TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Tree Peonies

For my dear, dear Renee, a promise of things to come. May
the angels lift you gently into the light,



to your true flowering in the place beyond



where all things and reasons are revealed and we find ultimate
peace and love.



More flowers can be accessed by clicking the Logo.

Thanks to Luiz Santilli Jr. and his wonderful team, we can all
wallow in the beauty of flowers from around the world.

SkyWatch ~ A Simple Summer Sunrise

The sun is sick of rising early, no longer her eager starts before
5a.m., she lifts her sleepy head no earlier than 7 now. Blurry
still her eyelids flutter....



making patterns on the purple sky



as she yawns, the light drifts upward



till it paints the sky with molten gold as, glorying in her power,
she lifts her head over the horizon.



All photos expand with a simple click, try for yourselt.

The world is full of ever changing skies, click on the Logo
for the endless variety.

Thanks to the co-ordinating SkyWatch Team we can all
enjoy them.

Nature Notes ~ The Halcyon Days of Summer

Our terrible heat waves seem to be abating, nights are a
delight of cool breezes wafting twixt open door and window
lulling us into peaceful and refreshing sleep.

Even this water lily I have managed to coax into its first
flowering after 3 years of suspended animation in a bucket
of water in the shade house to at least keep it alive
through the tail end of our massive drought.



Days full of blue skies and friendly temperatures to be enjoyed
while they last and my slowly dribbling hose keeping my rose
garden a joy to behold and a delight for the senses.

On a more sobering note, the Willy-Wagtails bred sparingly this
season. Our normal contingent of owls was conspicuous by its
absence. Early in summer one Mopoke called, decided this was
not a good place to be, and left. Surprisingly, with the dry seasons
we have had, there have been no plagues of field mice or indeed
any evidence of them. Hardly a wonder that the owls moved to
greener pastures.



In 'normal' seasons, when the Naked Ladies, Amarillis Belladonna,
grace us by their presence, the first autumn rain follows in two
weeks. No such luck this year though.... it is just uniformly dry.



To see how others are faring, click on the Logo.

Thanks to Michelle at Ramblibg Woods, we can enjoy seasonal variations
from all around the world.

Watery Wednesday ~ Smug Ducks

Don't they look deliciously self satisfied?

Click on the ducks and they will grow on you.

Click on the Logo and the waters of the world will flow for you.

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy for providing this great venue for us.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Roses for Renee

Our dear, dear blog and sisterfriend Renee is preparing for
her final journey. We, her friends, feel helpless at the thought
of her being plucked from our midst.



May the scent of these roses ease her passage and fill the
the sails of her ship as she heads into the sunset.



Safe journey dear, loving, laughing friend. You gave us so much joy!



Drift lightly like the rose petals into the hands of God.

SkyWatch ~ No Stars, Just Shooting Clouds

Shooting clouds? Fluffy, wind driven balloons on strings?



I found this sky show quite exciting, right above part of my
rose-garden on the right. If you enlarge it, you can actually
see the roses.

The Logo opens the skies of the world.

Thanks to the SkyWatch Team for the opportunity of sharing.

Watery Wednesday ~ Tropical Waterlilies

Blue waterlilies, blue water ....



changing to slate grey depending on the angle.

Click to enlarge.

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy for this liquid meme.

MY WORLD ~ Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

The Royal Exhibition Building was completed in 1880 for
Melbourne's first World Exhibition which was a great seccess.



It has a splendid ballroom where in my university days I even
got to dance with the Governor of Victoria a somewhat more
pleasant occasion than sitting for my matriculation exams
with a thousand other nervous student.

The Logo takes you to the rest of the world.

Thanks to the MY WORLD Team, we can all show our corner of this world.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Roses for Valentine's Day

Early this morning while the Prof made breakfast,
I went out into the garden and picked a few roses.



He would have bought me a shop full, but I preferred my
own deliciously perfumed variety.



Each one a beauty in its own right and together, a veritable
feast.



For flowers galore, click on the Logo.

Thanks to Luiz Santilli and his faithful team we share a wealth of
flowers every week.

