FLORAL FRIDAY, TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - Cactus

Just got home from the Farmers' Market

and had to show you this beauty

I met outside a shop in Angaston

I had never before seen such a cactus flower

Enjoy!

Linking with

FLORAL FRIDAY

TODAY'S FLOWERS

&

I Heart Macro

SkyWatch - A walloping storm

Last Saturday at the Angaston Farmers' Market

a great storm arose

do enlarge for a fuller effect

the light changed

and multi-coloured clouds with pink and green in them 

gathered in the space of a few minutes

they darkened and started turning into horizontal ropes

then a mixture of rain and hail bucketed down

as lightning flashed vertically and 

horizontally at the same time

driving was a bit hair-raising and at a snail's pace

but we got home safely none the less.

Linking with

SkyWatch 

TODAY'S FLOWERS, Nature Notes & I Heart Macro - Gems of the Desert

Most people would find this to be a hot, 

dull and fly ridden landscape

but if you still your mind and open your eyes

it becomes so much richer

at your feet bright little gems of nature appear

they may be few and far between

but all the more precious for that

this tiny yellow flower at my feet

at the edge of a kangaroo trail I was on

looked very much like an orchid although

I have not been able to find it

in a book or compendium of native orchids yet

the golden glow of an Acacia offsets

the red seed heads of native hops

while the silver grey of Blue Bush

lends yet another colour variation.

life is often savoured so much more

not in the fast lane but in the quiet moments

roses and peacocks may be stunning

but it is the shy violet

that so often moves the heart

Linking with 

TODAY'S FLOWERS, Nature Notes

and I Heart Macro

SkyWatch & FLORAL FRIDAY - Dark clouds and desert flower

We were so lucky to have a thick cloud come up

and drop 4.5 mm 

everything in the garden perked up for a little while

a slightly closer view of our rain bearing cloud and sunset

a tiny white star gleaming in the desert

for Floral Friday

Linking with SkyWatch and FLORAL FRIDAY

Wild Bird Wednesday - Kookaburra dinner time

At The Basin, Kuringi Chase in North 

Sydney this Kookaburra had found a 

bite and a half

turned it this way 

and that

and felt rather smug after getting it down

and off he went to find some other

tourist tit bit

Linking with 

Wild Bird Wednesday

FLORAL FRIDAY, TODAY'S FLOWERS & Nature Notes - Bottle Brush

An emergency session with the dentist on Friday

made me a present as solace for loosing a tooth

of this cascade of Callistemons

overhanging the steps as I left to rescue 

my waiting dog in the car

walking under this gleaming red canopy

was a delight indeed.

Linking with

FLORAL FRIDAY, TODAY'S FLOWERS

Nature Notes & I Heart Macro

FLORAL FRIDAY, TODAY'S FLOWERS, I Heart Macro & Nature Notes - Orchids

A couple of nice surprises from the shade house

this unnamed orchid I took in as a stray, a leftover 

from a school fete some 15 years ago

it refused to show me what it's blooms looked like 

for all that time

today I discovered these pretty blooms on it

not large, about 2" and a bit across

an upright habit,

all in all a pretty surprise

below is one of my tiny Australian native Sarcochilus 

the flowers are less than 1" across

but they certainly make a splash

this is another first time flowerer

the bloom in not very large

but the markings are precise and very pretty

probably another orphan I have taken in

lastly, the most splendid of my Cymbidiums

with 2 great sprays and blooms the size of saucers

my shade house this year has produced more flowers

and had the longest flowering season ever

is the universe sending me some message?

Linking with 

FLORAL FRIDAY, TODAY"S FLOWERS,

I Heart Macro & Nature Notes

SkyWatch Friday - Mounting Storm . . .

The sun had set and all these lovely clouds

were thickening 

with an occasional flash of sheet lighting

the light here is from hidden lighting in the cloud

that lit up our road and paddocks

at this stage I was not yet worried,

I was waiting for my grandson to return from

his evening run

and the lightning was getting nearer

when it was this close with a few big bolts

hitting the ground

I was getting anxious

it was flashing all over the place

and the rain started to pelt down as well

it was a very long eight minutes until he returned

sopping wet, a perfect conductor and moving target

as well.

linking with

SkyWatch

OUR WORLD - The new flock

Guess I can't keep showing off our desert scenery 

all the time

so here, for a change, are our new arrivals 

on the farm

a bit skittish yet

a small mob of Merino sheep to augment our depleted flock

getting curious and taking an interest in their photo-op

the next lot is scheduled for next week.

Linking with

OUR WORLD