TODAY'S FLOWERS - Flowers of Hope

To clear my head and give my sister a rest while incarcerated

in hospital, I went for a walk in the neighbourhood.

Peeping over the side fence near the emergency entrance was

this great snow-ball bush.

Spring in sub-urban Melbourne brought forth these arum lilies

against a rather monotonous house.

Normally, these lovely grevilleas would be a goldmine for

territorially fighting honey-eaters protecting their food

source. I was surprised at the lack of birds. Despite the masses

of flowers on all sides, I only saw a few Miner birds.

Roses were just starting to bloom with some unfortunately

damaged outer petals from the recent heavy rains.

Lastly, cherry blossom on a small street tree of some caring

gardener who had planted two on his nature strip.

The fresh air and flowers restored me to a semblance of normalcy

so I could keep my sister slightly more cheerful company.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Spring/Autumn wherever you

are. Forgive me if I do not manage to visit you all, I do as much as I

can manage at the moment.

TODAY'S FLOWERS make it possible for us to see what is blooming

around the world, so post your own and check out everyone else's!

SkyWatch ~ Fog

Wake up in the morning, look out the window and see . . .

nothing???

Well, nothing but the closest roses to my window.

At least the fog camouflages most of the weeds . . .

You can hardly see to the end of the house . . .

whatever happened to my view?

The fence has faded . . .

so have the roses on the fence-line

the roses have disappeared on the arch and the paddock

beyond is just a blur.

Oh well, at least it's good for the plants to soak up all that moisture.

Happy SkyWatching everyone!

World Bird Wednesday - Turn of a Tern

Sorry guys 'n gals, my camera is on the blink so I draw on a

few shots from times gone by.

On one of my trips to Goolwa, near where the Murray finally

makes it's way to the sea if the mouth is not silted up in a drought.

In the dark and decidedly threatening sky I spied an Arctic Tern,

Sterna paradisaea.

Yep, that speck in the sky is, da da!!! an Arctic Tern believe it

or not . . .

with a little iPhoto enhancement, I was even able to identify

this graceful conglomerate of feathers.

I just loved that swallow tail in the above shot and the splayed

tail at the turn below.

and the wings held high like a Cessna with it's wheels tucked up.

PS this was a lifer for me and I wondered what an Arctic Tern was doing

so close to the Antarctic.

Enjoy the many birds at World BIrd Wednesday and thanks to Springman

at Pine River Review, we can all join in.

OUR WORLD - Rain in Desert Country

Rain clouds banking over Wirrealpa Station in the North of

South Australia, a place I dearly love.

After the deluge, the sun comes out and the deep red of the soil

quickly turns back to a light pinky sand, yet suddenly the grey

green of plants stands out more.

Within days, there are flowers, however small in the gullies.

Most desert flowers are small, even tiny, yet always a wonder

to see.

These little darling morning glories are less than half an

inch across,

as are these against the still wet sand.

Somewhere I have the name of this very prickly plant, one of

the few with a flower almost 3" across.

Suddenly you see a patch of bright red and stand in awe at the

wonder of Sturt's Desert Pea.

The first one gives you the kind of thrill a first flurry of snow

sends through your being, then suddenly, you are surrounded

by them

and the wonder leaves you speechless . . .

OUR WORLD is full of wonders, add your own and visit others

from all over Our beautiful World.

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Dry-land Irises

Recently, I spent some time with my sister in a Melbourne

Rehabilitation Centre. I sat with her for a few days but while

she rested, I had some fresh-air R&R and walked around the

outside of the facility breathing in the green energy of the trees

and feasting my eyes on the general vegetation.

Most people coming and going passed these lovely irises with

unseeing eyes . .

.

they bloomed regardless of the visitors or inmates, just glorying

in their own beauty and freedom to be.

To my troubled soul they provided balm . . .

If I can manage it, I will show you some more next week.

SkyWatch ~ Weather coming in . . .

When I see promising clouds like this, I rejoice. There is

nothing like a a good drenching for garden and paddocks alike

and some healthy run-off into our storage tanks.

When no-one provides reticulated water for you, you have to

conserve and manage what the heavens send you.

With a hot, dry summer coming up, every drop that comes

our way is precious, so thank you, you beautiful cloudy skies.

Watch the skies for the wonders they bring, then share them on SkyWatch Friday!

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.