SkyWatch ~ Sweltering Heat

The heat of the past two months has been physically challenging
forcing me to spend most of my time in a horizontal position.
My trusty laptop has also suffered and attack from cyber-space
and only came out of intensive care last night.

Somehow we both weathered our various onslaughts and survived.

One of our hot, hot sunsets over yonder hill in the west looking
just a tad menacing.



A moment of silver lining as the sun decides to briefly show
her face



and light up the bare paddocks of my favourite hill in the east.



A big thank you to all of you who have left me so many
supportive comments. Your friendship and caring thoughts
mean so much to me. I am sorry I can as yet only visit now
and then as time sitting is still limited .

The Logo unlocks hundreds of other skies.

Thanks to our fab. Team we can all enjoy each other's skies.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Rosemary and Pansy

Blue flowers of Rosemary gracing my hedge.

A sweet faced pansy managing to survive the summer heat.

The Logo unlocks a wealth of flowers.

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Thanks to our hosts at TODAY'S FLOWERS we can enjoy

so many flowers around the world.

Home Alone

Here I sit in solitary state, like Rapunzel in her tower or the
Lady of Shalott. The Prof is still away and a whopping great
limb of a river redgum that fell from heat exhaustin across
my driveway, is as effective in keeping me grounded as the
Great Wall of China.
Do I feel lonely and neglected? Not a bit.
My trusty and very pregnant huntsman protects me from
small biting flying beasties.


















These little painted finches that my eldest granddaughter gave
me as a parting gift when she left to take up employment in our
Natinal Capital, cheer me with their chatter.


















This young blue tongue lizard peeking out from under the BBQ
eradicates any creepy crawleys at ground level and my ancient
21 year old black Millie cat makes sure I sit a lot so she can curl
up on my lap


















and while the grapes last on the vine, so do the daily visits from
my younger granddaugter.

In fact, I live like, as the Germans say "Gott in Frankreich" or
God in France, a saying that survives from the time of Louis XIV
the sun king. My culinary wants are supplied by darling daughter
carting anything my pantry or fridge may lack as "meals on heels"
up the hill to my tower.


















When the day fades into dusk, the whole troup assemble up
here for G's&T and the mandatory hilarity supplied by courtesy
of No.1 grandson.

As you can tell, this Rapunzel is making the best of her situation
and most certainly needs no rescuing and at times has more
company than strictly necessary as the pre dawn visit of the
tame steer who pruned my roses, grazed the strawberries as well
as the new row of potatoes and the sheep I noticed gazing longingly
through the fence at the green in the garden when her paddodck
was dry and sere. Next day she became pot valiant in the company
of a friend and broke in only to be instantly deported to the other
side of the fence.

Certainly no time to catch cabin fever.... I am truly blessed.

SkyWatch ~ Clouds, Promises, Promises.....

Just before sunrise they came .... they covered the sky

















all day they played across the sky, teasing, teasing ....

by late afternoon, the sky was covered, but did it rain???

Not a single drop, just a hot, hot day with no respite in sight.

Click on the Logo to fly other skies....

Thanks to the untiring SkyWatch Team for showing us the

beauty of the skies.

Watery Wednesday ~ Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland

Thank you all for visiting and leaving comments which I treasure.
I am sorry I cannot at present return the compliment. It is as
much as I can manage to put up a post.

Fingerlings restocking the river for Heron takeaways.

Some evidence along the riverbank of the recent massive storm

flood that roared down the gorge uprooting large trees and

washing away great boulders set as stepping-stone crossings,

ripping out steel ladders cememted into sheer cliffs and generally

creating havoc.

Now the river is deceptively calm and benign but beware of

thunderstorms further up stream!

The Logo will open waterways around the world.

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Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy we can all join in the fun.

MY WORLD ~ English Leicester Sheep

Our intelligent and beautiful English Leicester sheep at sunrise.

Historically Lincoln and leicester lustre longwool was used for

wig making and worsted outer wear. It is remarkably water

and dirt resistant as well as having a lovely sheen.

On top of all that, they are great and caring mothers the one

below even had triplets.

Now click on the Logo and visit everyone else.

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Thanks to the MY WORLD team for keeping this great meme going.