SkyWatch ~ 31 Mountain Sunset Clouds

Worth enlarging if you have the time or inclination.



Gathering the last light unto itself, the cumulus
cloud hovers over the chimneys of Omeo in the
high country of Victoria.



for a moment the light increases

then fades to touch a last cloud on the horizon

to darken into night giving way to the twinkling

lights of town.

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Thank you my friends on the SkyWatch Team for

co-ordinating so many avid skywatchers in this meme.

MY WORLD ~ 24 The Way Home

Please enlarge at least a few, especially this one.



A rare sighting in the wild, a Platypus going home
after breakfast. I only got one shot at him with my
hand held 300mm lens with very dull light. A Platypus
has a duck bill, webbed feet, a Beaver tail and is a
monotreme raising its young in a burrow in the riverbank
and feeding on the floor of the river.

These photos are shot at the campground in more affordable
accomodation at Carnarvon gorge than our first night.
Unfortunately we could not stay longer, but will go
back again someday to explore further. Carnarvon Nat.
Pk. is located in Central Queensland and well worth
spending lots of time in.



An Apostle bird, again at dawn with insufficient light.
It glories in this apellation since they are usually seen
in groups of twelve.



A young Painted Kangaroo, so different from those
on our farm in South Australia.



A last look back at the Carnarvon Gorge Park.

Our largest raptor, the Wedgetail Eagle with road

kill. Sorry, I only got one shot at it.

Progressing south, some Grevillea eye candy

and two Butterflies doing what Butterflies do. Note

the male is so much smaller than the female.This

was at Hebel, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere

with a cafe serving delicious home made cake.

The pretty female with red spots on her tail.

Dawn in St.George with a profusion of Dusky

Woodswallows waiting for the sun to rise.

St.George was one of our three staging posts

between the gorge and home. The return trip to

Yeppoon topped 5,000km!

The first rays of the sun saw this young Galah

training for the Olympic pole vault.

We bought two steaks in St.George which we

consumed in the cabin below and kicked ourselves

all the way home for not getting a dozen of them

since they were the best we had ever eaten.

For our last night, we lashed out again and stayed

in the luxury of a waterfront cabin at Gol Gol with

autumn colour and a view across the Murray river.

I am not sure if I will have internet access next week

as we are off on our travels to enjoy this year's autumn

colours in the high country of Victoria and to celebrate

our 51st. wedding anniversary.

To see what others are doing on our planet, click on Logo.

To Klaus and the MY WORLD team, hats off guys for hosting

this wonderful meme.

Three Most Wonderful Awards

I was so overwhelmed that it took me some time to
assimilate that someone could think so highly of me
and my work, that they could honour me in this
outstanding way, particularly an artist of such talent
and incredible output as Ces of Ces and her dishes.



To be placed in a class of my own could infer that
I am important in some way when in fact I feel like
a grain of sand in the Gobi desert.



The award for being a phenomenal woman I hope
some day to grow into being at least partly
worthy of.



This brand spanking new Renee Acorn award, inspired
and created by wonderful bloggers, is so very close to
my heart. I feel it was especially created for people like
me. The Oak has always been my favourite tree with
which I identify, and with whose qualities of strength ,
endurance and shielding and sheltering those in need,
I fully identify with.

The first thing I did when we bought our farm, was to
set a paddock apart for an oak wood which I started
planting straight away.

I am so fortunate that sometimes I have been given a
word or phrase to pass along that has made an appreciable
difference in a chance aquaintance'slife.
Those are the acorns I like sowing best.

Thank you Ces for recognising my favourite asset.
For you and your work on all levels, I have the greatest
respect.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 24 A Touch of Pink

A white Rhododendron, so old its name has sunk into
the mists of time. Burned down in two major Bush Fires
and somehow sprung to life again. It has been in our
mountain garden since the 1850's and is one of my
absolute treasures.



Clematis montana rosea smiling on the front wall
of our house on Mt.Lofty



A joy from our farm garden, Malus floribunda,
the pink flowering Crabapple.

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Thanks to Luiz Santilli Jr. and the TODAY'S FLOWERS
team for the organisation of this meme.

SkyWatch ~ 30 A Foggy Dawn

Do click photos to enlarge, it is worth it.



Yesterday I got up pre-dawn and drove to get
some fog shots for you. I hurried to this spot to
catch the sunrise over the valley fog. I like the
way the first rays of the sun are tinging the edge
of the rising fog.



Then the sun rose like God coming to earth



and woke the world with blinding force



on the way home, a couple of kangaroos on our
foggy wood lot, then home to breakfast.

Thanks to Klaus and the SkyWatch Team we
can all enjoy this wonderful meme.

To visit world wide skies, click on the Logo at right.

MY WORLD ~ 23 Carnarvon Gorge

Most photos may be enlarged, I hope you do.



After driving a few hundred kilometers out of
Yeppoon, see previous MY WORLD post, we started
out on the last 21km of rough gravel road to the gorge.
After a few km, there was a slight hitch...did I mention
the gravel was rough?.., while the Prof attended to a
few minor adjustments, I, being helpful, photographed
the scenery.




A view to the mountains that contain the 16,000ha
gorge area which is part of the much larger Nat.Pk.



