Sunday Stills: #Daylight in Black and White
I thought I would go with a theme this time.








This was a dry month, following a dry August, a month of wanting rain to fill water tanks and dams which are so low – not enough to water gardens for the next few months. Last night the first good rainfall happened, 17mls in a storm which has made today a smiling day. The garden is happy. With a growth of grass around my house the Red-necked Wallabies have returned to graze which is a lovely sight to see.
I was quite amazed at the amount of flowers in the garden which bought in the birds. The butterflies are yet to arrive in numbers, there are a few small ones here and every now and then a bigger butterfly flits through the garden.
As you will see the warm weather has bought out many animals including a few reptiles. So let’s get into what I found in September.
One of my favourite September songs for you to scroll to
I put together the photos and thought that I would start with a sunrise. I don’t see much coloured sky living in the bush but sometimes the colours get above the trees. After looking back I now realise that this is really a sunset. Oh well the pastel colours above the blazing reds and oranges looked great.
Here is a lone butterfly photo drinking from a Lavender flower.
My bestie has started a new garden bed and is slowly adding soil, mulch, compost and plants. The Poppies are the best flowering for a while.
Remember last month when I was able to photograph the Gymea Lily that was still in bud? Well the flower was still around when I finally was able to get there after Covid lock downs. The flower is just starting to fade.
This is the first flowering of the Pink Trumpet Tree, an Australian rainforest tree, and now the tree is covered in flowers after a bit of a false start in August.
The Bottlebrush are also having the best flowering for years.
I thought that I had lost the Champagne Pink Bottlebrush but it was just slow to flower.
I love the grass seed heads and flowers, so do the bees.
and the Galahs do as well
The Blue-faced Honeyeaters have taken over the garden making sure that no one else gets into the various grevillea flowers. Always keeping watch as you have a snack, even upside down.
The Paperbark trees are flowering as well much to the delight of the Scarlet Honeyeaters.
The Satin Bowerbird was always in the garden as he set up the bower to attract the females. He didn’t scare off easily much to the vocal displeasure of the Blue-faced Honeyeaters.
Here is the contents of his bower. This is the fifth bower he has constructed in the garden carting most of his treasures from place to place. This site is one of the same places he used last year. What can you see?
Here’s a closer look. I have no idea where he collects his treasures from as none of the contents are from my place, except the snail shells possibly. I don’t know whose blue feathers they are either.
I love the Spangled Drongos shape outlined against the morning sky.
The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters mad a nest just outside of the sun room. The nest was well concealed and I had to wait until the babies were out of the nest to have a look at them.
There is always someone looking in the office window to see if I have any snacks. This is a female King Parrot and is Tiny’s mate.
and this is Tiny trying to get my attention.
We went for a drive and on the way home we stopped off at a wetland towards my besties place. In one part of the wetland, two Black-necked Storks were standing around. Here is a back and front photo of them, possibly a male and female.
On the other side some Australian Pelicans were settling down for the night.
Over the month sometimes the sky looked rather spectacular. I love clouds. These were at my place
These were at my besties
With the warm sunshine starting, the Water Dragons were around sunning themselves.
I had to chase this Goanna from the front of the house. I think he wanted to come inside.
A Carpet Snake was sunning himself on the warm gravel of the driveway until I came outside and he headed off. I think he spent most of the winter in the roof space of my house as I heard shuffling every now and then.
OK I know how much some of you have just sped by the reptiles so here is a bit of cute. A Red-necked Wallaby Joey just hanging in the garden, warming in the morning sun.
Even if you think you are a big boy, Mum always knows you need a good wash. Despite some protests, the face washing went on for a while.
One day we went to Ballina just to get out of the house after the Covid seven day lock down had finished. By the afternoon the sky looked ominous and the seas were quite rough.
It must have been a bumper season and the pink marshmallows are stacked and ready
OK it’s time to head off into the sunset. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found a favourite or two.
