Monday, June 30, 2014

OUR WORLD - Necessities for the Farm


Farming is a wonderful lifestyle 
but it can get expensive when things 
need replacing.


First it was imperative to replace the totalled farm UTE

as so often disaster strikes in threes,
our much beloved antediluvian Ferguson tractor 
died with it's leg in the air.

Without a tractor, shifting round bales in hilly country
was out of the question
sooo, I had to bite the bullet, this time a bigger one,

Saturday, June 28, 2014

TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro A Classy Lady


One of the rare times when I post a photo 
that is not my own.

Darling Daughter is teaching in Scotland
at the moment and just sent me this


knowing full well it would make me drool
while winter rainstorms are drumming on my
roof and windows and my wood-pile is diminishing by 
the minute.

Peonies are extremely hard to grow in our hot, dry summers
that burn off their leaves before they can form buds.

This lovely, flamboyant lady I believe
is 'Sarah Bernhardt',
I wish I could stick my nose in . . .

Linking with 


and  


Thursday, June 26, 2014

SkyWatch - Soft & gentle


As i locked the chooks away
the clouds at the horizon were thick . .
no chance of a spectacular sunset 


There was a little colour in the clouds
and I was still hoping for a little more


but, by the next click they began to fake


and what little there had been was over . . .


Joining with 


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Wild Bird Wednesday - Yellow-rumped Thornbill


A cute and very small birdie
so hard to capture


A still moment in one of my rose bushes


but when it moves 
it moves like lightning


and leaves barely a blur . . .

Linking with Stewart's


Monday, June 23, 2014

OUR WORLD - "Stormy weather . . ."


After a wild and wooly night where the hail drumming on his 
kennel had the dog flee his post as guard dog for the chickens 
and flee to the safety of the verandah where he could be 
close to me.

In a brief brake in the weather I braved the foot deep slush 
in the dip of our newly graded road.
The council, in it's wisdom, has a habit of grading our dirt 
road just before big rains are expected.
All the disturbed dirt washes down into the dip in the road
creating a real driving hazard.

Stopped at the chemist's,
view in front of my car


and looking the other way.

Half a car length behind me there was a tiny spot where I could 
cross to the footpath without filling my shoes.


I really appreciate the bounty from the sky,
it is just a bit difficult to keep warm enough.

Linking with 


Sunday, June 22, 2014

TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - Just a little weed


Winter has set in well and truly,
this little weed in the gravel of my yard
looked very pretty with it's 
vibrant new green leaves
sprouting out of the middle of the 
red, frost touched one.


Not really a flower but just as pretty.

Linking with TODAY's FLOWERS

and


Thursday, June 19, 2014

SkyWatch - Late afternoon sky


Coming home from my specialist's appointment
I stopped at the post office to collect our mail

As I turned back from the PO boxes,
I saw this glorious sky


slightly to the lest it turned to zebra stripes


by the time I got to where the road has our
paddocks on both sides,
I let the dog out to run the last mile
and started shooting again


the light was splendid and the dog raring to go
but I just could not stop shooting


 to top it all off, a little video, just because I could . .
all are phone shots undisguised in any way.


Click to enlarge and enjoy!
Oops, for some reason the video did to load as video,
looks like I still have to learn a few things . . .

Linking with


Saturday, June 14, 2014

TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - Seasonal anomalies


Heading for our winter solstice,
for the first time in well over forty years
of living in this climate,
my Hollyhock has shot up and is flowering
as though it were June in the Northern Hemisphere.


A sign of global warming?
Certainly a sign of rapid climate change.


I am not complaining, just a tad astonished
and enjoying it's beauty 
in the thin winter sunshine.


Linking with Denise's


and Laura's


Thursday, June 12, 2014

SkyWatch - Early morning ride


Early in the morning when I fed the chickens
I spied my roses flowering in winter,
lighting up the fog



By the time we were finished at the Farmers' Market,
the sky was blue and clouds came rolling in


fun to watch and drive by shoot
since my daughter drove me


 in my new, second hand UTE.

The white clouds were rising and the grey ones coming down
and by the time we got home,
it had clouded over.


No complaints, we really need the rain.

Linking with SkyWatch

Thursday, June 5, 2014

SkyWatch - Clouds after sunset


OK, OK, OK, this is cloud overload but
how could I leave any out?

This is the eastern sky after sunset
taken over just a few seconds


slightly to the right of the first one


a slightly broader shot


homing in a little


and slightly to the right of the above 


and panning out again as the little bit of colour in them faded.

Happy SkyWatching everyone!

Linking with SkyWatch 

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Nature Notes - What on Earth is going on?


Already winter and finally the spiders 
are starting to spin webs


early morning light refracting 
in the droplets of dew


making them blush in their exposed beauty


My tulips and anemones are up, the first jonquil is
flowering and butterflies are still active.

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere,
it would equate to a all this happening on the 
1st of December!
!

Hope things are 'normal' wherever you are,
they certainly aren't here.

Linking with Michelle's 

Nature Notes