A Few Silly Galahs

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This is for all you birders, a few fledgelings
from this summer just ended...
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...showing off, or hangin on for dear life...
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in Australia we have an old expression: 'ya silly Galah'

it is dual purpose, it can be used lovingly as when

someone gives you an unexpected present just because,

as in 'ya shoodna done that , ya silly Galah!' or con-

versely yelled loud and clear across an intersection when

someone pulls out in front of you. It is also handy

when someone is over dressed to liken them to the

proverbial Galah.

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When young they are ungainly and quite silly, but

there is nothing to compare with a large flock of a

few hundred veering across a late afternoon sky, one

moment a sunset cloud of red, the next a gleaming

pearly grey, that keeps you spellbound just watching

the shifting colours against our deep blue skies.

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For a complete change, a Crested Pigeon. They are

in the habit of camping in the middle of dirt roads at

night and taking off at the approach of people or

vehicles with loud whirring wing beats.

MY WORLD ~ 21 Arrived at Yeppoon

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Here we are, arrived at the coastal wetlands in
Queensland near Yeppoon. There were a few
tropical blue Waterlilies in bloom
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Intermediate Egret, Egretta intermedia, near the track
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and Mistletoe flowering. All photos can be enlarged,

please do so at least for a few, it really is rewarding.

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Ibis munching and marching

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and colourful tropical Butterflies fluttering here

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and there among the flowers...

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a Blue faced Honeyeater, a remarkably large bird,

joined us for lunch...

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and in the evening we hung around with a few

other old bats. There were two great colonies of these

large Fruit Bats, the bane of orchardists.
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When darkness descended, the sky filled with tens

of thousands of screeching bats. The noise of their

wing beats and the stench they emanated were both

overpowering.

If you do not enlarge the others, please enlarge this

one although it is out of focus, it is more like the sea

than the sky!

When there is such a wealth of animal and plant life,

I find it hard to shoot buildings and views. If you still

bear with me, next week we will be at the Rockhampton

Botanical Gardens complete with Egret rookery.

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To wander the world, click on the Logo at right.

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To Klaus and the MY World Team, a big thank you!

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TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 21 Visiting a Rose Garden

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All are much better enlarged, just click on the photo.
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Tooday my wonderful daughter took me to a
beautiful place, 'The Flower Garden' in Nairne,
South Australia. A veritable rose growers paradise,
a feast for the senses where beauty and scent
intermingle....I give you a little of my experience
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Above and below, the glowing gold of 'Graham Thomas'
on the same bush but in different light.
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Everything was well tended and surrounded by
high hedges to shield the garden from our searing
summer winds. Beautifully clipped box hedges of
different verieties surrounded individual beds.
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The garden was situated on the gentle slope near
the top of a hill overlooking the little town of Nairne.
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This is a view up to the sales pavilion...
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where bunches of roses were displayed en masse on
U-shaped tables with enough scent to make the
senses swoon
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The colour range was spectacular as was the
selection of mainly French and English roses
they grew
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Roses with a hand gathering petals for processing
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I hope I have not given you a rose overload yet
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Looking down from the showroom across the garden

to the hillside beyond....

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I dedicate this post to Luiz Santilli Jr., who like me,

loves roses.

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With thanks to Luiz, Denise and Laerte for providing us with

this wonderful venue to display the flowers we love.

SkyWatch ~ 27 The Sun Also Rises

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All photos can be enlarged for fabulous effect.
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The colour was promising, so I headed outside...
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In moments the eastern sky turned gold
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turning southward, a fire kindled in the clouds..

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surprised at this fiery display so far from the east

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I turned full west and stood amazed.....reaching

right to the ground like a full blown sunset, the
rising sun had painted all the sky!

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Plesease click on the Logo to fly to other skies.

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This meme is hosted by Klaus and the SkyWatch

Team to whom we all owe thanks.