Also for the Changing Seasons which I am co-hosting with Ju-Lyn. Here is Ju-Lyn’s Changing Seasons
Also for Cee’s Mid-week Madness Challenge September: Autumn or Spring
and Terri’s Sunday Stills: #Signs of…. Autumn? Spring?
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge: Pick a Topic from my Photo
Cee’s photo to pick topics from
Can you find from my photos relate to Cee’s photo?
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #150: Let’s Get Wild
Not sure where to go with this prompt so let’s get wild, The names are in the tags
Those who know me will know whats coming next
Are you ready?
It’s just the next block or two
Becky’s Square Photo Challenge: #SquareUp
I wish I could get to the beach. It’s a hot day out there, around 35C and waiting for the afternoon storm winch is building as I can see through the glass of the office door. Again I was sorting my photo folders today and found this one from February 2019. All the folders from February to August have had all the photos named not put away into their specific folders. Yep that’s the organisational nerd in me. You probably wont know this Beach Boys song, a bit of a laid back one to be called Surf’s Up.
“Check out the waves over there!”
Jude’s 2020 Photo Challenge #43 – Octobers Theme/Technique: Seascapes
This month's final assignment - try capturing the waves: either crashing dramatically against the rocks or a pier, surfers riding the waves, or gentle waves lapping on the seashore. Look out for someone or something that might add interest.
The foamy waves after a flood
Just checking out the waves…..
…..or maybe the fisher to see if he has caught anything
A huge swell that day
Waves on a stormy day
The White-faced Heron and Pied Oystercatcher were nonplussed about the waves
Waves at sunrise
The prompt from Kate for Friday Fun: Waves
Sometimes the surfboard rider is caught in the wash
Sometimes the surfer just misses out on that great ride
But always keep an eye on those waves
For Sarah’s 30 Days 30 Songs challenge
Well hello and welcome to my world in April. What started out as an uninspired photography month suddenly came alive at the end. I was thinking that I would have to tell you that a quick flick and scroll was all that was needed earlier in April. I have included a number of photos of the same subject as I couldn’t pick the one that satisfied my desire to give you something that was a wow or hmmmm that’s interesting.
A lack of rain at the beginning of the month probably assisted my malaise and desire to get out and about. With a lack of rain also brings about a lack of insects, birds and the garden suffered. I did a bit of travelling around so there is some things I found from other parts of New South Wales.
I have put some of the April finds in other blogs. Some are repeated here but I have excluded others to make your checking out a bit less time consuming. So I do recommend a good cuppa or drink of choice as a lot of you are either sitting up late or just having breakfast. This is what makes blogging so good that you may be in any part of this world and I can show you a bit of mine. Enough blah blah blah, let’s get going if you are ready.
May as well start at sunrise
One foggy morning while at a friends place in Springwood, the sounds of a helicopter broke the morning silence.
We are going to stay in Springwood for a while. We went to the Norman Lindsay Gallery and studio. The grounds were full of sculptures including these ones. Norman Lindsay wrote a book called the Magic Pudding in 1918 The story is about a pudding no matter how often it is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten again. This is Albert, the Magic Pudding.
Bunyip Bluegum, the Koala, and Benjamin Brandysnap plus Sam Sawnoff and other animals and people who own the pudding have to defend the pudding from being stolen by Pudding Thieves who want it for them selves
Part of one of the sculpture/fountains
My friends garden is quite spectacular. There were some butterflies like the Blue Triangle Butterfly who is a bit ragged resting on a Zinnia.
It did rain a bit while we were there putting water droplets on the Pelargonium
An Eastern Spinebill enjoyed the Grevilleas
So did the New Holland Honeyeater. A very striking bird.
Had to include a side view
I really like this capture so in it came.
The cooler weather of the mountains hadn’t quite began so the fungi were still about
I like Hydrangeas. This was a small flower head but has delicate colours.
Now for a bit of the flowers at my place as the sporadic rain over the past couple weeks bought out some Autumn flowers, like this Camellia
This red Hibiscus is from a cutting of my childhood home, one of my Mothers favourites.
