SkyWatch *12 Sunrise

Dawn, promising skies...shot this morning, for
a better view please click on photo to enlarge.



15 degrees to te left, the scene is gently aglow
with morning light and horse doth safely graze



Back to the main event an the scene has
dramatically changed to more subtle hues



surprisingly, as the sun emerges, the
clouds darken



The sun is up and smeone muzzles in on the action!
Never share a scene with animals or children,
they invarably steal it.



My thanks to the SkyWatch team for the great
task they perform to give us this wonderful
opportunity to share the wonders that we see.

To fly the skies around the world, please click
on the SkyWatch Logo on th right.

Please scroll down for BIRDS and FLOWERS

MY WORLD ~ 3

For those of you who asked what the lovely
flowers on our paddocks were, here they are
again. An intruduced species commonly called
Salvation Jane, as it can provide subsistance
fodder for sheep in a drought; or otherwise
known as Patterson's curse, having plenty of
unpleasant poroperties from skin rashes to asthma
as well as suppressing beneficial pasture grasses.
It belongs to the Echium family.



This post is thrown together in haste as we are
in the middle of shearing. Below, ladies in waiting.



Faithful old sheep dog Kip, arthritic, grey muzzled
but game as a pebble. Best sheep dog we have ever
had, willing to work till she drops. Overseeing from
a wool bale where she played dead until I arrived
with my camera. It was a long day for Kip.



Finally, the wool coming down and being skirted
on the table, then rolled up and baled.



Next week, something entirely different.

Thanks to the My World team for this wonderful meme.

For other stories, please click on the logo to the right.

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKLY ~ 4

"A funny bird is the pelican,
his beak holds more than
his belly can".
Ogden Nash

Pelicans, mainly young birds
photopraphed at Henley Beach,
Adelaide, SouthAustralia at sunrise.



Reflecting on their own reflections



A wealth of hungry birds surrounding
a generous old fishing couple who
shared their catch.



Waiting for the old people to arrive



Well fed and laughing at the free breakfast.



For wonderful birds around the globe, click on
the logo on the right.

TODAYS FLOWERS ~ 4

Claire Matin, described as a climber, I would
say it is more a very large shrub. Disease free
constantly flowering from early spring well into
winter with masses of gently scented blooms.



Souvenir de la Malmaison, a very old rose hard
to come by. A tribute to the Empress Josephine's
rose collection at Malmaison where she spent her
latter years and commisioned Redoute to paint
portraits of her beautiful roses. The flowers spoil
easily with rain and excessive heat, but the delicate
shade of pink and wonderful scent make up for lack
of hardiness.



Princesse de Monaco, a tribute to Grace Kelly,
another perfumed, hardy rose that lasts well on
the bush and in a vase. Disease free and hardy.



A change from roses, some orange blossom
I wish I could send you the scent that wafts on
the breeze aroud two sides of our house right now.



This amazing climber covering the side of my shade
house is a constant flowerer during the growing
season, very hardy, blooms are rain and searing
heat proof, it's scent is that of a basket of freshly
picked apples combined with one single rose.
It's name? Fourth of July.



A close up of the above.



Mount Shasta, in the rain another hardy, healthy
bush with delicate scent and long stems for cutting



For a total change of scene, my almost back
Tree Paeonia.



Juat a few of the flowers in my garden to-day.

My thanks to LUIZ SANTILLI Jr. and
DENISE BC for organising this meme.

To visit blooms aroud the world, click on the
TODAYS FLOWERS logo on the right.

~ SkyWatch *11 Sunrise

This morning we had some clouds for a change,
at present, noon, it is 30C with a dessicating,
searingly hot northerly blowing. Great weather
for firestorms as the grass is already dry.

These sunrise photos are straight from the camera
and in sequence, a few minutes apart, from the
paddock just up hill from our house.



as the sun slipped in and out behind clouds, the
whole colour of the sky changed



the gold grew, and then faded to blue again



until it burst forth ito a whole sea of gold



For the full effect, please click to enlarge.


My thanks to the great SkyWatch team for
mentoring this site. To see what the skies aroud
the world are like, click on the logo to the right.

I've Been Tagged !

I've been tagged by Willow for something called
"The Fourth of the Fourth" . This is how it works:
go to your fourth photo file, select the fourth photo
and post it on your blog and select four other
bloggers to pass it on to.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Alas poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio. . .

Forget it, women's lib is here, now it's : you
introverted idiot Hamlet, now I have to find
some other prince...



Portrayed in this charmingly gruesome photo
is one of my granddaughters in her self-made
Galadriel garb holding an Orc head they had made
with papier mache to be gruesomely re-slaughtered
by young and old alike whilst dangling from a branch
in the wild wood. The task to be accomplished
blindfolded by whacking it with a stout stick.
The combination of a solid crust and many misses
led to inordinate merriment. Once you made contact,
the stick was passed on. Most of us were doubled
up at my sister's valiant attempts with a broken
umbrella much like Hagrid's wand. My sister was the
senior family member present, and a minister of
religion, but game as a pebble.
We take our fun where we find it and are adept at
combining Shakespeare and Lord of the Rings with
Harry Potter or anyone else we care to enlist.

This was the nearest I came up with , with a
bit of poetic licence, skipping a few of my first
soft focus efforts with a tiny digital camera.

I'm supposed to pick four bloggers to tag,
so here goes, Amanda, Gemma, Michelle and
Ruth. Over to you girls and good luck!