OUR WORLD, Wild Bird Wednesday, & Nature Notes - The Wild Wood in Autumn

For a number of years now I had not made it to the wild

wood for health reasons.

Yesterday I just could not stay away when I saw so much gold 

down there from my vantage point on the hill

the sheep cheered me on

as the gold on the ground blinded me

I must be the richest person on the planet

with all that gold at my feet! 

Near the dam, a white-faced heron rose at my approach

and wonder of wonders,

I managed to get a blurry shot of it

I even managed to see and snap a grey Fantail

cute isn't he?

Almost three months late in his arrival

but who's complaining?

back on my golden carpet to struggle up the hill 

carting my camera with 500mm lens.

Yep, I was exhausted . . . but it was worth it!

Linking with

OUR WORLD 

Wild Bird Wednesday

and Nature Notes

OUR WORLD & Nature Notes - Everyday Farmlife

A pea soup kind of summer morning

with sheep sheepishly wandering back and forth

in the holding paddock between the houses,

after having fly-strike attended to.

We have been beset with a new kind of maggot that is hairy 

and breeds both in wet wool as well as under the skin.

Very nasty!

Meanwhile, the goose who sat on her infertile eggs and 

had a couple of blue bantam eggs added to the mix, has 

brought forth two dear little chicks.

Unfortunately, a goose being a goose, gave them their first 

swimming lesson in the lily pond, from which two wet

and distressed shipwrecked chicks on a rock were rescued

by passing younger granddaughter.

Guess who looks after them now? Yup, they share by bed with 

the electric blanket on 1 on their side, snug and warm in their 

ice-cream container, tucked up in their fluffy blanked I hastily

knitted for them last night.

They feasted on boiled egg

and promptly went to sleep.

I do hope they are a pigeon pair so I get a rooster for my 

three hens and a chicken that lays blue eggs.

Isn't it lovely to be forever living in hope?

Linking with OUR WORLD

and Nature Notes

OUR WORLD - Raiders of the Lost Ark

Just look at us, aren't we sweet? We would never dream of

touching a leaf in your garden.

How can you send us away like this, we are totally innocent . . .

How could you think that anyone as peaceful and gentle as we

are, would strip all the leaves and twigs off all the young citrus

trees, the roses, the fruit trees and berry bushes and trample

what we had not eaten?

Well, here is the proof of the pudding, the gate is shut and one

is still inside our yard. It just takes one thoughtless person to

leave one of our 8 gates open and the whole flock sneaks in to

demolish all my hard work.

Ah, the joys of farming . . .

This all out war has lately been going on in Our World, what is happening in your's?

OUR WORLD - Friends at Home

Just a few critters I have floating around my place. These fellows

have felt free to destroy miles and miles of fencing, in consequence,

the sheep can wander down the road at will. Even this near

to blind sheep who almost blundered into me and had to be

alerted by her lamb to my presence.

How Sparky got out I have no idea but he was doing a great job

mowing the last of the green grass in the yard

until he noticed me and decided to stop for a chat.

The Moon Hill paddock is the only one with even kangaroo

proof fences, so this beautiful lady can safely mind a number

of youngsters.

Looks like the Magpie is looking after these four frisky

little ones.

I hope all of you are having a great beginning of the week, now

come on over to Our World and get your post up!

OUR WORLD - Somewhere along the way . . .

Murray Bridge station, as the name suggests, on the banks of

the 'Mighty Murray'. My suitcase waits patiently for the Overland

to Melbourne, connecting Adelaide, the capital of South Australia

with Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, one of our neighbouring

states 8 1/2 hrs away.

It was still a fair wait after a couple of goods trains had passed

and the weather moved in and favoured everyone with a drenching

since the station and all facilities were closed.

It is a long time since there was a manned railway station here

as can be seen by the unfortunate state of the station master's

house on the other side of the tracks.

I had things other than photography on my mind as we pootled

along at the sedate pace of 80km. My thoughts as grey as the

landscap, I would have much preferred to be clambering amongst

the rocks of that shadow clad outcrop.

A break in the clouds lit up an occasional spot of gold

that had not yet gone to seed.

A country road taking someone home to the farm sheltered

amongst the pines

and with these peaceful sheep on a paddock in the vicinity of

Ararat, nearer my destination. Only an hour and a half to go . .

I hope you will forgive me if I cannot visit you all this week,

life has a way of intruding on the fun of blogland.

Do show us what is making your particular corner of OUR WORLD tick.

SkyWatch & Nature Notes ~ 3rd. Blogaversary!

It is exactly three years since my darling daughter bullocked me

into starting a blog. Insecure and mainly computer illiterate, I made

my first tentative posts mainly to have somewhere to show some

photos of my way of looking at the world.

I don't know how it happened but over 600 posts and 300 followers

later, I am humbled to have so many friends around the world and

more grateful than I can possibly say to have been welcomed into

the blogging community with such open arms.

I wish to thank you all for having taken me to your hearts. You all

have made this old lady with a camera, a very happy bunny indeed!

All of you have been like this shining cloud for me, pure joy.

The seasons this year are very confused, like this spider outside

my room with his stash of food bundled up to feed her babies.

Our lovely English Leicester ladies smiling after being 'crutched'

( having their backsides shorn to prevent fly-strike).

One of the chores when the grass greens up in autumn.

It is two weeks to mid-winter here and my garden not only

is bursting with spring flowers but roses as well. How on

Earth am I going to get them all pruned when they look like

this?

Certainly not something one expects at this season of the year.

My Hyacinths are popping up like Johnny Jump-ups.

Violets are flowering everywhere,

Jonquils smile from hidden nooks,

and Snowflakes are ringing their little bells earlier than ever.

Although the sheep got into the garden and trampled the broad

beans, they have set and ripened at least four months early.

Luckily, we have had no bad frosts so our lettuces are doing

well, also very unusual for this time of year.

Most plants are well in advance of their season except these

apples, which were late in ripening and are still being enjoyed

straight off the tree.

The biggest anomaly is this flowering cherry tree which has

swelling buds when it has never in 40 years, flowered before September.

SkyWatch and Nature Notes, Memes that wave been kind to me, click on

either Logo on my side bar to join in all the fun.

MY WORLD ... has temporarily shrunk

Being mainly stuck in bed on home detention is not so bad when
you have a trusty camera for bedfellow.



Thoughtful friends send flowers, fragrant cups of early morning
tea appear up the hill in fog and rain by courtesy of loving daughter
pointing out the window .....

at someone watching us ..... there were at least three of them



as well as the intently grazing sheep ...



The camera levitated and headed in to the car-port hoping for
more and came up trumps.



Circumnavigating the cars, she let me get quite close

before discretion seemed the better part of valour

just two hops and another stop to look, probably wishing she
had a camera too ...

and so, past the driveway gate and a final look in farewell.

The world is full of interest if only we look with the heart.

The pics are so much nicer when enlarged.

Thanks to the MY WORLD team for the chance of once more
posting on this meme.