TODAY'S FLOWERS - Flowers of Hope II

In the same Rehab. Centre as last week, I discovered these

wonderful delights in a number of enclosed courtyards.

Beautiful Rhododendron specimens which I certainly appreciated

but was surprised that only one patient took advantage of this

lovely sheltered spot and he had been wheeled thereby someone

else.

Whenever I have been in a like situation, I have always sought

out any little place that had vegetation to regenerate the soul.

Another courtyard had these warm colours in it. Oranges and

glowing reds and still no-one taking advantage of all that

beauty.

Thanks to Luiz Santilli Jr. we can all share the most beautiful flowers

with each other so click on the logo and join in.

SkyWatch ~ Yet Another Sunset

Time to see what the sky is doing and what better way to try

out my new camera. Here are some of the first ten shots I took.

I just went outside to shoot at anything and the sky decided

to put on quite a little show for me.

The clouds changed their character virtually in moments,

creating an unexpected softness,

only to blush a deeper red the next instant.

Hope you all can enjoy whatever the heavens bring your way

and share it with the rest of us on SkyWatch Friday!

World Bird Wednesday - Feeding Time

I am slowly coming to terms with my new Canon EOS 600D.

Haven't got it quite set up to what I want but here are a few

rushes from yesterday's trial run.

An uncropped view of a Magpie youngster waiting to be fed

and here comes mom with MacDonald's take-away.

A high-wire balancing act as they change places

and a bonus of a Galah feeding session.

Not quite as sharp as I would like them but, given a little time,

even I will get my head around the myriad possibilities of all

the settings.

Meanwhile, Happy birdwatching and sharing on World Bird Wednesday!

OUR WORLD - Angaston in the Barossa Valley

I dug into my archives again (not quite conversant with my

shiny new Canon while my trusty Nikon is languishing in

hospital), to share some photos I took for a MyWorld post.

So, in memory of Klaus, whose brainchild the meme was, I

post them now for the sequel.

Angaston is one of the old towns in the Barossa Valley wine

region. We go there on Saturday mornings to the farmers'

market but this time we just went for a walk and lunch.

Most of you will know that I have a great love of oaks so,

what better place to park, than under this magnificent

golden canopy?

Sometimes I like to explore what lies behind the facade of the

main street. We took a little path along the creek just off the

main drag to discover this storm-felled giant resting on the

grassy bank.

An old shed I have had a soft spot for for a long time

and chimneys reflected in the gold strewn creek.

The Angaston Hotel where we lunched,

sun shining through these forerunners of modern gladioli

and back to the golden drapery of one of my favourite oaks

to retrieve our car.

The end of a pleasant walk, that I hope you have enjoyed as

much as we did.

Share what you love or even dislike about your world to give

everyone a broader picture.

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.