OUR WORLD & Nature Notes - The colours of autumn

Stirling main street transformed from a barren sealed road

wide enough to land a Jumbo jet on

into this magnificent sight that now attracts tourists to it's 

autumn festival.

Forty four years ago a band of conservationist fought 

tooth and nail to preserve the last remaining oaks in the main 

street, against a Council that wanted to create more parking 

places in front of the shops.

Somehow, with getting the media on side,

we got our way and the council consented to us planting

an avenue of Liquid Ambers along the main shopping strip.

My daughter still proudly points to the tree she 

planted as a 10 year old.

This is one of the highest rainfall areas in the state,

where the trees do not lose their leaves until they have

displayed their full glory.

Finally the Council saw sense, built car parks

behind the shops and added beautiful plantings along the road.

Now it is a pleasure to shop and walk there and there is still 

some discreet parking along the roadway.

A perfect place for an autumn ramble and to pop into 

Matilda's Book Shop to pick up a book or three . . .

Linking with

  OUR WORLD & Nature Notes

OUR WORLD Tuesday - Autumn on the Farm and Elsewhere

Before our first autumn rain, the calves were dropping like 

the rain should have.

A recent baby making tentative friends with our last remaining

steer that, for the second time running, jumped out of the stockyards

not to be sent to market.

Ya gotta give it to him for spunk!

Togetherness, two mommas and their babies. 

No need to cover up, these girls believe in letting it all hang out.

On my way to town, I pass this beautiful farm

with two Golden Ash, Fraxinus excelsior 'Aurea' , flanked by

two beautiful Claret Ash, Fraxinus raywoodii.

The Claret Ash comes from a property not far from our Mt.Lofty house.

A gardener noticed a red sport on a Golden Ash and propagated from

it. It was a rather grand house with lots of visitors who, in a few

years time, marvelled at the depth of colour and the rest is history.

Claret Ash against one of my favourite shade trees, the Golden Elm

in our village.

We all are mirror images of each other,

some enjoying autumn and others, spring.

Whichever you are in, take pleasure in what it offers.

OUR WORLD - Mintaro

Our last trip in autumn was to the tiny, historic town of Mintaro, 

renowned for it's slate. Perfect, huge sheets of slate from 

here were sent all over the world for full sized billiard tables.

The township dates from 1854 and we stayed in a house of a 

similar vintage as our historic house on Mt.Lofty, that we 

lost to the 1983 bushfires. 

We felt so at home here with the garden the same age as ours that was 

mainly destroyed.

Above, the street view of the part os the house we stayed in and

 below, a view from our private verandah.

Wide slate steps and lavender hedges, water features and autumn 

leaves

8' high windows with 'heritage gree' shutters

and plenty of splendid colour to ramble through or sit under.

The glory vine on our verandah came complete with a bird's nest,

late roses still bloomed and enhanced the view across the street.

Our bedroom was sumptuous and in period, befitting us 

golden oldies.

A luxurious bathroom complete with spa-bath was a sheer delight,

especially as all piped water was smooth as silk rainwater.

The kitchen was a dream as well with a fire that just needed one 

match to light and plentiful wood supplied. 

A bottle of wine and box of quality chocolates welcomed us

and fixings for ample cooked breakfasts graced the fridge.

Quaint cottages littered the back streets

and everywhere was evidence of slate mining.

A most restful and really delightful stay off the main tourist track,

a perfect place to be transported back in to a more gracious time.

MY WORLD, World Bird, Watery Wednesday & Bird Photography Weekly- Autumn Glory

A few more remembrances of our autumn colour pilgrimage to

the Victorian Alps, the caravan park at Jamieson with its magic

of autumn colour. Those of you in the Northern Hemisphere must

wonder at my excitement to be amongst all this splendid colour.

Just consider that nearly all Australian trees are evergreen,

momentarily I can only think of one that is deciduous. There

must be a few more but they do not spring readily to mind.

The combination of autumn colour and running water is just

irresistible to me so we drive a thousand miles one way to

immerse ourselves in this glorious colour-bath.

A gentle view along the riverbank.

I am particularly enamoured of trees that are baring their souls

like this willow that has shed two thirds of it's golden glory.

An Amanita muscaria doing its utmost to lift our cabin off it's stumps.

A kookaburra doing his tree-hugging impression

and a tiny Silvereye, Zosterops lateralis, posing in the light .

