Sorry, no SkyWatch Today

Dear faithful friends who leave me comments,

please do so still. To-morrow, instead of posting

glorious sunrises, if I am lucky, I'll get a glimpse

of blue through a hospital window.

Nothing major. I should, God willing, be able to

join in the next TODAY'S FLOWERS.

Meanwhile, keep well, keep smiling, keep blogging

and enjoy every day you have.

MY WORLD ~ 14 Jamieson, Victoria

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKLY is one post down.

Please click on photo to enlarge for more detail.



Early morning fog on the river in Jamieson,
nestled in an alpine valley in the Victorian Temporate
Rain Forests. A 1,000+km drive from South Australia,
the driest state on the driest Continent.
We love to make an overnight stay here on our
way to the high country, to refresh our spirits with
greenery and flowing water.
We stay a night, or two if time allows, in a charming
cabin right on the riverbank.



At home all is dry and sere, and here the meadow
blooms above our knees.



The trees sprout leaves with gay abandon and
grow lush and strong and tall.
Here they grow more in a year than our coddled
ones in ten!



Burbling rapids sooth the soul and give good sport
for trout fishing.



Mr. & Mrs.Black Duck, Anas superciliosa and their
brood of eight. One, more adventurous than the rest,
swam ahead.



In the little township on the rise, the newly restored
Community Hall with brand new picket fence.



A house amongst the roses of someone having made
a tree change. We too were tempted to move to
this lush, but sleepy hollow,



boasting, apart from a general store, a school and
a petrol station, this charming Cafe.

Next week, God willing, I'll take you deeper into
the Temperate Rain Forest.

Now, click on the Logo to visit other far away places.

To Klaus and the MY WORLD/SkyWatch Team,
my sincere thanks for creating and hosting this
wonderful meme.

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKLY ~ 11 King Parrot

Please enlarge for a better look.



King Parrot, Alisterus scapularis in the Victorian Alps



These are male King Parrots, I am sorry I could
not manage to get a female as well.



It is quite a large parrot, these two shots were outside
a reataurant so they were quite fearless.



The green plumage is much brighter than it appears
in these shots.

Click on the Logo to visit more beautiful birds.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 14 In Memory of my Garden

Please click on photos to enlarge for best effect.



This year there is no garden, no vegetables, no
flowers.... the drought has taken all....six years is
too much for any garden to take. We watered them
last summer with the last water we had, only to lose
so much to the concentrating salt content.

Neither our autumn, winter nor spring rains came.
We have just enough household rainwater to get by
on, and a mineral rich bore for the cattle.



Fuchsia 'George Risden' which survived until the
end of last summer.



Verbena, which normally lasts from two to
four years.



Penstemon, a strong and vibrant semi-perennial
and reasonably drought tolerant also succumbed.

My Roses, shrubs and trees are dead or on the verge.
Our predicted temperatures for this week are 41C +
or 102F + coupled with burning North winds.

If I sound a little despondent, it is because I am,
although on the bright side, I have 5 of my 150 Rose
bushes surviving on laundry water.

With thaks to Luiz Santilli Jr. for creating this meme
as well as Denise Castro and Laerte Pupo for making
it possible for all of us to participate.

Click on the Logo to see wonderful flowers around the world.

SkyWatch *22 Eyre Peninsula Sunrise

Please click on photos to enlarge for best effect.



The sun is thinking of leaving its warm, warm bed



Just opening one eye to peek at the mangroves



nothing like getting your head above the water!



Here she is, up at last and with a little mangrove
in her sights. All shots taken from the Cowell caravan
park on the Eyre Peninsula.

Now, click on the Logo and go fly the sky!

Thank you SkyWatch Team for all your work to
co-ordinate this meme.

A Footnote to "Thoughts of Spring" (Below)

Click on picture to enlarge.

We are currently in our sixth year of drought.



All this to you may seem euphoric
but be assured, it's just historic
no blade of grass, no bird nor beast
can find a crumb, much less a feast.

Where all is dry and sere for years
the land is crying with my tears
the trees are dying where they stand
and drought grips hard upon the land.

The dams are dry,
the gardens dead
we wonder how we'll get ahead
when all there is to eat is dust
yet somewhere, sometime rain it must!

Thoughts of Spring

Please enlarge for best effect.

In springtime green the grasses grow

the rain falls soft, the rivers flow

the farmer starts his seed to sow

and life begins both high and low

The little creatures stir and wake

life starts anew in brook and lake

the song of bird by day is heard

though turtle utters not a word

The frog song nightly rising high
to fill the space twixt eath and sky

as with the morning sun at dawn,
the seasons' round goes on and on.

MY WORLD ~ 13 Murphy's Haystacks

Click on pictures for a much better view.

By now you have realized that the Eyre Peninsula
is one of our favourite haunts in South Australia




A two day drive will get us to the hundreds of miles
of exciting coastline. On the way there are a number
of other attractions, three of these are splendid and
very different rock formations.
Let me take you today to Murphy's Haystacks on a
small rise above an extensive flat agricultural plain.



There are two large groups of these sandstone boulders
eroded at the base by sand blasting desert winds from
the north.

Just for size, marvellous me as seen by the Prof.

Mr.Murphy, being a provident man, liked to have his
assets set in stone even if they were made of hay.



The erosion has occured beause of the general
land clearing for not very viable farming pursuits.



In historical times, the general tree cover would
haveprotevted them from the biting winds.



It is easy to lose an hour or two just wandering
around these amazingly shaped boulders.



Discovering ever more interesting views while
wandering along well kept paths between shady
trees or marvelling at all the shapes and the
massive size of the different boulders.

My thanks this time are set in stone to the MY WORLD
team for creating this fun and exiting meme.

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKLY ~ 10 BROLGAS

Please click on photos to enlarge.



The Brolge, Grus rubicunda, is Australia's 4th.
largest bird, standing at 48" tall.



These birds have the most amazing courtship dances
which we were once priviledged to observe at a
waterhole in the Simpson Desert in South Australia.



These three photos were taken at the Yeppoon
wet lands in Queensland which at the time held
little water. Unfortunately at quite some distance
hand held with my 18-135 lens. Apologies for the
poor quality.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 13 Roses, more Roses

Please click on photos to see them face to face.

Roses lend grace and perfume to our gardens.
Whether you have one solitary Rose bush or
one thousand, they speak of love and hope and
healing. They comfort us in our need and pick us
up when we are down. Their buds are graceful as
a young girl or full blown like a comely matron.
They are an Angel's breath and a wayfarer's delight.
So here once more, I give you Roses.



'Charles Austin' in bud on a six foot bush,



and open to a perfection of cupped petals.



Climbing 'Sympathy' a rose of distinction for mass
effect, scent and repeat flowering, holding well when
cut and just taking your breath away when out in force.



A glowing vermillion interloper lighting up the
garden with its exhuberant lust for life.



A peep into the heart and shadowed mystery.

To 'Just joey' lighting up the day like a candle
in the night.

To Luiz, Denise and Laerte who slave to give us

this meme, my hearfelt thanks.

Click on the Logo to enjoy flowers around the world.

SkyWatch *21 Drama in the Skies and Gentle Sunset

The sky was almost melodramatic covering the
entire firmament with these amazing clouds.

Whichever way you turned, the shutterfinger

developed a nervous twitch

Building and veering they raced a marathon

to blast the heavens asunder

only to melt into a sunset reflecting on the land

in gentleness akin to sleep of babes.

Pictures taken within the space of one hour.

All can be enlarged for better viewing.

As ever, my gratitude to Klaus and the SkyWatch

team for the splendid work they do.

To fly different skies, click on the Logo.