Monday, February 28, 2011

MY WORLD ~ Back to the Ranges


I know I have posted about this remarkable part of South
Australia before but this is an area I love so much that I
just could not help showing you a little more.

The Ranges are a National Heritage area, a National Park
where the 'dreamtime' sings to you and draws you into the
landscape. Painters are mesmerised by the beauty of the
light and intricacy of the rock formations and those who
seek solace for the sole just soak it up through every pore.


Hills photographed while driving by and as you snap, suddenly
you see a patch of brilliant colour.


Whether you have time or not, you stop and get out of your
car for a closer look. Snap a few dozen photos and turn back
to be faced with a flowering bush perhaps not quite as stunning
as the Sturt Desert Peas, but certainly a stunner in it's own right.


For the purists among the artist community there is gloriously
colourful ochre right on the roadside. One is not supposed to
plunder this riches but how can one resist when it is washing
away before your eyes.


Red ochre above and yellow below. There was white, deep
yellow and orange to be found here and there as well.


Changing light and little birds capture you attention


and the ever present red soil one can just never get enough of.



Beat this for a colour contrast!

All photos enlarge if you want to be sucked into the magic.
Enlarge at least the first one to see the folding of the mountainsides.

Thanks as always to the MY WORLD Team for hosting this meme.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Naked Ladies


Thank you Luiz for featuring my Ammaryllis belladonna on
this week's TODAY'S FLOWERS.

They come in two tones of pink and this lovely creamy white,
that is what the book says but I have a shorter paler variety
with pointier petals as well, blooming in my mountain garden.

Belladonnas are interesting weather prophets as well, they
pop up out of the dry ground exactly two weeks before the first
autumn rain.

When you pick or handle them, remember to wash your hands
afterwards as these beauties are poisonous. Their toxicity is
the reason they spread so readily on paddocks and roadsides as
grazing animals have a sixth sense and leave the alone.

These flowers are native to the West Cape of Africa where our
early settlers stopped to replenish water and fresh food for
themselves and fodder for their animals for the long and
arduous voyage by sailing ship to the new colonies in Australia.


They stretch their flower heads to the sun, naked and leafless,



with a multitude of buds waiting to open to this perfect showing


with a perfume that is heady and delightful. I count at least
eighteen flowers and buds on this single stem.


Here is the paler pink version


and the glory of a stand of deep pink ones


and to finish off, just a little more eye candy.



All these were photographed this afternoon in my garden.

Thank you Luiz for your continued efforts in keeping this meme alive.
All photos enlarge and the Logo leads to fields and fields of flowers.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

SkyWatch ~ Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset


Still remembering our wonderful 38 hour holiday in Moonta
Bay and this red sunset over the sea.


The fishing improved as the moon rose.


I awoke at 4a.m. to the full moon preparing for bed.


Needless to say, I was out of my bed and up two flights of
stairs, grabbed my camera and in my best birthday suit
(perish the thought), sprinkled with stardust and moon
glow and out on the balcony in a flash. If a stray dolphin
saw me, good luck to him!

This is the actual moonset with very little light and no tripod,
it is a little fuzzy just as I was with all this excitement.



Click to enlarge and sink into the sea . . .

With thanks to the Marvellous SkyWatch Team who have
hosted this meme continuously for years.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Wonder of Friendship


What is true friendship? Friendship is when someone you
have never met or spoken to, who knows you are going through
a long stretch of tough time, stretches out a hand across the seas
and sends you her wonderful art work. Ces is a marvellous artist
with an immense output, painter and illustrator extrordinaire
and blessed with a heart the size of a continent.


Not only did my dear sisterfriend send me this delight above,
she also went to all the trouble to study my Sacred Canyon post
and drew this superb interpretation of it especially for me.

Fairweather friends one has aplenty but sisterfriends who
feel you need help and extend themselves to draw and share
their artistry are few and far between.



My heart swells with gratitude as I look at the wonders
she has created.

Thank you so much my dear funny, talented, incredibly intelligent,
caring sisterfriend.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

World Bird & Watery Wednesday ~ At the Seaside


Flying high at sunrise, what else is there for a silver gull,
Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae to do?


