Monday, September 7, 2009

MY WORLD ~ 42 A Visit up River

Last Friday we had occasion to drive 100 miles
up river to visit friends in South Australia's prime
citrus growing area. The drive was delightfully green
after the late winter rains we have lately had.



Their water allocation has been drastically cut
because of the lack of water in the river. Most orchards
we passed had greatly reduced fruit size, a lot showed
drought stress. Yields in consequence had been low and
of much poorer quality than other years.

Above is their tame Galah who kept insisting on calling
me 'Charlie', did he know something I didn't?

My friend Meredith in her garden which is normally skirted
by glowing golden oranges but now nowhere near as lush as
I remember it, even the large Jacaranda shading the
verandah had a lot of die back.



Even in this sandy dryland soil there were many
beautiful flowers



and a little water to keep it all viably growing.



It is amazing what a little water can do, the Carnation
certainly enjoyed her shower.
All photos enlarge by a simple click on them.


Both the dogs and cats were matched - dressed in
black and white, two Jack Russells and two cats and
all good friends.


A birdhouse the size of a normal lounge room housed
two pairs of singing Canaries and a cooing dove that
had thought this a good place to stay.


Barbary Dove, Streptopelia 'risoria', native of the
south western corner of Western Australia but a
favourite aviary bird in the East.


In the front yard the butter-yellow Banksia Roses were
draping themselves over the trees.



Our friend Mike, the best citrus grower I know,
exports all over the world, growing a great variety
of fruit as well as researching others.


A peek into the shade house with Orchids, Fuchsias
as well as many other delicate flowers.


These beautiful White Cedars show off their golden
seed berries against the blue of the sky.


I will be posting the Guinea Fowl roaming the orchard
in Bird Photography Weekly.

We had a lovely day being spoiled rotten with a delicious
lunch, afternoon tea as well as a car full of Oranges,
Mandarins, Blood Oranges and Pomelos as a parting gift..

For the World other people live in, click on the Logo and enjoy.

To Klaus and the MY WORLD team, my thanks as always.

39 comments:

  1. Hi Arija. Just got back home. Wonderful world.I enjoyed so much. The blooms and the critters are so amazing. Thanks for sharing.
    Excellent.

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  2. A lovely trip to see friends, flora & fauna, felines, foul and more. It looks like the birds are posing just for you.

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  3. Your friends have a magnificent place. Loved seeing all of the animals (the birds must love their large room) and the beautiful flowers. Wonderful post!

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  4. What a marvelous trip, Arija! Such fun to visit with good friends! And your photos are delightful as always! I love the "well dressed" dog and cat! All that and a car full of wonderful oranges! Doesn't get any better than that.

    Have a great week!

    Sylvia

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  5. Thanks for allowing me to join you here.The Dove looks much like the Eurasian Collared Dove sometimes seen here.
    Blessings,Ruth

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  6. Water shortage doesn't stop the colours being vibrant on the plants and flowers that survive...

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  7. Your world is really beautiful.

    Have a good week my dear goddess.

    Love Renee xoxo

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  8. Lovely peek into your friends' world, Arija. Love the canary!
    Janice.

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  9. You always take the most captivating photos, Arija. The area you traveled to is delightful.

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  10. So, *Charlie* (!!!!), thanks for taking us with you to visit your friends. Loved all the flora, fauna, and critters galore. Great color. We could use some rain here, also. Have a wonderful week.

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  11. Thanks for the tour. Wonderful shots of the birds and plants. I'm sorry about the drought but it still looks beautiful.

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  12. How terribly sweet are those pink feathers. Always a pleasure trip to stop by here.

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  13. Hello Arija, you got lovely photos here...love 'em all! thanks for making my day! have a great one! tc!

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  14. Beautiful collection from your trip! :)

    Excellent!

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  15. What great pics of your beautiful country - so exotic!

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  16. Ah what a beautiful place. I like your friend Mike's shoes! How are you my dearest? I miss you.

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  17. Beautiful photographs as always. The way you capture(not literally!) the animals is amazing. Good work "Charlie"

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  18. Those galahs have so much character and personality..love them!!

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  19. Lovely flowers and birds in your friend's garden. A lack of water certainly has a way of reminding us just how important water is to sustain life. Any land that is not irrigated here is desert. A little water makes all the difference.

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  20. Hey Charlie, what a gorgeous place your friends have. It is really sad to see the lack of growth because of drought. Yet the flowers are very beautiful. Love the matching pets. Enjoy the fruit of their labors.

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  21. Ah yes, that is exactly what I was thinking. Mike's boots would look mighty fashionable when worn by a woman in a skirt! Thank you for your sweet kind words. Oh yes, I hear you and in fact it's amuses me sometimes when I am tired and at a point where my internal symtems need a break, I remember you and I hear you and I stop and smile.

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  22. wow! I love those beautiful colors of birds, thanks for sharing, I enjoyed viewing all your lovely pics..

    Norm

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  23. wonderful images. I simply love the cockatoo on the first image.

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  24. Water, whether too little or too much, seems to be a porblem n many parts of the world. I am glad their orchard is not totally parched.

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  25. Wonderful flora. Thanks for sharing your delightful outing. Yellow dove is so pretty.

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  26. That was a wonderful and entertaining walk with you, Arija!Thanks!

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  27. Hi "Charlie", I want to tell you that I feel the excitement of your comments on my post as you were writing them. It is a give and take situation especially when you love the farmers products. And there is nothing better than farm fresh produce. And your trip here was well worth it. Blood orange and mandarin and pomelos are some of my favorites, though I cannot have too much acid. Thank you for sharing your world with us, it is very lovely. (BTW, I know what chook means through Bonnie Bonsai, hehehe). Have a great day!

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  28. Love all the photos of your great day out!

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  29. A great day out and such generous friends. Sad about the drought though. I hope rain comes soon!

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  30. What a gorgeous place, though. I am sorry about the drought. It sure is taking its toll.

    I was at an orchard here the other day, and there were special discounts on hail-damaged fruit. The weather has been very strange on our planet.

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  31. Arija: You certainly showed the beauty of your world with the water helping so much.

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  32. My favourite of a great set has to be the canary - you're really captured it's inquisitive nature!

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  33. Wonderful tour of the orchard and landscape with the added bonus of birds and pets! The carnation with water droplets is lovely, Arija.

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  34. Arija, love the dove and the oranges. Yum! I have 3 small green ones on my new dwarf orange tree. I'm just waiting and waitng for them to ripen. It will be awhile yet and then I have to get to them before the birds do!

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  35. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos of your wonderful world. I enjoyed so much in every photo and every detail.

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  36. This is a lovely My World Post. I really enjoyed my tour of your part of the world. All wonderful photos of so many different things.

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  37. What a wonderful place your friend has. You can tell the animals know it too :)
    I miss the smell oranges leave in your hands as we pick them up from the tree.
    When I was a kid, we would peel them and eat them right on the spot, and we would fill up our pockets of tangerines and eat them as we played.
    The orange scent everywhere. Even on our pillows.

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  38. Such a lovely blog, I have enjoyed it so tonight...wonderful wonderful photos and from my armchair I have studied these beautiful birds and flowers most enjoyable. Thank you.

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