Spring Frost at Sunrise

The beauty of a frosty sunrise cleanses

and invigotates the senses.

View towards the berry patch and espalier

Icing on the strawberries


Pine stumps on what is to become my spring garden bed
a lonely Nicotiana sylvestris in foreground

Iced clover

Frosted raspberry leaves enjoying the first rays of sun

View across the fence, the holding paddock

to the second holding paddock .

This little and ephemeral transformation is

the nearest I get to an all concealing snowcover.

Skywatch *3

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Sunrise in a pond.

Promising cumulus building up over our road.

To enjoy many more skies around the world,

click on Skywatch Friday on the right.

Moonrise

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The rising moon

my face caressing

has banished sleep

once more

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Outside in still, crisp night

so clear

stars blaze above me

putting moon to shame

horizon kissed by Southern Cross

Nebula at mid heaven

like Merlin's coat

the firmament adorned

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Though frost may burn

young growth this night

the bright exhilarating sky

shall stay a dear delight.

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The Unicorn

Painting by Anna-Louisa Flint aged about 5 at the time.

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By moonlit night

she wakes and wanders

the wild wood path adorning

so seldom glimpsed by human kind

shimmering through the dappled light

she wends her way along the creek

her eyes with stars aglimmer

reflections from a sighing pool

only the open mind can see.

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A small girl hurries dreamily

a summer garland in her hand

knowing there is a unicorn

in noon-day's heat she's singing

and lo the singing draws her nigh

to answer childish dreaming

their wishes realized

the garland round her neck lies gleaming

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Believe the tales that children tell

the truths we have forgotten

drink deeply from the unspoilt well

and drift into the world once lost

to marvel at it's splendour.

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Skywatch *2

A rare phenmenon, especially in southern climes.

In 70 years of observing the sky, I have only encounterd

it twice: the sun's seldom seen off-sider, the Sun Dog or parhelion.

Mainly seen when the sun is low in the sky, there can be four of these

at the points of the compass around the sun. On very rare occasions

they can mirror the sun and form their own pups as well.

Coloured parhelia are formed by light refracted through ice crystals.

If you find it hard to spot, it's the tiny rainbow in the centre

of the picture!

The road home.

With my trusty camera of course.

Happy skywatching, click on Skywatch on the

right and browse to your heart's content.

Precursors of Spring

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Little things through my camera lens this morning.

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Prunus x blireana, survivor of a pair of 8' trees.

It's twin succumbed to drought and high water

salinity last summer.

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Muscari striving for light

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First white Hyacinth

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Muscari reaching for the sky,

red Tulips come a close second.
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A promising Crocus
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One tempting flower on the Fuchsia bush.

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Eriobotrya japonica, commonly called Loquat
promising harvest in January and a boon for bees

in winter. The scented air wafts like Moley's homesmell

through the garden, just follow your nose...

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A surprise on the wing, a five year old

seedling has it's first ever bud.

Should we be blesses by a fruit, we may discover

what kernel gave rise to it,

a peach or a nectarine?

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Prunus dulcis
Although there are some blossoms on our 5 almond trees,

I fear the parrots will get them all again.

Last year we could have had a bumper crop

except for the parrots!

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Double lilac Parma Violet with a lovely scent.

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Sometimes I cheat, this Blueberry,

Vaccinium corymbosum , I bought in a pot 3 days ago.

My two remaining bushes (50% loss last summer)

are still totally dormant or they may not have the strength to flower

after the stresses of last season.

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Winter Iris, always a joy when not much else

except for Calendulas is in bloom.

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A cheerful Daffodil in a windbreak I planted

years ago when digging virgin ground was still

a possibility for me.

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My first blue Anemone, promise of many more to come.

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This blood Orange is colouring up nicely,

and with a little more frost will be delicious.

My little tree is covered in them,

and I look forward to slicing them thinly, and dehidrating

them. When you hold the dried slice to the light, it

glows in colours of gold and deep red like a stained glass window.

After enjoying it's beauty, I like to dip half of it in dark chocolate.

The rest I leave to your imagination.

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Dawn Mist

The dawn mist blankets dale and hill

it hovers as the sun wakes

in my garden still

softening colours with a gentle light

Leaving my sleep-warm bed behind

my hand extension in my grasp

my night-shirt flappin

with urgency to catch this pure delight

before it bursts in glory

Alone in my own universe

I do my best to gather this gentlest of all lights

my concentrated gaze and lens

drink in the flowers water vapour wrapped

refreshed, preening their plumage

gracefully posing for me here and there

The greens are softened,

pink and blue enhanced

mere moments does this light so rare

sent just to gladden one lone heart endure



The faeries twitter round my dew drenched feet

my mist soaked nighty clinging to my knees

a gentle fluttering around my head

crowns me with diamond dew drops

gleaming in my hair

Gold rays of sun

with flash of sword the mist dispel

which I alone enjoyed

uplifting soul and strengthening belief

alone, cold, wet I stand

absorbed in my own wonderland.

Skywatch *1

Sunrise at Mt.Pleasant South Australia

Some watch the gentle sky, others' interest veers into other directions

Photographed late afternoon to-day from a moving car at
90kmh on a freeway in the wrong lane.
When God waves, so does my camara lens.

Last light at Forrest, Wetern Australia
Where the settlement is gone , but a wonderful landing strip remains
in the wild outback desert country.

Happy skywatching!

skywatch

Stormclouds gathering across the paddock, Mt.Pleasant, South Australia
sign up with the skywatch page to join a community of skywatchers with beautiful skypix

Fog in an Old Country Graveyard

High up above the nestling town

the sleeping watchers lie

their sleep untroubled now at last

their dreaming hearts at ease

Atop their hill they wander

at times in starlight gleaming

the silent sentinels of night

love of the country once they tilled

calls their souls to linger still

Yet on a foggy morning

before the sun appears

their shadows wafting over grass

drifting among the stones they pass

and hover 'round the bushes

A mortal feels intrusive here

the air is thick with spirits

of young and old, of tales untold

of secrets, hopes and wishes

I wander there alone, yet not

my footfall soft I wend my way

they brush against my face and

hands, a shiver through me sending

when through the fog fist light appears

the world anew creating

I gaze in wonder at the might of all that is

and share the glory of the dawn

with these new friends on yonder hill

who slip to rest again

but still accept me for a little while

in their sweet dream partaking.