Nature Notes ~ A Walk on the Beach

This is Second Valley in South Australia, a tiny horseshoe bay

with a short but, at high tide, a deep mooring place. There is a

white sand beach with interesting rocks and rounded green hills

around. The fishing is good and the play of light on sea and shore

quite spectacular. On top of all, the water is crystal clear right

to the deep depth at the end of the jetty.

A perfect place to sketch with charcoal from an old camp fire

on the beach

or go exploring along the rocky outcrops as the tide is going out.

Wildflowers inhabit any crevice they find and

limpets and other much smaller tidal sea creatures cling to

the rocks. These tiny invertebrates are less than one tenth

of an inch and smaller (click to enlarge), I could barely recognise

them and I was wearing glasses.

Flat, rounded stones that your hands just itch to fondle and

take pocket-fulls home. I resisted, but just barely. These days

my collecting is done by camera.

The striations on the rocks and the vegetation are enchanting,

as are the bees and butterflies.

and the view is a pure dream.

Thank you Michelle of Rambling Woods for this most gentle of memes.

Do click on the Logo and join in.

MY WORLD ~ 48 Gold of a Different Kind

While on our recent trip to Sydney, we had to cross
many miles of New South Wales' erstwhile gold country,



now gleaming with a different gold that rewards one's
labour with a little more certainty.



With the blue hills surrounding this wealth of gold,
I could have, like Dorothy, happily sunk down into
a hundred year sleep...woops, seems my bedtime
stories are getting tangled.



The road side weed, Echium plantagenium, covered
the road verges just in time for a welcome colour change.



All photos enlarge so you too may be blinded with gold.

Thanks to Klaus and the My World team for hosting
this informative meme.