short month compared to the mammoth efforts you ave gone through in previous months.
Thanks for taking time to have a look at my world.
Did you have a favourite photo?
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Raindrops
Drops
Wordless Wednesday
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This is March 2019
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?
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Imagination
The inspirational phrase from Debbie at Travel With Intent
“Imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions” – Albert Einstein
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Colourful Monotones
The photo challenge from Cee: Colourful Monotones
A colourful monotone? I didn’t think I could find anything but then inspiration came to me. Enjoy some Colourful Monotones…..
