MY WORLD ~ Back to the Ranges

I know I have posted about this remarkable part of South

Australia before but this is an area I love so much that I

just could not help showing you a little more.

The Ranges are a National Heritage area, a National Park

where the 'dreamtime' sings to you and draws you into the

landscape. Painters are mesmerised by the beauty of the

light and intricacy of the rock formations and those who

seek solace for the sole just soak it up through every pore.

Hills photographed while driving by and as you snap, suddenly

you see a patch of brilliant colour.

Whether you have time or not, you stop and get out of your

car for a closer look. Snap a few dozen photos and turn back

to be faced with a flowering bush perhaps not quite as stunning

as the Sturt Desert Peas, but certainly a stunner in it's own right.

For the purists among the artist community there is gloriously

colourful ochre right on the roadside. One is not supposed to

plunder this riches but how can one resist when it is washing

away before your eyes.

Red ochre above and yellow below. There was white, deep

yellow and orange to be found here and there as well.

Changing light and little birds capture you attention

and the ever present red soil one can just never get enough of.

Beat this for a colour contrast!

All photos enlarge if you want to be sucked into the magic.

Enlarge at least the first one to see the folding of the mountainsides.

Thanks as always to the MY WORLD Team for hosting this meme.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Naked Ladies

Thank you Luiz for featuring my Ammaryllis belladonna on

this week's TODAY'S FLOWERS.

They come in two tones of pink and this lovely creamy white,

that is what the book says but I have a shorter paler variety

with pointier petals as well, blooming in my mountain garden.

Belladonnas are interesting weather prophets as well, they

pop up out of the dry ground exactly two weeks before the first

autumn rain.

When you pick or handle them, remember to wash your hands

afterwards as these beauties are poisonous. Their toxicity is

the reason they spread so readily on paddocks and roadsides as

grazing animals have a sixth sense and leave the alone.

These flowers are native to the West Cape of Africa where our

early settlers stopped to replenish water and fresh food for

themselves and fodder for their animals for the long and

arduous voyage by sailing ship to the new colonies in Australia.

They stretch their flower heads to the sun, naked and leafless,

with a multitude of buds waiting to open to this perfect showing

with a perfume that is heady and delightful. I count at least

eighteen flowers and buds on this single stem.

Here is the paler pink version

and the glory of a stand of deep pink ones

and to finish off, just a little more eye candy.

All these were photographed this afternoon in my garden.

Thank you Luiz for your continued efforts in keeping this meme alive.

All photos enlarge and the Logo leads to fields and fields of flowers.

SkyWatch ~ Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset

Still remembering our wonderful 38 hour holiday in Moonta

Bay and this red sunset over the sea.

The fishing improved as the moon rose.

I awoke at 4a.m. to the full moon preparing for bed.

Needless to say, I was out of my bed and up two flights of

stairs, grabbed my camera and in my best birthday suit

(perish the thought), sprinkled with stardust and moon

glow and out on the balcony in a flash. If a stray dolphin

saw me, good luck to him!

This is the actual moonset with very little light and no tripod,

it is a little fuzzy just as I was with all this excitement.

Click to enlarge and sink into the sea . . .

With thanks to the Marvellous SkyWatch Team who have

hosted this meme continuously for years.

The Wonder of Friendship

What is true friendship? Friendship is when someone you

have never met or spoken to, who knows you are going through

a long stretch of tough time, stretches out a hand across the seas

and sends you her wonderful art work. Ces is a marvellous artist

with an immense output, painter and illustrator extrordinaire

and blessed with a heart the size of a continent.

Not only did my dear sisterfriend send me this delight above,

she also went to all the trouble to study my Sacred Canyon post

and drew this superb interpretation of it especially for me.

Fairweather friends one has aplenty but sisterfriends who

feel you need help and extend themselves to draw and share

their artistry are few and far between.

My heart swells with gratitude as I look at the wonders

she has created.

Thank you so much my dear funny, talented, incredibly intelligent,

caring sisterfriend.

