TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 17 Memories of Spring

SkyWatch 2 posts down!

Pleae click pictures to enlarge for full effect.



Part of Tulip bed in the farm garden last spring



White Iceland Poppies dancing with red Ranunculi



I just love single Anemones



Another part of the Tulip bed. Unless I totally
replant this year, there will be no Tulips next
Spring, the bulbs were all cooked in the ground
this summer.

Now click on the Logo at right to view wonderful
flowers around the world.

Thank you Luiz, Denise and Laerte for the wonderful
work you do in organizing this meme.

All Things Great and Small

The wonder of living things

great and small

some we know of

or not at all

that lurk in the murk

on sea floor and cave

the dragon's lair

or the curling wave

*

All creatures

all different

one from the other

the ant and the elephant

each one through the ages

developed their own special traits

man tries to clone

but God just creates

We name but the species by feather and bill

by cloven foot or porcupine quill

while God gives each one

in His kingdom the grace

to be perfect for that

one particular place.

SkyWatch ~ 24 Aspects of a Sunrise

Please click on photo for best effect.



The rising sun lights up the sky



then pulls the light away



to bask in its own reflection in a window glass.

Click on the Logo on the right for amazing skies.

Thanks to Klaus and the SkyWatch team we can all
enjoy skies around the world.

The Cat and I

The cat sat on the mat

and yes she did do that

but when she saw me sitting down

she clawed her ancient frame

upon my knee, and kneading

needle sharp through skin and flesh

expressed her love for me

*

Curled up in perfect unison

both lost in thought of long ago

of what once was and never more

shall come to pass

in moonlit grove
or looking glass.

Sent Back Once More

Back fron the gates of shades I come

wolves howling at my heels

I do not hurry, flee or run

they send me back

my day not done

*

The wolf is my companion

my guide and my protector

my journey yet unfinished

my work not wholly done.

*

*

Wolf detail from painting by Yasmin Flint.

MY WORLD ~ 16 A Trip to Queensland, 1st. Day

Dawn in last year's autumn garden looking down to
our daughtr's house.




After a long day's driving, we cross from South
Australia into New South Wales and get to
Wentworth on the Darling river after dark and are
accosted by a Brushtail Possum looking for handouts.
Befor I saw the sign not to feed the animals, I had
already slipped him a piece of banana.



Overnighting in a cabin in the caravan pk. I wake
to waterfowl in the early morning light.



A smug Black Duck reflecting

Male Mallard with Wood Duck behind him

This one has the look of a Pygmy Goose but

colour and location do not quite match.

A large domestic duck nesting in a root hollow

A Dusky Moorhen, the bane of ducklings, sailing
on some duckweed.

Male Wood Duck basking in the gold reflection

from a moored boat

And a Duckling glad to have escaped the

beak of the Moorhens ,

Next week, onward to the Warrumbungles.
To check out the rest of the world, klickthe Logo.

My gratitude to Klaus and the MY WORLD team
for giving us the opportunity to show our corner.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 16 Red, Red Roses

To all those who wished me well during my recent
indisposition, I dedicate these roses with my thanks.



All from last year's magical garden



still blooming bright in my memory.



My gratitude to Luiz, Denise and Laerte for giving
us so many wonderful flowers to choose from.

Now, click on the logo and gather arm loads from
around the world!

MY WORLD ~ 15 Temperate Rainforest

Please click on any photo to enlarge.



New leaves on a Tree Fern, Dicksonia antarctia
unfurling



new growth on another at the forest's edge. In the
background Northophagus antarctica, from the
days when the continents were still joined.



a valley a little further with a river flowing through
it. These Tree Ferns were the understory of beautiful
Eucalyptus regnans, the kings of the forest which did
not survive the fires a few years ago



a stand of the regal regrowth after the 1939 fire



this is what it looks like two to three years after
a bush fire, on the left the fire must have been a little
less fierce and the timber at least partly useable and
felled. The forest on the right was reduced to match
sticks. How many of the live trees in my photo of
last November have survived I do not know. With such
extreme fire condition my heart is heavy and fearful for
the lovely forests I have previously posted.

Thank you Klaus and MY WORLD team for giving us
this lovely meme.

TÓDAY'S FLOWERS ~ 15 From Last Year's Garden

Daphne odora, grown from a cutting, has a
heavenly scent!



Polyanthus, so pretty in the Spring.



Iceland Poppies, graceful as fairies dancing.



To Luiz, Denise and Laerte my thanks

for making this meme possible.

SkyWatch ~ 23 A Sad, Sad Sunrise

*
Click to enlarge.

*

Our country is in mourning.

*

Loss of life climbing towards 300 from the fires in Victoria.

Hospitals full of burns victims.

*

Queensland to the north ravaged by massive floods

and South Australia where we are, stricken

by drought.

*

5 empty dams, some bore water left for the minimal core

of our animals and rationed rainwater for our two households.

*

Another heat wave is approaching.

*

Everything is tinder dry, should a repeat performance of

Ash Wednesday 1983 occur when we had our turn, we have

no water reserves to protect ourselves.

*

Our hearts and prayers are with the Bush Fire victims in

Victoria and New South Wales and all those affected by the

loss of life in the Queensland flooods.

Unchained Melody....

Dearest friends.

as you know, on the 29th. Jan. I went in for a day surgery procedure. Two hospitals and 11 days later, I have been unshackled from the iron bedstead and released on home detention.

Your kind wishes, prayers and thoughts have sustained me during my captivity.
I thank you all for standing by me during this time, and hope to be able to post at least for SkyWatch this week.

It may take me a while to leave comments on your blogs as I still need some recovery time.

With grateful appreciation, hugs to you all, Arija

a proxypost....

Last Thursday Arija was admitted to hospital for day surgery...unfortunately things became rather more complicated than initially anticipated and so they haven't let her out yet. When I saw her this afternoon she was smiling [a good sign] despite being captive in a room that looks out onto a less than delightful brick wall.
She asked me to let her regular readers know that while she's still on the planet, posting stories and pix is a tad challenging at present. I have my fingers crossed that she'll bounce back to her usual self soon...

posted by India [daughter of Arija]