SkyWatch - A Few Clouds Last Night

Yesterday was cooler and quite pleasant, at least possible

 to sit outside after taking these pictures.

Today has been another scorcher with tomorrow and the 

weekend predicted to be much worse still and dangerous 

for the very young, the elderly and people with various heart 

and breathing difficulties.

My dog and I fall into the latter categories, so apart from 

going for a blood test, I will be incarcerated indoors with 

various cooling devices.

The few clouds we had last night at least lent some structure

to the sky

although, even zoomed in, the colour was minimal

as though the very sky was tired out with all the heat we have 

been suffering from.

Linking with 

SkyWatch

SkyWatch & Nature Notes - A horror day

I suppose we must occasionally have days like these . . .

A stormy sky and golden light on the paddock

what's wrong with that?

For one thing, the temperature was hovering around 100F,

the winds were fast furious and had a mind of their own 

and the whole state had a blanket total fire ban.

In this virtual oven, I had to drive for an hour to my specialist's 

rooms. When I got there, with the scar standing in the searing heat, 

I cleverly looked my keys in it.

Having membership in the Royal Automobile Association,

it only took an hour and a half for them to come and break into my car.

Meanwhile, the verdict at my physicians was not a good one.

My heart had markedly deteriorated in the last six weeks since 

I saw him.

After this disappointment, the long hot drive home.

Just when you think things are starting to look up,

life throws a spanner into the works.

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Hope you are all having a much nicer time!

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Magic Lanterns

A bit late for Halloween but, aren't they just the most pumpkin 

orange?

Have a happy Sunday. Here it is already 33C with strong winds

and fire danger although it isn't even summer yet! .

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Farm Flowers

The weather has been hot and in the heat the agapanthus

come into their own.

These are flowering at our gate

and these along the driveway

and on the road near the gate a young Eucalyptus ficifolia

is opening it's first blooms after ten years of growth.

Many more flowers are tucked in behind the Logo on my side bar.

SkyWatch ~ Sunrise on the Trot

Expecting more hot weather, I got up before the sun, grabbed

my camera and went for my daily constitutional walk. With

the extreme heat I had missed a few and my body had sent in a

written complaint in triplicate.

It was just light enough to see but the sun still had her sleepy

head tucked under the blankets.

As I headed up our undulating road, I stopped now and then,

usually after having attained yet another rise, to look back at

the sky. Didn't look like much . . .

At the next stop there seemed to be a bit of colour emerging,

reaching a yet higher elevation, suddenly she popped above

the horizon

and almost burned my eyeballs out but the colour was great.

Well, that's all folks! Time to hoof it back home keeping my

eyes lowered for safe keeping as well as the angle of my hat adjusted.

Thank you Skywatch Team for keeping this long standing meme going!

Nature Notes & SkyWatch ~ Heatwave Sunset

As I dribbled water on my collapsing plants in the slightly

cooler ( still 35C) part of the late afternoon, the light changed

and without looking up I raced for my camera.

Photos are in consecutive order as snapped . . .

This is what I saw as, with camera primed, I hit the outdoors,

click! Promising, I thought . . . click!

What a change in seconds, is this it???

Change is like a holiday so here comes more colour,

only to treacherously fade again,

Before the grand finale. Everything has a silver lining, even

a severe heatwave or as the Northern Hemisphere are having,

ice storms and blizzards. Could a bird have a prettier perch

than a sparkling, ice covered twig?

If you want to get a tan, enlarge at your peril but do put on

some sunscreen first.

The garden droops with crisped flowers but the sunsets are fantastic!

Thanks to Rambling Woods and Skywatch for the relevant memes.

Click on either or, better still, both Logos to join in or just enjoy.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Wilted!

Fresh flowers in my en suite, happy and vibrant, exuding their

sweet scent one day

and tired and wilted the next. My little bathroom is the coolest

room in the house but with temperatures in the 40'sC, nothing

lasts . . .

The same for the freshly picked lilies in my bedroom. Full of

life and most wonderfully perfumed,

twenty four hours later, drooping with desiccated leaves . . .

even the bud is drooping. I have never seen lilies so badly affected

by heat. Normally they give one pleasure for up to two weeks.

Everything, including me is wilting in this heat wave.

My roses are like crisps, maybe I could bag and market them as a new snack!

If you are not too languid from the swelter, you could lift a finger and enlarge.

TODAY'S FLOWERS is sponsored by Luiz Santilli Jr., do click on the Logo and join in.

MY WORLD ~ Time Out at the Seaside

On Sunday I played hooky for half an hour or so and drove down

to the beach after dropping off my sister at the airport.

It had been a hot day but there were not many people there.

An occasional boat sailed by, a lone head bobbed in the water

and I tucked my long dress up my knickers and my camera

under my shirt. and braved the warm waters up to my knees.

The water was as warm as a bath inside the sand bar and sheer

bliss swirling around my tootsies, my soul sang and troubles

miraculously faded away.

A group of people were flying ginormous kites like birds of prey,

while I just stood and admired the view to Glenelg and basked

in the wonder of the sea.

All photos enlarge of course . . .

Thanks to the MY WORLD Team we can all wonder the world at will

so click on the Logo and join in or just admire.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ 2nd Advent

The day dawned swelteringly hot with curtains drawn against

the burning sun.

The elves had been at work with a beautiful Advent wreath

hanging from the ceiling festooned with hand made golden

stars,

as well as putting their artistry to good use decorating

gingerbread.

Stars and hearts, birds, bunny rabbits and a reindeer and

many other animals as well as a sparkling, snow covered

Christmas tree

What a wonderful thing it is to have competent grandchildren.

Happy Advent to everyone as Christmas comes hurtling

towards us.

Click on the Logo and check out Hey Harriet lurking in many a shadow.

SkyWatch ~ Sweltering Heat

The heat of the past two months has been physically challenging
forcing me to spend most of my time in a horizontal position.
My trusty laptop has also suffered and attack from cyber-space
and only came out of intensive care last night.

Somehow we both weathered our various onslaughts and survived.

One of our hot, hot sunsets over yonder hill in the west looking
just a tad menacing.



A moment of silver lining as the sun decides to briefly show
her face



and light up the bare paddocks of my favourite hill in the east.



A big thank you to all of you who have left me so many
supportive comments. Your friendship and caring thoughts
mean so much to me. I am sorry I can as yet only visit now
and then as time sitting is still limited .

The Logo unlocks hundreds of other skies.

Thanks to our fab. Team we can all enjoy each other's skies.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Summer Roses

Roses burning in the summer heat. A dry 42C is not a comfortable
temperature for either bush or bloom. It dessicates the petals in a
matter of hours.





















In our mountain garden the temperature is 7C cooler due to the
adiobatic lapse rate. The roses last a little longer there.

This is Rosa Noisettiana, one of the oldest roses in our garden, it was
planted in the 1870's when the gable end was added to the house.



















A delightful survivor of another era with delightful scent and
extraordianry hardiness. It blooms but once a year and bristles
with sharp thorns yet it is one of my greatest treasures.
I have only ever seen one other specimen in Australia.

The logo is a magic carpet to many more flowers around the world.

*

With thanks to Luiz Santilli Jr. for creating this meme and his team

of willing helpers who keep it running flawlessly.

SkyWatch ~ Hot Summer Sunrise

Pale, insignificant colour in the sky as the light grows. Will it
amount to anything? No-one knows...

















I wait in hope as the colours deepen, the morning is already hot.

















Then as the sun peeps over the horizon, its full force hits the clouds

In a majestic blaze of glory!

To fly the skies, just click the Logo on the right.

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Thank you dear Skywatch Team for this universal meme.