OUR WORLD - Rain in Desert Country

Rain clouds banking over Wirrealpa Station in the North of

South Australia, a place I dearly love.

After the deluge, the sun comes out and the deep red of the soil

quickly turns back to a light pinky sand, yet suddenly the grey

green of plants stands out more.

Within days, there are flowers, however small in the gullies.

Most desert flowers are small, even tiny, yet always a wonder

to see.

These little darling morning glories are less than half an

inch across,

as are these against the still wet sand.

Somewhere I have the name of this very prickly plant, one of

the few with a flower almost 3" across.

Suddenly you see a patch of bright red and stand in awe at the

wonder of Sturt's Desert Pea.

The first one gives you the kind of thrill a first flurry of snow

sends through your being, then suddenly, you are surrounded

by them

and the wonder leaves you speechless . . .

OUR WORLD is full of wonders, add your own and visit others

from all over Our beautiful World.

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Dry-land Irises

Recently, I spent some time with my sister in a Melbourne

Rehabilitation Centre. I sat with her for a few days but while

she rested, I had some fresh-air R&R and walked around the

outside of the facility breathing in the green energy of the trees

and feasting my eyes on the general vegetation.

Most people coming and going passed these lovely irises with

unseeing eyes . .

.

they bloomed regardless of the visitors or inmates, just glorying

in their own beauty and freedom to be.

To my troubled soul they provided balm . . .

If I can manage it, I will show you some more next week.

SkyWatch ~ Weather coming in . . .

When I see promising clouds like this, I rejoice. There is

nothing like a a good drenching for garden and paddocks alike

and some healthy run-off into our storage tanks.

When no-one provides reticulated water for you, you have to

conserve and manage what the heavens send you.

With a hot, dry summer coming up, every drop that comes

our way is precious, so thank you, you beautiful cloudy skies.

Watch the skies for the wonders they bring, then share them on SkyWatch Friday!

OUR WORLD - Somewhere along the way . . .

Murray Bridge station, as the name suggests, on the banks of

the 'Mighty Murray'. My suitcase waits patiently for the Overland

to Melbourne, connecting Adelaide, the capital of South Australia

with Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, one of our neighbouring

states 8 1/2 hrs away.

It was still a fair wait after a couple of goods trains had passed

and the weather moved in and favoured everyone with a drenching

since the station and all facilities were closed.

It is a long time since there was a manned railway station here

as can be seen by the unfortunate state of the station master's

house on the other side of the tracks.

I had things other than photography on my mind as we pootled

along at the sedate pace of 80km. My thoughts as grey as the

landscap, I would have much preferred to be clambering amongst

the rocks of that shadow clad outcrop.

A break in the clouds lit up an occasional spot of gold

that had not yet gone to seed.

A country road taking someone home to the farm sheltered

amongst the pines

and with these peaceful sheep on a paddock in the vicinity of

Ararat, nearer my destination. Only an hour and a half to go . .

I hope you will forgive me if I cannot visit you all this week,

life has a way of intruding on the fun of blogland.

Do show us what is making your particular corner of OUR WORLD tick.

SkyWatch ~ Sunrise for Train Ride

Last Friday I rose at dawn to catch the train to Melbourne

to spend 3 days with my sister in hospital. The morning

dawned beautifully,

the colours deepening and painting the sky

by the time they had fully coloured the sky, I was up and

ready to leave for the 8 1/2 hr train ride.

I am back now but in not too fit a state for blogging. Please

excuse it if I don't manage to visit your particular blog. I hope

the time will come again when I can engage fully again with

the blogging community.

Show the wonders of your skies and join SkyWatch!

World Bird Wednesday - Birds in the Wild Wood

While walking in our little Wild Wood the other day a Wood

Duck took to the sky at my sudden appearance at the dam.

It flew like a speeding train, if you enlarge it, you will see the

relative speed of duck to background.

Then, in a tree near by, a Willy-wagtail started serenading me,

lifting up his head in song

and really getting into the swing of things. I was rather chuffed

by his solo performance just for my delectation.

Moving along, I gathered this little Superb Blue Wren to my

bag for the day. He must be a young male, the blue was quite

light compared to the mature males we see strutting their

thing in full mating plumage.

Thank you Springman for providing this venue for sharing our birds.

Just click on the Logo and add yours too.

MY WORLD ~ Temperate Rainforest

Let me take you to a place I really love, the

temperate rainforest of Victoria, where the

trees are tall, the rivers flow and the air smells

sweet at this time of year.

Although most of the area has been prey to major bushfires

throughout the years and the giants of the forest that used to

rival the redwoods of California are gone now, there is still

magic in these mountains.

When the understory Pittosporums spread their scent and

feed butterflies on ambrosia, you know it is springtime.

I love the trees being too tall for my camera lens and needing

to crane one's neck seriously to see to their heads in the clouds.

The scars of the last fire are still clearly visible, yet the forest in

its majesty is no less impressive than before.

Show us what touches your heart in OUR WORLD, the more, the merrier!

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Magnolias

Spring brings the wonder of Magnolias, white . . . .

pink . . . .

and the glory of Magnolia stellata.

Enlarge for detail.

Thanks to TODAY'S FLOWERS, we can all pool our flowers for

a stupendous bouquet.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Short, Sharp and Shiny

I just soot 'e where I see 'em,

who else has their camera even in the kitchen?

Go to Hey Harriet and join in the fun, just click on the Logo!

Weekend Reflections - Windows and Water

These are from our trip last autumn. People and sails from

the out-door restaurant brought inside the empty indoor space

by the obliging window in between

and peaceful reflections in a placid river . . .

Both enlarge with a click.

Hope all your weekends are going well . . .

World Bird Wednesday - Red-Rumped Parrot

Sorry I'm late. Some things are going on in my life at the

moment which make it hard to get up a post, let alone visit.

These little guys are a little bigger than Budgerigars and a

smaller than our Galahs. I snapped them at dawn in really

bad light and had to soup them up a little.

I tried really hard to get a decent shot of the red rump.

Here is a pair of them. It is quite a sight to see them in the air,

they are very fast flyers and all you see is the bright, almost

iridescent green and a flash of red as they pass by.

This is the best I could get of the red rump which is much

more visible when they lift their wings.

There were at least twenty in the flock but as soon as there

was enough light to photograph, they did the disappearing trick.

Photos enlarge if you wish and please leave me a comment it

you can, they make it easier to get through the day.

Thank you Springman for this enlightening meme.

OUR WORLD - A Little Philosophy

When the world seems dark and dreary and your troubles

weigh you down,

look over your shoulder and see the sun that shines upon the

beauty in your life,

that, no matter what the difficulties, still brings you beauty

in abundance in every season of the year and of life,

wherever you go new wonders surround you . . .

Learn contentment from the goose, happiness is green grass

to nibble, as long as we have food and shelter, we are rich.

All photos enlarge and are from our fall trip in May.

Cone one, come all and show us what is happening in your world

on OUR WORLD.