World Bird & Watery Wednesday ~ At the Seaside

Flying high at sunrise, what else is there for a silver gull,

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae to do?

Maybe sitting on our balcony rail hoping for a handout!

A white-faced heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, looking for

his breakfast . . .

oh well, nothing doing that way, time to turn around . . .

.

Pacific gull, Larus pacificus, a baby of our second largest gull.

A young seagull staring hopefully into the super clear water.

Mature adult flying at some distance from me

and, lucky last, some liquid eye candy.

All photos respond when clicked upon.

With thanks to the hosts of both memes. Just click on either or both Logos

and add your own entry and enjoy everyone else's as well.

MY WORLD ~ Moonta Bay

Moonta Bay is situated on the far coast of the Yorke Peninsula

in South Australia, approximately a three and a half hour drive

from us.

When we arrived in the late afternoon, I stepped out onto our

balcony and pointed my lens at Port Hughes in the distance.

Sunset from our balcony.

Who needs the raking of a Japanese garden when nature gives

one this on the beach in the early morning?

The Moonta Bay jetty, beloved of fishermen/women,

and all lit up by the rays of the early morning sun.

I caughts nothing in the morning except for a few nice shots

but the evening saw us bagging a bucket full of crabs.

Crab and bait fish in the net.

Here's looking at you kid!

and 'as you like it', cooked to perfection on a plate.

More photos to follow on World Bird mem and SkyWatch later in the week.

With thanks to the My World Team for letting me share my delicious crabs with all of you.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Pure Gold

Looking for gold? It's free and enough for all comers, take

as much or as little as you like, there are fields and fields of it.

The more you pick the more it multiplies. Nature is like that,

she gives with an open hand and shares her bounty with anyone.

I even have a goldmine in my garden!

Be brave and enlarge!

Thanks to Luiz Santilly Jr., the creator of TODAY'S FLOWERS

I can sprinkle gold dust right around the world.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ Whetting Your Appetite

Two nights in this great pad with sunsets and moonsets

with friends waiting for me to come play on the beach just

down a little path

and marvellous me clicking away for all I was worth!

It was blissful . . . unfortunately I had to wake up much too soon.

All photos enlarge.

Thanks to HEY HARRIET for providing this venue for us to share our shadows.

SkyWatch ~ Dragon Sunset

Last week I teased you with some shooting clouds from this

same sunset, here is part of the main event: -

A dragon stretches out his claws

and then another as sweeps across the sky,

he bares his teeth

breathing fire, searing fire, that swallows all the western sky

with flickering flames spurting from the main blaze.

Satisfied at the havoc he has wreaked, he fades into the

distance and is not seen again . . .

This was just a small part of that wonderful sunset, a joy to

behold and treasure in memory and 36 photos.

Photos enlarge for a more stunning effect.

Thanks to SkyWatch we can all share our skies, be they fiery or grey, cloudy of blue.

Click on the Logo and join in the fun!

MY WORLD & World Bird Wednesday - Gone Fishing

I hope you all can forgive me for not getting around to all

your blogs. Things are somewhat stressful here now, and

for quite some time to come. I do hope you will still leave

me your comments, they help me get through each day and

I appreciate them very much indeed.

At present, like this pelican, Pelicanus conspicillatus "Ah's

gone fishin'.... Just to Moonta Bay for a couple of days for

some much needed R&R. Naturally my camera and paints

are also making the journey.

Oops, a slight adjustment to flaps and the landing should be

a safe if not an elegant one.

Like the pelican I am hoping to catch enough fish to feed us.

Be prepared for some tall and maybe true stories to come . . .

I shall be out of range while away, so stay safe, well and happy

meanwhile.

As always, all photos enlarge.

Thanks to the sponsors of both memes, both can be accessed through

the relevant Logos.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Orange Blossom & Roses

Today's flowers are perfect for a wedding, orange blossom

and roses, what else could one wish for? Well, maybe a stray

bee or two.

Isn't this a beautiful bouquet? Just one incredible rosebush.

Join TODAY'S FLOWERS today, just click on the Logo and bloom!