I just could not stop walking around the caravan park and

adjoining public parks on either side of it along the river and

snapping away.

There was wall to wall colour wherever one looked,

a few Maple leaves enjoying the sunshine

while this female Common Blackbird, Turdus merula, preferred

the shade for her worm hunting forays and had a beak full of

rich, nourishing, wriggling goodness within minutes to feed

her growing brood.

Here is the male of the species checking me out. Blackbirds

are about the size of American Robins and have quite amazing

songs.

The gold of Liliodendron tulipifera against the russet leaves

of the oak

and last but not least, a king parrot female demolishing the

buds of Camellia sasanqua probably to it's owner's chagrin.

Enlarge and enjoy!

With thanks to the co-ordinators of all four memes.

MY WORLD, World Bird and Watery Wednesday

There are compensations to be had away from civilisation. This

place is definitely one of them. My favourite caravan park is

in Jamieson, Victoria. Right on the Jamieson river, where we like

to stay in a lovely two bedroom cabin under a massive Pin-Oak

next to a park that also has a wonderful selection of mature, well

spaced deciduous trees.

This is definitely not your average caravan park, shady trees in the

summer and the most glorious colour in the autumn.

All I wanted to do is snap - trees, leaves, birds and mushrooms,

good heavens, which way to point the camera next???

A flock of Australian Wood Duck, Chenonetta jubata, grazing

on the riverbank.

Was I ever excited when I saw this bird on my computer!

A first for me. I am tipping on a Rufous Bristlebird, Dasyornis

broadbenti. I am hoping some Australian ornithologist can

confirm my most amateur identification or point me in the right

direction.

Correction: not a Bristlebird at all but a female Satin Bowerbird,

Chlamydera violaccus, thank you Stewart M for the identification.

Even so it was a first for me , I once saw a male in a Queensland rain

forest but have never seen them in Victoria before.

A walk around this charming little township also netted a few

Australian King Parrots, Alisterus scapularis,

male above and probably female below.

A chocolate-box study of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, Cacatua

galerita,

. . . and for Watery Wednesday, a shot of the quietly flowing

waters of the Jamieson River.

So from one blessed riverbank to the next, your roving reporter

will send the next instalment from the banks of the Ovens river.

We are having some worrying lights flashing in our vehicle and

will have a somewhat longer enforced stay at the home of the

Autumn Leaf festival while waiting for a booking with a reputable

Hyundai service department, did you hear me complaining? Not likely!

We are taking it easy and going out for lunch listening to the river

rushing past and having lovely long walks. I could spend a lot of time

this way.

See you all again soon . . . your roving reporter (in the slow lane)

signing off for now . . .

PS all photos enlarge of course.

Nature Notes ~ Locust Plague and Sudden Autumn Colour

Autumn has settled in, temperatures have plummeted, rose

hips are gleaming here and there on the verges of paddocks.

The birds are enjoying hawthorn berries. It all sounds

so tranquil,

the resident huntsman in the living room enjoys the warmth

of the wireless internet router,

but not all has been an unmitigated pleasure. At the end of

summer there was a major locust plague. The swarms were

aerially sprayed yet not eradicated. We did not have enough

to demolish our pastures but certainly more than I bargained

for. The first wave stripped all the leaves off our broad beans

and damaged a number of other plants. Thankfully, they left

the citrus trees intact.

Unfortunately they came again while we were away and stripped

all the leaves from all my grapevines that provide shade for the

front and back of the house and were full of ripening fruit.

With the loss of the leaves, the green fruit also fell robbing

both us and our visiting birds of a delicious food source.

Then there were the crickets in unmentionable numbers,

invading the house and taking their toll on the vegetation.

On top of that, the grasshoppers were also out in force.

On a lighter note, I found this beautiful Dragon fruit at our

farmers' market.

The first mouthful was very sweet but the flavour became rather

nondescript after a few spoonfuls. It is the fruit of a cactus and I

got a piece to strike as well. In a couple of years I may have a few

fruit to brighten up my fruit basket. Even if the taste is nothing

spectacular, it is high in vitamin C.

My pomegranates have turned colour and the fruit glows

like a ruby in it's golden setting.

The pin-oaks are providing extra colour in the park.

I will have to go out and capture the wonders of the changing

colours for you to enjoy with me as soon as we get a sunny day.

Enlarge if you wish, the pomegranate is worth it.

Thanks to Michelle at Rambling Woods we can air our observations in this meme.