OUR WORLD - Back to Wirrealpa Staion

In dreams I go back to this place I love in our arid lands,

Wirrealpa Station on the eastern edge of the 

North Flinders Ranges.

My husband and I stayed in this little house on the hill

the last time we were there.

Meat safe on the left and shearer's quarter to the right

the larger house, far right, the sleeping quarters and the smaller

one with the chimney stack, kitchen and eating hall

The meat safe, where carcasses were hung before refrigeration,

surrounded by fly wire

now an extra studio space

this was in springtime when I went there with my daughter 

and some of her artist friends, when the desert was in full flower

a bush pear had even set fruit, unfortunately not 

ripe enough for us to taste

general view to the east, flat and dry

my favourite view to the Flinders Ranges from the verandah of the 

shearer's quarters

botanical alchemy happening on the old shearer's stove

you can see in my header

and a little later, our dinner squeezed in-between 

the dye pots and kettles

and lastly the star of this October visit,

a profusion of Sturt's Desert Pea.

Can you wonder that I love this place?

Wild Bird Wednesday & Nature Notes - Zebra Finches

These Zebra Finches, Taeniopygia guttata, were from our 

trip to Wirrealpa station in the desert country east of 

the North Flinders Ranges.

The first shot is just to give you an idea of the size of these 

busy chattering little birds. 

The little female kept watch in the Acacia tree by a waterhole

while her mate cautiously went for a drink

her ladyship is on the alert

while himself is at the bar guzzling down a few beers as fast

as he can

she checks him out and thinks he has had quite enough and,

like the good fellow he is, he joins her and they merrily fly off.

Although these birds can be found almost Australia wide, they are

more prevalent in the arid inland of the continent.

Linking with Stewart's

Wild Bird Wednesday

and Michelle's

Nature Notes

OUR WORLD - In the Heart of the Country

In the dry heart of the country, at Wirrealpa station, on the

eastern side of the North Flinders Ranges, this view is what I 

woke up to every morning.

Off I went for a lone walk, even though it was a really hot day.

Although it was autumn, a little rain had brought forth

patches of these purple Solanum.

I headed cross-country to the line of trees in the distance

that bordered the dry riverbed of Wirrealpa River.

Flat and dry it looks like a great place for camping and 

safe for a campfire

but, don't be fooled, just look at that eroded wall in the 

background. A rainstorm in the mountains can send down 

a 20' wall of water without warning - much safer to sleep 

on the prickles on the bank.

I headed up the riverbed until I reached the road

and of course the view I was expecting to see.

Heading back along two wheel ruts that led past the shearing shed,

I surprised a small mob of sheep who looked rather bemused

to see me there.

Back to the cottage and a kind offering of fresh eggs

from hostesses chickens.

I was tempted to cook some for breakfast on this splendid original 

19th century, cast iron stove

but thought better of it and opted for the modern electric range.

It was much too hot to light a fire.

Maybe next time.

Now, go check out everyone else's contributions!

Variegated Fairy-Wren

My mind seems to be a blank and my camera has been very lazy

as well so I am regressing a little in time and returning to a happy

snappy time in the drylands around the Flinders Ranges.

Early morning at Wirrealpa Station and the birds were coming

for a dip in the big water tank near our little cottage.

Here is the little hen Variegated Fairy-Wren, Malurus lamberti, 

and just that you don't think she was an easy shot, below is the 

uncropped version of the little grey dot in the middle.

Here is her colourful little mate, not yet in full mating plumage

but looking rather dapper none the less.

I am linking to:

OUR WORLD

Wild Bird Wednesday

id-rather-b-birdin

and

Nature Notes

and thank all the organisers of these memes.

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 . . .

SkyWatch - Another Wirrealpa Sunset

Before we left Wirrealpa Station to go to Arkaroola, the evening

sky put on another splendid show for us.

They day had been hot with the sun really biting. 

Hard to imagine that a mere 700km south, it was already so cold 

that we had our electric blankets in use.

Somehow in the dry inland, sunrises and sunsets are so much

more spectacular than at home.

A windmill always helps although we have a few at home too.

Happy skywatching everyone!

World Bird Wednesday - More Dry-land Birds

On the last morning of our initial stay at Wirrealpa Station in the

North Flinders Ranges of inland South Australia, there it was!

The Variegated Fairy Wren momentarily posed in the open, 

unfortunately not yet in full mating plumage. 

One click and it was gone but I was happy anyway.

It was early morning as we were packing up, you know how it 

goes . . . camera in one hand and carting stuff to the car with the 

other . . . when this bright little Red-Cap Robin showed up. 

Again, I just had a moment to catch this glimpse.

Sharp it is not . . but colourful none the less.

This handsome chap is decidedly bigger than the Fairy-Wren but

compared to an American Robin or an European Blackbird, he is

like Tiny Tim to Arnie Schwarzenegger.

With a bit of luck, we'll move to the mountains next week.

WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY - A Mixed Bag

My first morning at Wirrialpa Station in the North Flinders Ranges, 

I fully expected to be a flop.

I was out there as the sun rose and nothing stirred at all. As my 

hands got colder, my camera got heavier and suddenly there they 

were, a Variegated Fairy-Wren (female), Malurus lamberti 

with a pretty iridescent pale blue tail.

A young male coming into colour,

just see how tiny it is against the leaves

and miracle of miracles, a mature male in mating plumage whom 

I almost missed in sheer excitement. I only got one shot at him and

this blur was it.

If you can imagine anything smaller still, here is a Chestnut-rumped

Thornbill, Acanthiza uropygialis, the tiniest of tiny cuties.

Just check out those soulful little eyes!

This Hall's Babbler, Pomatostomus halii, in contrast, is almost the 

size of a blackbird.

They have quite a long sharp and strong beak.

And lastly, a Singing Honeyeater hiding in the bushes.

This was just my first morning's birding, there are many more to come . . .

OUR WORLD - North from Orroroo

Isn't Orroroo a great name for a town? I just love the way it rolls 

off the tongue. Here we filled up on expensive petrol and I 

stupidly left my best sunglasses at the petrol station as we 

headed for the hills.

One of those glorious views to the jagged teeth of Wilpena Pound
 clad in vivid blue.

It was on our agenda on the way back, for now, we were heading
to one of my favourite places on this earth, Wirrealpa Station. 

A mountain range we had to pass through to get to the other side.
We navigated 42 creek crossings that had been rushing torrents
after the rains some weeks ago. It was really rough with sharp
and jagged rocks in the floodways.

Arrived at the cottage we stayed at at Wirrealpa, we were greeted
by this little two and a half inch gecko on the outside of the
bathroom window. Later we found them inside as well and were
very appreciative of their efforts in eliminating mosquitos.

Sunrise next morning lit up the trees along Wirrealpa Creek and
the hills in the distance,

as well as the meat house encased in fly-screen where whole
carcasses once hung to feed the substantial workforce.

The last three pictures were taken from our cottage. Birds at 

the same location will follow tomorrow.