We treated ourselves to a comfortable night in a
de luxe safari tent wit Q-sized bed and bathroom.
We felt the extravagance was warranted since we
had just passed our 50th wedding anniversary.
Early next morning we were greeted by this kangaroo
and her many friends as, armed with a large water
bottle and two apples, we headed on a daywalk
exploring up the gorge.



These are the largest Cycads we have encountered
anywhere. They must be hundreds of years old to
have attained this size.
Cycads are in a class of their own, being neither fern
not palm.



The seeds are a beautiful bright red and the whole
seed head looks much like a pineapple.

There had recently been raging floods down the river
and the track had only just reopened after major

repairs to the many crossings and destroyed rock

scaling aids 20' above the normal river height.

Because of the extra water, the Acacias were in bloom

also this pretty blue Solanum

The Heron took advantage of one of the stepping stone
crossings to look for his lunch

while pretty pink grasses swayed on the riverbank.
We hiked over eight crossings at roughly 1km
spacings which exhausted my energy, so Hobbit
fashion, I dabbled my hot feet in the water while
the Prof went on to the Moss Gardens.

There are many points of interest to hike to if you

are young and/or fit..unfortunately I am neither.

We saw a number of hopeful Herons of different

colourings on our return journey

I hardly think these fingerlings were what they

were hoping for.

This little Hibiscus like flower eased my tired spirits
as I looked up to the possibilities of scaling the cliffs

further up the gorge.

The next night we froze in a canvas cabin
without amenities, in the camp groud, but

somehow it was more pleasant to be among
other nature lovers rather than purely luxury
seekers.

If you are still interested, tune in to the next exciting
episode, without shredded tyres, next week.

For more glimpses into other places click on the Logo
at right and travel the world from your armchair.

My thanks to Klaus and the MY WORLD team for
keeping us on our toes and blogging.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 23 Autumnal Surprises.

All photos can be enlarged for a closer look.



Colchicum, erroniously also called the Autumn Crocus,
is totally unrelated to the Crocus which flowers in spring,
has proved yet again that life exists where it is least
expected. All the shrubs in this garden bed have
succumbed to our persisting drought, and still in our dry
and sere garden, this joyful emissary of hope appears.



All three clumps are flowering their hardest, feeding
bees and tiny butterflies alike where there is hardly
any other food available.



Wishing you all a Happy Easter, Passover or
just a little break in your everyday life.

Thanks to Luiz Santilly Jr. who initiated this meme
and to the whole team who make it such a success.

What's in a Name?

One must admit my name is a little unusual, especially
for anglophones. I clould of course have anglisised it by
dropping the 'j' , but then, I would no longer be me.
I have endured many interesting but erroneous
pronunciations at school in Europe and Australia, at work
and socially...no, it does not rhyme with Kalija the wooden
Indian or 'a rear' which, like everyone else, I have,

Arija is the Latvian spelling of a word from he ancient Sanskrit
meaning 'air, musical' and its proper pronunciation is very
close to an 'aria' from an opera although in Latvian it is
pronounced in three syllables with the accent on the fist A.
So there you have it, I am happy both in my skin and with
my name and the happier for knowing that my friends can
pronounce it too.

SkyWatch ~ 29 Whyalla Sunrise

Dawn in Whyalla on Spencer Gulf South Australia



We got into Whyalla, a major port for the steel works,
well after dark. It felt like a town deserted, there were
hardly any street lights and not a soul in sight.
After a search and destroy mission we finally located
the Motel on the waterfront we had stayed at before.
The price had naturally doubled since last time, but
the nice young man adjusted it since no one else
could be expected at that hour.
Too late for dinner...luckily I'm a good quatermaster
general and we dropped gratefully into the perfect
Q'sized bed. While the exhausted Prof. slept, I snuck
out next morning pre dawn..."those that go down to the
sea..." can enjoy a dawn creeping up over the water...
see above...all can be enlarged.



Some wading friends kept me company as I took my
morning constitutional



meanwhile, the sky draped itselt with these
wonderful clouds, no trumpets, no massed choirs of
angels as the sun rose, just this vast expanse of clouds



resolving themselves into a gentle light of dawning
day. Nothing spectacular, but satisfying none the less.

Click on the Logo to see skies of a different hue.

Thanks to Klaus and the SkyWatch Team we can
wander the world at will.

MY WORLD ~ 22 Yeppoon, the Way Back I

Please do enlarge them, it is well worth it.

One more shot from the wetlands at Yeppoon,
Ibis practising synchronised flying.



A daytrip to the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens



Red Dragonfly resting by the Waterlily pond in
the Japanese garden.



Tropical trees are not my speciality, it had no label
but was tall and wide and covered in vermillion
flowers and cheeky Noisy Miner birds.



The Egret rookery, one did have to watch out
from above.



The youngsters were just hangin' round, being bored

what is there to do except scratch yourself?

Hey, something is happening, is that mother ?

False alarm, just an Ibis flapping by!

There she is..Hey mom, down here! Shucks, she

flew right by...

Birds of another feather, a domestic Goose hanging
round with an Ibis and being spied on by a Moor Hen

Some boats high and dry as we said farewell to the
Bat colony on leaving Yeppoon and aiming our car

towards Carnarvon Gorge. Next week if you are patient,

the next exciting episode, a walk in the gorge.

To see exciting places and partake of other adventures
click on the Logo at right.

We would never see so many wonders without Klaus and
the MY WORLD team. Gentlemen, I thank you.