TODAY'S FLOWERS & I Heart Macro - An unexpected gift

A friend came over to make a very special delivery,

I'll tell you more about that in some other post,

and brought this very beautiful pot full of

English Daisies

Sorry, phone shots as my Nikon has a tummy ache

the photos certainly don't live up to the original

these little flowers just exude happiness

with their smiling faces

Linking with Denise's

TODAY'S FLOWERS

and Laura's

I HEART Macro

OUR WORLD - Oh to go to the sea

Last August, with my health rapidly breaking down,  I bit the 

bullet and after a number of years of looking after my husband

of 54 years standing, had to put him into a nursing home.

Now, I visit when I can but it is a 150 km round trip and the 

drive does exhaust me.

A dear friend flew down from Queensland to see him. 

Luckily he was still recognised.

In the afternoon I took our friend to the airport and since it is 

not far from the sea, I finally got to smell the fresh sea air that I

had missed for a whole year.

Just the colour was enough to lift my spirits.

Even though a service vehicle had driven up and down a few 

times, my little dog and I enjoyed the walk.

Hardly a sole on the beach apart from us.

The view from West Beach down the coast 

towards Glenelg and Brighton.

Enjoy your world while you still have a place in it or recognise that you have one.

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Tulips

Hallo friends all, it's been a long time since I posted.

Fate took a hand and stuck a spoke in my wheel and followed it 

up with letting down my tyres as well.

Not only was my internet down until a few days ago but I also 

found that severe pain was not conducive to posting anything

filled with sweetness and light.

Here are a few tulips I planted this winter, that added a little cheer

through this rather tough time.

A few more on the other side of the carport

and a pot full that looked rather splendid.

I have just one more clump to surprise me with their colour.

I sincerely hope you have all been well in my absence and will 

endeavour to visit as many as I can in the coming weeks while

I am still getting over this and that.

TODAY'S FLOWERS - More Orchids

Thank you Luiz for featuring me today as your Guest Friend!

Here are a few more orchids from my my dear friends' garden:

This orchid, with it's tiny, lace like flowers, was a good 5' wide

and 4' high. In fact, it was so big, I could not fit all of it into 

the frame. It is worth enlarging to see the branches laded with

buds of promise.

Their shade-houses were extensive and full of blooms, in a season

when nature is winding down and there is a constant chill in the 

air, in John and Beverley's garden, you would think it was 

perpetual spring.

This one was such an unusual shade of pink and fuchsia.

Thanks to Luiz Santilli Jr. and his team, we can enjoy flowers all year round!

OUR WORLD - A backward step

Just for a change, I am taking you a few months back to our 

local Agricultural Show.

This prize winning rooster rally took my fancy

and I took great pride in my grandson in law taking out second

 prize for precision shearing.

The great pumpkin dwarfws the little girls and the dahlias on the 

adjoining table

and a rather well embroidered footstool did not even get a 

prize when others less worthy did.

Ours is one of the few remaining real country shows with animals, 

birds, shearing, woodcutting and in the hall, baking photography,

vegetables and fruit and amongst many other things even a prize 

for the best polished boots!

All in all, a great day out with lots of good food and produce of the 

area like wine and honey and a great number of locals to socialise with.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ From a Dear Friend's Garden

Recently I visited a dear friend in Goolwa and gleaned these

beautiful flowers from her garden.

Princess lilies glowing in the grass . . . .

A daisy bush and pelargoniums . . . but what a show!

As we grow older, so do the things around us. Nothing on this

earth is permanent.

Thanks to Luiz Santilli Jr. for this meme, do click on the Logo

and enjoy all the beauty around the world.

MY WORLD ~ Garden Friends

When I step outside, I have friends waiting everywhere . . .
some who sit around
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others flying over head

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some fair weather friends
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and some for stormy weather
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some not so pretty who come out at dusk
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and others who are always there when you need them.
These are but a few of the friends I see every day and who

always keep a smile on my face.
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All photos enlarge with a click.
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Thanks to the MY WORLD Team for giving us a venue to share

what is of importance to us.

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The Logo will open the door to join in or just enjoy the world of others.

MY WORLD ~ Back in Blogland

Aloha friends and fellow travellers in Blogworld. Those who
were about to die have saluted Caesar yet have been returned
to the land of the living.



Unlike this little cat, I came to the bridge but did not cross it.
An allergic reaction to my heart medication dropped my pulse,
blood pressure and shut down my kidneys. I was releases from
incarceration this afternoon and am so very grateful for all your
good wishes which helped me to get through a rather trying time.



