TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - An unexpected gift

A friend came over to make a very special delivery,

I'll tell you more about that in some other post,

and brought this very beautiful pot full of

English Daisies

Sorry, phone shots as my Nikon has a tummy ache

the photos certainly don't live up to the original

these little flowers just exude happiness

with their smiling faces

Linking with Denise's

TODAY'S FLOWERS

and Laura's

I HEART Macro

SkyWatch - Clouds in a hurry

The clouds were in a hurry,

scooting this way and that

wind driven, ripping pieces off

the bigger ones

and scurrying away

They had no time to stop and tell me 

whither-away they went in such a rush.

Linking with 

SkyWatch

OUR WORLD - Opportunism

Leave a bucket of opportunity standing on the floor

for even a minute and . . .

what on Earth is my big sister doing up there,

I wonder . . .

seems to be enough for two

even if you have to stretch

The moral of this story is:

Never leave a bucket of milk for the calf unattended.

Linking with

OUR WORLD

TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - Pincushion Hakea

Hakea laurina or, in common parlance

the Pincushion Hakea

a tight bud and an unfolding one

with the first few pins sticking out

complete with pin-heads

and fully open with a second flower coming along quite nicely.

Linking with TODY'S FLOWERS

and I Heart Macro

SkyWatch - A sad sky

Sky over my garden on my sister's birthday

she left us two years ago and I miss her dreadfully.

Linking with SkyWatch

OUR WORLD, Wild Bird Wednesday, & Nature Notes - The Wild Wood in Autumn

For a number of years now I had not made it to the wild

wood for health reasons.

Yesterday I just could not stay away when I saw so much gold 

down there from my vantage point on the hill

the sheep cheered me on

as the gold on the ground blinded me

I must be the richest person on the planet

with all that gold at my feet! 

Near the dam, a white-faced heron rose at my approach

and wonder of wonders,

I managed to get a blurry shot of it

I even managed to see and snap a grey Fantail

cute isn't he?

Almost three months late in his arrival

but who's complaining?

back on my golden carpet to struggle up the hill 

carting my camera with 500mm lens.

Yep, I was exhausted . . . but it was worth it!

Linking with

OUR WORLD 

Wild Bird Wednesday

and Nature Notes

TODA'YS FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - Still more Dahlias

Keeping with the theme of my Guest Friend post,

here are some more of the beautiful

Dahlias from this year's

Mt.Pleasant show.

Sorry to say I have no more dahlias in my garden

they all died from salinity in the soil.

I do love cactus dahlias

but my all time favourites are the water lily variety

as seen in my Guest Friend post

it's the pink one if you are interested..

Hope they don't blind you with their strong colours.
and for anyone who is interested, all these were taken
with my iPhone.

Linking with 

TODAY'S FLOWERS

and 

I Heart Macro

SkyWatch - Visible Wind

Scooting overhead

and madly rushing by

and not the lightest breeze at ground level.

Click to enlarge and get the full effect.

Linking with SkyWatch

TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - Blooming Marvels!

Three weeks to winter and the garden in a Blooming Marvel

roses and geraniums have gone crazy on the gate in front

even in behind the apple tree on the back fence

they smile at the darkening clouds

 the orchids are scratching their heads 

and have gone into flowering mode.

The temperatures have taken a dive and I have to cover up my 

tomatoes and lettuces at night as I shiver in my boots.

Seems I'll have to invest in some kind of heater for my little 

shack, sitting in the evening in a very cold room 

can get a bit waring 

no matter how hardy you think yourself.

Linking with 

TODAY'S FLOWERS

and

I Heart Macro

SkyWatch - Herringbones

Was I looking for a knitting pattern?

Did I have a craving for fish for dinner??

Was this a SIGN???

No.

Just a nod from above to post it for SkyWatch!

This first caught my attention

so I homed in on it

zoomed out again

by which time the sun got out her paintbrush and

dabbed a bit of gold into the picture

for a bit of extra definition painting with gold.

Linking with 

SkyWatch

TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - A few roses from my garden

Look what the rain brought me, 

masses of roses in my overgrown back garden

'La Sevilleana' front left

flanked by Mt.Shasta, a wonderful long stemmed

big bloomed rose, perfect for cutting

and a strong, hardy, tall grower

left, a beautiful pale pink rose

I have had for over 40 years

a gift from 'Pappy' Kemp

a wonderful Nursery man.

The year he was dying, Pappy gave me a number of bare-rooted
roses.We were newly moved into our 3 acre garden and I had no
place to plant them yet. Pappy just said " pop 'em in anywhere
gorgeous, if they grow,enjoy 'em if they don't,
don't worry about it"!

Our garden is on a mountain ridge, so any good soil I managed
to make, washed down into the fertile valley.

Well, two of those roses have survived. This pale pink one
I shifted to my farm garden and always fondly remember
old Pappy he was like a father to me in that last year
and I was a replacement for his daughter who lived far away
and whom he deeply missed , , ,

You may by now have notice that I love roses.

All mine have been selected by 'nose'.

In fact, most of the plants, except for vegetables,

were selected for their scent.

Don't get me wrong, where plants are concerned, 

I have very catholic tastes, 

I love them all.

Beautiful when dry and beautiful when wet and pink spotted

from the Antarctic blast we are having.

Linking with 

TODAY'S FLOWERS

and 

I Heart Macro

SkyWatch - "Early one morning, just as the day was dawning . . .S

striking light effect that does not

reach the clouds yet

a few minutes later

and the clouds are revealed in all their glory

This afternoon I lay on my back on the lawn and

studied the grey, cloudy skies

I have not done so since I was a child.

I'll be doing so again often.

Linking with SkyWatch

with many thanks to all who keep the meme going