SkyWatch - A Day at Wirrealpa

Sunrise at a place I dearly love, Wirrealpa station in the North of 

South Australia.

A little drama during the day

that resolved itself into a rather nice sunset at gin & tonic time.

What a difference a day makes . . .

OUR WORLD - Peterborough Sunrise

                 Well, I'm safely back from our 1,400km trip to the wonders of our arid lands.

I have no idea why Blogger had to 'fix' something that was working well, at least much better and easier than now where every time I try to change something, I lose the whole post! This is my fourth attempt to get up an Our World post and I sincerely hope it works.

Once a thriving and important railway town with a prosperous agricultural base, Peterborough now still boasts a main street with four large hotels of the colonial era as well as the most imposing YMCA building I have seen anywhere.

Our overnight stop proved to be a goldmine of 18th and early 19th century architecture built to outlast the usefulness of the town itself.

The railway station has gone and unfortunately, there are many gaps in the once splendid main street.

The four hotels still left are the 'Federation', the 'Railway Hotel', the 'Peterborough Hotel' and, if I remember rightly, the 'Commercial.

A view to the YMCA and Town Hall with a typical palm tree of the 1870's still growing strong.

At left, the YMCA, a massive building with 15-18 foot ceilings and flanking it is the equally impressive Town Hall. Sorry, the photo does not capture the grandiloquence of either building and leaves out entirely the third in this row which is an even more opulent mansion, complete with ballroom.

For a sunrise walker, even the backstreets offer dear little cottages as well as many other houses marking the passage of the well-to-do of another era.

A little further back, there are also somewhat less salubrious sights.

And, lucky last, a peep at what lies ahead for a week or two of other posts to come.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Yucca

On our recent travels, we spent a night at Cowell South Australia,

a seaside town servicing the grain farmers whose product once

was loaded on seagoing vessels at it's very long jetty. Although

the silos are still in service, the grain is now trucked to Port

Lincoln for shipping. The other product here is the locally mined

jade, cloudier than New Zealand jade but pretty none the less.

I found this Yucca elephantipes, in a very pretty planting between

footpath and the road.

It made an attractive display shielding pedestrians from passing

traffic and providing plentiful food for any number of small to

medium sized birds.

A close up of flowers and buds just for eye-candy.

Needless to say, although we only spent one night there, I did

get in a nice bit of fishing from the jetty in the evening.

Just click on any or all photos and they magically enlarge.

Thank you Luiz for letting us share our flowers through your meme.

MY WORLD ~ Quorn, South Australia

Quorn is a little out of the way country town a hop and a skip

from the rugged Outback. The gateway to the Flinders Ranges

and once a thriving country town, but asthe seasons changed

and the and rural prosperity declined,it now relies mainly on

the tourist trade.

The main street has remained traditional and is quite charming

with an occasional corner store or two. If you wonder at the

lack op people, wonder no more, not everyone gets up with

the sun as I do. They were either still abed or at breakfast.

The old railway station is beautifully kept up since there still is

a steam train running from here in all but the fire dangerous

summer months. The train has been restored and is run entirely

by volunteers.

A few hotels from the Victorian era are still in business and

we normally patronise The Criterion when travelling north.

They are rather nice with their 12' wide cast iron verandahs.

Click to enlarge if you are interested.

MY WORLD is an informative and great fun meme, click on the

Logo to join in or just to roam the continents.

World Bird Wednesday ~ New Holland Honeyeater

New Holland Honeyeater, Philydonyris novaehollandiae,

feeding on a Grevillea bush.

Spotted in Port Elliot, South Australia after a lovely lunch at

the local hotel.

He happily foraged, while I just as happily photographed.

So nice of him to strike a pose for me.

Click on the Logo at right and see a wealth of birds.

Nature Notes and SkyWatch ~ Moon Magic

Hot, steaming summer night, sleep, that elusive rogue has fled.
I toss and turn, defeated I follow reluctantly into the moonlight
drenching the liquid air with gold.

The night so still, watched over by enchantress moon holds
promise yet of mystery and wonder. Gentle rustling in the bushes,
a possum intent on feasting on my rosebuds.

I listen rapt, waiting for I know not what when in the park a
solitary note, yet unmistakable, breaks forth.
It holds me rooted to the spot, not breathing lest it hide away its
fellows ... when there it is again, now stronger as with cadence sweet
she breaks into her lilting warble - a Nightingale as I live and
breathe!

Perhaps my guardian angel sent me out to hear this wonder of the
night. The world asleep and only i priviledged to hear once more
what I had given up as lost forever. My hungry soul laps up each
as it rises and falls. No sleep for me this night, the unexpected joy
is far too great.

Nightingales are imported birds known to exist in Melbourne, some

500 miles away across dry and burningly hot country. In South

Australia, the driest State in the driest Continent, they have been

unknown until this night unless it was a phantom singing solely for

my delectation.

*

To you all my dear Bloggy friends I wish a wonderfully healthy and

successful New Year! See you next year!

*

With thanks to Michelle of Rambling Woods for Nature Notes,

and our wonderful SkyWatch Team.

*

Both memes can be accessed by clicking on the relevant Logo.

*

MY WORLD ~ 41 Pildappa Rock, Eyre Peninsula

15km north of Minnipa in the Eyre Peninsula lies
this giant granite turtle.




The countryside is arid with sparse vegetation and
from here it does not look particularly preposessing.





Come a little closer and it has a way of growing on you.
It was not easy to find a spot to get onto the rock itself
without a ladder because of the eroded layer at ground
level.

A you can see, we did manage it and this granite

boulder turnes out to be quite extensive. There are

a number of these outcrops in this otherwise flat plain.
I put this shot in for a measure of scale, the Prof in

the distance is 6'2" tall and that is only a part of the

rock showing.

On the horizon you can see the Gawler Ranges.

Here again the Prof's legs are an indicator for the size

of the moulins some of which still held water from the

rain some days previously.

A large part of the top of the rock was like a pock marked
lunar landscape.

All this is still part of one single rock. Frost has broken

layers off the top which look small at a distance but in

reality are anything but.
There are a number of fingers of rock stretching into

the landscape

and some bright spark has at some time dumped his

garden waste there thinking nothing of it and certainly
not expecting the hardy plants to take root and create
a garden of exotic species here in the wildernes.

It you ENLARGE, you will see the Geraniums.

As always, click and the photos grow by magic.

The Logo will lead to many wonders in this world.

To Klaus and the My World Team my thanks as ever
for continuing this meme.