MY WORLD ~ A Long Walk

1,000 miles from home, near Porepunkah, Victoria, we enjoyed

a quiet holiday with daily walks. This was one of the long ones.

Down a disused, leaf-hidden path in an Elm thicket we went . . .

with bright fungi lit by a stray sunbeam,

down to the Overs River where it flowed tranquil and wide.

Our shady untrodden path was like something out of a half

remembered fairy tale and, as things happen in fairy tales and

dreams, from this cool moist thicket,

we were shot out into the stark sunlight with hard baked

earth to plod upon . . . and a late and rather moth-eaten

butterfly.

Once again, Stewart M has risen to the challenge and identified

this little pretty as a Meadow Angel, a very apt name too.

down to a river-bend that was anything but tame. The flood

had ripped up trees along the bank and built up a whole gravel

pit of broken stones on the inside curve while tearing down

everything on the other bank.

The smooth flow of the river, was here a raging torrent.

The built up gravel and debris on the inner curve.

Walking along the dense scrub along the bank we heard the

twitter of small birds and even managed to see some in the

gloom. Here a Grey Fantail sat momentarily still

and a hen Wren too.

Another bright butterfly bumbled along on a sunny patch:

Stewart M's identification, a Yellow Admiral.

Thanks again Stewart for coming to my rescue!

as emerald green mosses glowed among the pine needles

in the old forest.

The Prof, having safely negotiated this small swimming pool,

is dwarfed by the forest.

I scrambled through the bushes and was rewarded by a little

bit of lost history as I came upon these old posts, and there

were many more, driven into the river-bed. It looked like a

long forgotten mooring and landing place for river traffic.

Onward, ever onward. By this time we were far from our

starting point, getting tired and just a teensy bit crabby and

were cheered by this live bird-bridge across our path.

Some pine mushrooms, that someone had obviously enjoyed,

growing on an old stump

and a luminous patch of cow-parsley finely iced with dew,

a magnificent view of Mt.Buffalo

and the tiniest Oxalis I had ever seen, the flowers a bare 1/4",

taking me back again to fairyland.

A bare half mile and we were back at our home away from home.

They all enlarge it you have the time and patience. Sorry this was

such a long post, you have no idea how many pictures I DIDN'T

show you.

Do join in this great meme that lets us all see what is happening

elsewhere in the world. Just click on the MY WORLD logo in my

side bar and bingo! you can wander at will across the globe.

SkyWatch ~ Simple Summer Skies

The clouds roll up even in the summer time, the grasses have
dried off to just my favourite shade of Naples Yellow.

Dark clouds, light clouds, and a big patch of blue.

The lone tree supported by one of our patches of forest peeping

over the crest of the hill. A patch of bracken still shows green

dividing the dry paddock... ah, the joys of summertime...

Now click on the logo to see more skies, but please leave a

comment before you go.

Thanks to the industrious SkyWatch team we can all share

the beauty of our skies. Enjoy!

Watery Wednesday ~ 8 Acheron River

In the foot-hills of the Victorian Alps, part of the Great
Dividing Range, in the valley of the Mountain Giants,
Eucalyptus regnans, runs and burbles the Acheron



River, wonderful for cooling your feet after a long treck,
or just refreshing your spirit. It runs through a temperate
rainforest a-twitter with birds and with the rich aroma of
composting vegetation.



The great forest giants, among the tallest trees in the world,
were destroyed in the great fire of 1939. This is but megre
regrowth, and the big trees, if people do not stop burning our
forests, will never be seen again. This forest is 60 years old.
The forest it replaced was primeval, and it would take at least
300 years to come close, barring any more disasters, to what
it once was.

Please enlarge to fully appreciate.

Clock on the Logo to see much more of the source of life.

Thank you 2sweetand saxy for providing this meme.

SkyWatch ~ 36 The Weatherwatch Tree

Walk out of our carport and look towards the SW, on
the hillside stands a lone tree often featured in my sky
shots, behind it a line of trees of our small forest.
The tree appears small, yet is a mighty 200+ year old
River Redgum, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, having
weathered everything from drenching rains to droughts.
I hope it will stand proud for at least 200 years more.



A little weather rising from the south west



at first gently embracing the old tree, but, as it gathers
strength



its clouds almost obliterate the scene, swallowing
forest, hillside and tree to wrap it all in a wooly blanket.

If my skies are too cloudy, click on the Logo to see many others.

Thanks to Klaus and the ever diligent Skywatch team, we
can all enjoy this wonderful meme.