All around the garden Impatiens self seed and they pop up in many places
Over at my besties place the Zinnias are a riot of colour
The Echinacea had it’s petals eaten by a grasshopper probably but the centre caught my eye.
A post with flowers would be the same without Pentas flowers and a Blue-banded Bee
Bees aren’t the only pollinator. A beautiful iridescent fly helps a Zinnia along
At The Channon Markets (a Which Way a while ago) a stall had Pitcher plants
in all manner of colour and shape
While on the way home from the markets, we stopped off at Rocky Creek Dam (a Silent Sunday post and the Featured Image taken with my phone) where the water lillies looked fabulous
I loved their reflections
While we are around the water, A Broad-palmed Rocket Frog likes to hang around the pot plants on my front verandah
I am not sure what this small flower is. It was growing on the small dune at the beach.
My besties Red Eucalypt is starting to flower possibly a Corymbia ficifolia.
While at the beach last weekend, yes a almost Summers day in Autumn around 28C, I came across some Small Grass Yellow Butterflies
While we are at the beach, here are some views. We climbed among the dunes to get to Broadwater Beach. In the distance, looking south, is Chinamans Beach where we often go.
The north view. The disappointing thing is the wheel tracks made by (*insert appropriate word) people who drive their stupid four wheel drive oversized pieces of junk along this beach. As you enter the walking track, there is a sign that tells you that there are protected birds who nest on the sand plus the other creatures who live in the sand, crabs plus other microscopic beings and that us walkers don’t disturb the ecology but these dickheads barge their way along the sand. Look how deep those wheel tracks are!!! Sorry please enjoy the view.
The seas were quite big. This rocky part of the headland at Boulder Beach is about 4-5 meters high.
Can you see it now!!!
One of my favourite photos is Pelicans on the light poles. The bridge has four sets of lights and every one has Pelicans. The best spot is on the light itself where a boss male sits. Further towards the bendy end is a juvenile Pelican.
Upstream of the bridge, a couple of Pied Oystercatchers sat on the sand bar.
A Silver Gull was keeping an eye on the picnickers in the park in case a chip dropped onto the ground
A White-faced Heron came to Chinamans Beach looking for a seafood dinner
I loved finding the Sooty Oystercatchers at the beach. A post with more photos of Sooty Oystercatchers here in case you missed it.
I am not sure if it was the same White-faced Heron at Boulder Beach too.
The White-faced Heron and Sooty Oystercatcher didn’t get along and avoided each other.
The cliff face at Boulder Beach has what could be Ironstone in it. It certainly looked rusty
Now for a bit of reflection. Still with me?
Speaking of rust, one of my favourite things to photograph. This old door had some wonderful rusty bits
Isn’t the sliding lock marvellous?
While at the Farmers Market, I wondered why there seemed to be more cars than usual. There was the Annual Lismore Poultry Show on. Of course because I love chooks I had to go and have a walk around. Here are some of the chooks I found, some of the more unusual ones to say the least. I don’t know all of the breeds as some I have never seen before like this one who looks like it just got out of bed.
A fabulous hat
Lace Wyandottes are one of my favourite chooks, ever so pretty.
I don’t think I have ever seen such a fat chook and purple to boot!!!
Some feathers seem to have a life of their own
So alien
A rooster who kept an eye on what was going on
Speaking a Roosters. Prehistoric is the only word that comes to mind. I couldn’t get the whole chook in the photo
Ducks always make me smile
One morning at my besties there was a cacophony of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. The flock was around twenty who all were squawking as they flew about.
They all stopped in a tree on the hill a bit of a way away. The quality of the photos isn’t that good as it was early morning and the photos are hand held but I had to capture their antics in the trees.
I thought this one was going to do forward rolls.
OK it’s almost night time, our Moon is on the rise among the clouds
The Night Spider has spun it’s web near the light to catch an insects who come to the light.
The centre of the web is a bit ratty
Our Moon is looking lovely and shining a bright light so you can see your way home
I gotta go…..see you later I hope
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