Maybe sitting on our balcony rail hoping for a handout!


A white-faced heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, looking for
his breakfast . . .


oh well, nothing doing that way, time to turn around . . .

.
Pacific gull, Larus pacificus, a baby of our second largest gull.


A young seagull staring hopefully into the super clear water.


Mature adult flying at some distance from me


and, lucky last, some liquid eye candy.



All photos respond when clicked upon.

With thanks to the hosts of both memes. Just click on either or both Logos
and add your own entry and enjoy everyone else's as well.

Monday, February 21, 2011

MY WORLD ~ Moonta Bay


Moonta Bay is situated on the far coast of the Yorke Peninsula
in South Australia, approximately a three and a half hour drive
from us.

When we arrived in the late afternoon, I stepped out onto our
balcony and pointed my lens at Port Hughes in the distance.


Sunset from our balcony.


Who needs the raking of a Japanese garden when nature gives
one this on the beach in the early morning?



The Moonta Bay jetty, beloved of fishermen/women,


and all lit up by the rays of the early morning sun.


I caughts nothing in the morning except for a few nice shots
but the evening saw us bagging a bucket full of crabs.

Crab and bait fish in the net.


Here's looking at you kid!


and 'as you like it', cooked to perfection on a plate.



More photos to follow on World Bird mem and SkyWatch later in the week.

With thanks to the My World Team for letting me share my delicious crabs with all of you.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Pure Gold


Looking for gold? It's free and enough for all comers, take
as much or as little as you like, there are fields and fields of it.
The more you pick the more it multiplies. Nature is like that,
she gives with an open hand and shares her bounty with anyone.


I even have a goldmine in my garden!



Be brave and enlarge!

Thanks to Luiz Santilly Jr., the creator of TODAY'S FLOWERS
I can sprinkle gold dust right around the world.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ Whetting Your Appetite


Two nights in this great pad with sunsets and moonsets



with friends waiting for me to come play on the beach just
down a little path


and marvellous me clicking away for all I was worth!



It was blissful . . . unfortunately I had to wake up much too soon.

All photos enlarge.

Thanks to HEY HARRIET for providing this venue for us to share our shadows.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

SkyWatch ~ Dragon Sunset


Last week I teased you with some shooting clouds from this
same sunset, here is part of the main event: -

A dragon stretches out his claws


and then another as sweeps across the sky,


he bares his teeth


breathing fire, searing fire, that swallows all the western sky


with flickering flames spurting from the main blaze.


Satisfied at the havoc he has wreaked, he fades into the
distance and is not seen again . . .



This was just a small part of that wonderful sunset, a joy to
behold and treasure in memory and 36 photos.

Photos enlarge for a more stunning effect.

Thanks to SkyWatch we can all share our skies, be they fiery or grey, cloudy of blue.
Click on the Logo and join in the fun!

Monday, February 14, 2011

MY WORLD & World Bird Wednesday - Gone Fishing


I hope you all can forgive me for not getting around to all
your blogs. Things are somewhat stressful here now, and
for quite some time to come. I do hope you will still leave
me your comments, they help me get through each day and
I appreciate them very much indeed.

At present, like this pelican, Pelicanus conspicillatus "Ah's
gone fishin'.... Just to Moonta Bay for a couple of days for
some much needed R&R. Naturally my camera and paints
are also making the journey.


Oops, a slight adjustment to flaps and the landing should be
a safe if not an elegant one.

Like the pelican I am hoping to catch enough fish to feed us.
Be prepared for some tall and maybe true stories to come . . .



I shall be out of range while away, so stay safe, well and happy
meanwhile.

As always, all photos enlarge.

Thanks to the sponsors of both memes, both can be accessed through
the relevant Logos.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Orange Blossom & Roses


Today's flowers are perfect for a wedding, orange blossom
and roses, what else could one wish for? Well, maybe a stray
bee or two.


Isn't this a beautiful bouquet? Just one incredible rosebush.



Join TODAY'S FLOWERS today, just click on the Logo and bloom!