Thursday, October 31, 2013

SkyWatch - The Horrors of Halloween


The night grows dark


yellow eyes gleam at the corner of the house


the shearer's dining room grows chill
a ghostly light appears


resolving into figures of the past 
that once there dwelt 


 plastered against the wall I stand
until the fitful moon lights up the room

the figures fade
as ghostly riders sweep the sky instead . . . 


Click on the pictures and you too may see those gleaming eyes.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Monday, October 28, 2013

OUR WORLD - Torn Between Two Gardens


A glimpse into the front yard and eastern side of my Mt.Lofy 
garden. At an elevation of 700m, it has a totally different
micro-climate to my farm garden at 122m and although both 
have acid soil, plants that struggle in one will thrive in the other.

Bluebells colonise and carpet grassy areas


camellias grow into trees and crabapples flourish 
apples grow well in both places


looking back at the house from one of the water tanks
the white tree is Amelanchier canadensis, of which there are
a number around the house


from the same spot, the view to the eastern garden sloping
down the mountainside, is obscured by one of the oaks 
bursting into leaf


all is pink near the front door tucked between two weeping pink 
cherry trees at right and crabapple at left


half way dow the eastern garden, the red crabapple shows
to advantage against the fresh green of maples


my white flowering cherry that always blooms for my birthday


and, to finish but by no means to show you all 3 acres,
one of the many rhododendrons. This one is President Roosevelt.


I no longer have the strength or stamina to keep up one garden
let alone two but how can I close between the wealth of roses 
on the farm and rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs in profusion and
all those lovely trees?

What do I do? I feel so Aboriginal about land, one does not own it
but is just a keeper for such a little while . . .

Now, go look at some more cheerful post on


Saturday, October 26, 2013

TODAY'S FLOWERS, & I Heart Macro - Masses of Roses


Today is reserved for the queen of all flowers, the Rose
here are just a hand full from my garden

be it sun kissed apricot


or soft as a maiden's blush 


a massed effect on my table


or a rootstock sucker left to ramble


virginal white


or a lover's delight


or even deep purple like the silent shade of night


they grace our existence, awake our emotions
our hearts expand to their heady scent.

I could give you reams of information but I will leave you with
just one tip: if a rose dies, do not plant another in it's place,
it too will die unless you completely exchange the soil
for more than the root space of the dear departed.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Wild Bird Wednesday - Emus


I had to delve into my files for the size of bird I can still see . .

From our last trip to the Flinders Ranges, here is the sort of 
country you find lots of


these big guys


here are all five of this family group although in other places
we saw dad raising nine chicks as well as larger groups of adults.


Now go see the other entries on


Monday, October 21, 2013

OUR WORLD - A Graveyard in Spring


My eyes popped as I drove past one of the two graveyards in 
our little town.

Needless to say, my errand had to take a back seat to photography


do click to enlarge and feast your eyes on the burst of colour


flowers thick as thieves on the ground


a slightly different angle


and their smiling faces up close and personal.


Sorry i haven't visited as much as I would liked for a while, I
hope to get a little more time this week.

To show us what your world looks like and see what others post,
click on the Logo on my side bar.

Linking with OUR WORLD

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Weekend Flowers, TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - More Tulips


My tulips this season were a great joy to me, they had multiplied
and were thick on the ground


the gold made a great contrast to the different reds


they were a pleasing deep cup shape


a clump of crazy fringed reds were attractive to the bees 
brave enough to venture out in the cold and rain


a few primulas as leavening to all those tulips


and looking into the sugar frosting glowing in the heart of 
a red, red tulip


Linking to Weekend Flowers


and


Thursday, October 17, 2013

SkyWatch " I find I don't know clouds a-at all . . ."


A barking Dachshund with a dark tail


doing backflips


cutting the blue sky in half


oh do make up your mind, are you pink and pretty
or grey and threatening


or with a big fat belly?


There are cloudy or blue skies the world over, click on the Logo and 
check them out!

Monday, October 14, 2013

OUR WORLD & Nature Notes - The Joys of Home


My horizons have shrunk a little recently so it was not only a
great surprise but also a great joy when my eldest 
granddaughter built a beautiful chicken coop for my birthday
last month

If you enlarge, you can see it in all it's glory gracing the corner
of my fallow veggie patch, front left, rain gauge on the stone seat


when my grandchildren provide, they provide thoroughly, three
bantam pullets and a bin of wheat as well + two eggs they had 
laid in transit


within four days, they were tame enough so I could let them 
mow the lawn and hunt for insect pests

  
up close and personal, when I step outside, they very soon find me


and together we enjoy the spring and the view down to my
daughter's house and the huge false acacia, apple trees in bloom 
and the pink of Tamarix gallica just showing at bottom left.


The world is beautiful and I am well content.

Click on the relevant Logos at right to see what the rest of the world
and Nature within/upon it is doing


Saturday, October 12, 2013

TODAY'S FLOWERS, Weekend Flowers & I Heart Macro - Wisteria


My air-conditioning: a pergola covered in wisteria and
grape vines shading the front of the house



in spring the scent is pure joy as I step out of my room


and being at different heights, I don't even have to stretch or 
bend to bury my nose in it's blooms.




Thursday, October 10, 2013

SkyWatch - Grey on Grey


A hopeful day for rain which actually developed during the night


I had occasion to drive by a reservoir yesterday. The view was
great but no place to stop between guardrail and cliffs, just this 
tiny spot where I could stop for a moment, dash across the road
in fear of my life and snap a few shots


with less and more foreground.
Not much scope for movement as I leant against the guardrail 
while being hooted at by passing motorists.


Do click on the Logo on the right
to join in this marvellous meme and check out other skies.