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MY WORLD ~ 20 Last 800 Miles to the Queensland Coast

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This is a longer post than I intended, but I did
want to get you finally to our destination since
there still is the long, and interesting treck back
by a different route.
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We rested our weary bones in a delightful town
called Banana. You may think nothing of that since
Queensland is famous for Pineapples and Bananas!
Completely up the pole! Here we were in dry cattle
country not a lush tropical fruit growing area at all.
So why was the town called Banaba? Perfectly simple
and logical explanation... its called after a famous BULL!!!
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Next point of interest was Mount Morgan with
its historical old mines.
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Some of the old mine buildings close up
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On the hill on some weeds in front of a church
was this Butterfly beating his wings so fast it was
impossible to get a clearer picture
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Some typical Queensland tropical architecture
with airy verandahs and lots of lattice work to
promote ventilation and shade
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Please don't think I have lost my mind for posting
four pictures of this grassy slope, I do have a reason,
this first one is so soft and a lovely pale green, the
slope was quite steep
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this second, taken from a slightly different angle
looks so pale it could be dusted with snow
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this one combines the green in the shade and the
bleached effect in direct sunlight.
Just think what those tussocks of grass would be worth
bought in 6" pots from a nursery!!!
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This last one is a history lesson. The ferns you see
here, please do enlarge it, are Cycads, remnants
from the age of the Dynosaurs, again, worth a mint
from any nursery.
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and so we reach the coastal wetland near Yeppoon
with Black Swans lumbering to get airborne.
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Next week, should you come along, there will be
birds and more for you in store.
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To Klaus and the whole team my thanks for this meme.
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Click on the Logo to see the rest of the world!
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TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 20 Of Autumn Past

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Most of you know that because of our protracted
drought there are precious few flowers around this
year. I give you some archival blooms of past years.
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White Petunias glowing in the moonlight scent

the gentle evening breeze...

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Pink Penstemon, Basil gone to seed and Petunias

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A red, delightfully scented Cyclamen

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Kniphofia, commonly called Red Hot Poker is a

much beloved foodsource of Honeyeaters

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and one of my favourite Chrysanthemums with

inch wide flowers of bright burnt orange. Under

ideal conditions it can grow to 5' tall, just covered

in flowers. I hope to find at least a tiny survivor

when finally the rains come. All my other

Chrysanthemums have joined the great white

Chrysanthemun in the sky.

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Click on the red rose to the right for many more flowers.

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To our wonderful hosts Luiz Santilli Jr., Denise B. Castro

and Laerte Pupo my sincere thanks for this lovely meme.

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SkyWatch ~ 26 Mainly Blue & a Surprise

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This week, I give you blue, our summer skies
condensed into one post.

See how the Galahs have stripped the outside leaves?

With enough birds, they will eventually kill a huge tree.

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When Large Eucalyptus die through fire or other
causes, we leave them standing for nesting habitat
and carbon sequestration. On the gound they take
up a lot of pasture space. When they do fall, we cut
up the branches but leave the trunk as shelter for
lizards and snakes so necessary for eco-balance.
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The Crows or Ravens, hard to tell at this distance
always sit on the very topmost twig of the highest tree
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What it is to have the freedom of the skies!
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For those of you who miss my sunrises, here is a
bonus worth enlarging.
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To visit other skies, click on the SkyWatch Logo
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To Klaus and our wonderful SkyWatch team,
endless gratitude for this wonderful meme.
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Nature Notes ~ 1 Start of Autumn on the Farm

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As far as the eye can see, the paddocks are bare

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All this is part of our farm, the tussocks of grass

to be seen here, the sheep turn up their noses at

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The skies show promise but keep disappointing

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Here though is a promising sign of the changing

seasons, the tiny Blue Wrens are back. This little

hen bird I heard fluting outside and rushed for

my camera. The rosebush is dead, but the bird

is wonderfully alive

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The ducks have grown since last I posted them
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and Rex has tripled in size and is skinny as a

rake although he eats 2 pounds of meat plus bones

a day, and is starting to show signs of intelligence.

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Thanks to Michelle of Rambling Woods, we have this

new and fun meme.

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Click on the Logo at right to see more!

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