Soon I will again take my camera and this or another cat for an
exploratory walk. Here she is checking out a noise in the bushes,



and posing in front of an Acacia in bud.
I hope to visit you all as soon as I possibly can.

Click on the MY WORLD logo for interesting places and tales
and/or my photos to enlarge them.

Watery Wednesday ~ A Great Day on the Water

A good day to share with a friend . . .

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Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy we have this great venue for sharing our

watery views.

MY WORLD ~ A Retrospective . . .

Musing on what the shortest day had been like last year, I
checked in my photo diary. It was a cold and crisp Sunday,
unlike today, the leaves had not all fallen yet. Being partial
to a Sunday drive but preferring an outing with a goal . . .

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we took ourselves to Rockford's Winery in the Barossa Valley.

Rockfords still make traditional wine from non-irrigated grapes

pressed in large wooden open vats. The old buildings have been

restored and extended in the same manner and are always a joy

to visit. We aquired a few dozen bottles of their excellent produsce

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and headed home again through golden pastures dotted with

sheep,
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or not, enjoying the clear light and pleasant landscapes.

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Past vineyards and distant blue hills . . .
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and more of the same,
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until the thought of home and afternoon tea caused us to step on
the gas and move along at a rather brisker pace. It really was a

very satisfying outing.

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I have just noticed that in 2 years of blogging this is my 401st.

post! Thank you to all of you who have visited and I hope will

continue to do so. Your friendship and comments have definitely
enriched my life, as your prayers and good wishes have helped me

through some hard times.

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Thank you one and all my friends!

And a big thank you to the industrious MY WORLD Team for the

establishment and continuation of this delightful meme.

SkyWatch ~ Lazarus Rises Again

Life so unexpectedly, occasionally whips up unavoidable storm
clouds.



I seem to have developed a habit of knocking on the pearly gates.
Had I been a Victorian heroine of old, I would simply have fainted
at the sight of blood and that would have been that.

Your's truly though, when faced with a spurting vein, grabbed
anything for a pad, strapped it with an elastic bandage and, since
there was no-one else around, drove myself into the nearest hospital.

Exactly a month later, with nasty germs colonizing my man-made
as well as other heat valves, I have just today been given home
detention with daily anti-biotic infusions by a visiting nurse for at
least three more weeks.

To all of my staunch friends and followers who have sent me love and
support, you cannot imagine how much your caring has meant to me
and how much your healing thoughts have helped to bring me back
again. I carry you all in my heart and only wish I could give you all
individual hugs.

Below is proof that every cloud has a silver lining!

Life is so fragile, live it as though there were no tomorrow!

MY WORLD ~ 42 A Visit up River

Last Friday we had occasion to drive 100 miles
up river to visit friends in South Australia's prime
citrus growing area. The drive was delightfully green
after the late winter rains we have lately had.



Their water allocation has been drastically cut
because of the lack of water in the river. Most orchards
we passed had greatly reduced fruit size, a lot showed
drought stress. Yields in consequence had been low and
of much poorer quality than other years.

Above is their tame Galah who kept insisting on calling
me 'Charlie', did he know something I didn't?

My friend Meredith in her garden which is normally skirted
by glowing golden oranges but now nowhere near as lush as
I remember it, even the large Jacaranda shading the
verandah had a lot of die back.



Even in this sandy dryland soil there were many
beautiful flowers



and a little water to keep it all viably growing.

It is amazing what a little water can do, the Carnation

certainly enjoyed her shower.

All photos enlarge by a simple click on them.

Both the dogs and cats were matched - dressed in

black and white, two Jack Russells and two cats and

all good friends.

A birdhouse the size of a normal lounge room housed

two pairs of singing Canaries and a cooing dove that

had thought this a good place to stay.

Barbary Dove, Streptopelia 'risoria', native of the

south western corner of Western Australia but a

favourite aviary bird in the East.

In the front yard the butter-yellow Banksia Roses were
draping themselves over the trees.

Our friend Mike, the best citrus grower I know,
exports all over the world, growing a great variety

of fruit as well as researching others.

A peek into the shade house with Orchids, Fuchsias
as well as many other delicate flowers.

These beautiful White Cedars show off their golden

seed berries against the blue of the sky.

I will be posting the Guinea Fowl roaming the orchard
in Bird Photography Weekly.

We had a lovely day being spoiled rotten with a delicious

lunch, afternoon tea as well as a car full of Oranges,

Mandarins, Blood Oranges and Pomelos as a parting gift..

For the World other people live in, click on the Logo and enjoy.

To Klaus and the MY WORLD team, my thanks as always.