TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 26 Winter Wonders

All images are better when enlarged!

A double flowering Prunus, one of a pair that survived
the drought.



In the winter cold, a welcome snack to hungry bees.



This is the normal time of year for Almond trees and
ormanental Plums to begin blossoming . Not so for
the usually much later flowering Malus floribunda, which
has been confused by the winter rains into thinking that
it is growing time again, as have all the Roses.
Normally this particular Crabapple is the showiest tree in
the garden. After the prolonged drought, there are just a few
out of season florets on it. It at least, unlike so many other
trees, has survived..



Daphne odora, that I grew from a cutting and gave my
eldest g-daughter for her 21st birthday last year.
Amazing what the granddaughters managed to do with
a bit of sink water, it is beautifully healthy and blooming
all over.



There is frost on the ground in the mornings and yet
the roses, having been dormant during summer and autumn ,
are asserting what life they had left in them, by bringing
forth flowers of unimaginably rich colours due to the cold.
Colours that are totally unexpected, below is 'Charles Austin'
normally a gentle apricot, blushing with embarrasment at being
caught out of bed so early in the season.



A mutant flower on 'Abraham Darby', again a much
deeper colour than in Spring.



Luckily not all the blooms look like they have been hit
by Chernobil and have turned into London double
decker buses. The flower below is normal except for the
colour, normally pink with a light blush of apricot.



Oxalis, a proclaimed noxious weed, is doing magnificently.
It has such happy yellow flowers and looks so pretty but
is almost impossible to keep in check after a long dry spell.

The ever hardy Lachenalia, commonly called Soldier

Boys because of their red jackets. Come hell or high
water, they will survive!

This winter there is so much flowering in the garden
that I have not even touched the half of it in this post.
There are no mass displays as yet, but there are
countless single blooms here and there so that it is a
discovery trip every time I go outside.

For more Flora of different seasons, click on the Logo.

*

Congratulations to Luiz Santilly Jr. for creating this most

popular and delightful meme and for keeping it going with

the help of his idustrious elves week after week for its first

successful year. With the list of participants growing daily,

I hope this meme continues for many years to come.

A Concert to Rememer

11.30pm, and just returned home from the metropolis. Darling daughter organized tickets and took us in her jazzy Mazda MX6 to the beautifully restored Adelaide Town Hall concert hall to see, hear and appreciate a David Helfgott concert.

I am happy to say that I have not seen 'Shine' with Jeffrey Rush but now, after seeing the real thing, may yet do so. I always also like to read the book and make my own impressions before seeing someone elses.

The programme consisted of Rachmaninov Predudes, Mozart's Sonata No.8 in A minor and
Beethoven's Waldstein sonata.

Unlike the young pianists of today who have had all the advantages of modern technique and Masterclass refinement in phrasing, Helfgott's music is, one might say, rather more basic but
his total personal identification with it is unique.

He rushed upon the stage as though there were not enough time in life for playing his chosen instrument, and literally ran across the stage with bows and thumbs up signs to sit at the piano...
no niceties of adjusting piano stool or flipping his coat-tails back, lifting his hands portentously and composing his face to the piece to come, let alone flicking back that artistic lock of hair etc., no, having reached the piano he launched straight into the piece before he was even properly seated. There was a tremendous urgency to be at one with the music and the piano.The tempo may have run away with his fingers as he kept looking at the audience to see that they too enjoyed it. Van Cliburn's gentle hums were as nothing to the sonorous tones emanating from Helfgott, yet all was accepted through the deep infectious enjoyment of music that spread like a mist over the audience and carried all before it to a higher plane of identifying with sound itself.

The interruption of the illiterate applauding in the middle of a movement did not phase him at all. he half rose, bowed, but all the while did not miss a beat in his playing. Quite remarkable in anyone else perhaps, but Helfgott seems to actually be the music.

It was an evening of pure enjoyment, with an audience akin to the adoring fans of Liberace but without the glitz and props. Three encores to standing ovations, Chopin's Minute Waltz played in 30 seconds...his fingers moved with unbelievable dexterity and speed. Next came Manuel de Falla's 'Ritual Fire Dance' setting the very sky ablaze and after yet another standing ovation, we thrilled to the Bumble Bee flying past us at super sonic speed.

All in all, a memorable evening's entertainment!

Skywatch ~ 45 Eight of 110 of one Great Sunrise

Please ENLARGE for your enjoyment.

A sunrise to remember, I have at least 110 shots to
remember it by. Here are a mere eight of them.



By the time I levitated out of bed, grabbed a dressing
gown ... baby, it sure was cold outside ... and grabbed
my camera there was already a fair sunrise brewing....



reflecting colour on the land although still indistinct



back to the main event, the sky was drowning in
red and gold,



as the light grew, I had gathered an audience of two

while the sky to the south gathered gentle pinks and
violets, I had an audience veritably flocking to me

or was it the rising sun that was the main attraction?

Gently, ever so gently, the colours diffused across

the whole sky except where the sun rose in golden

majesty.

For wonderful skies around the world, click on the Logo.

To our most efficient SkyWatch Team, a big thank you for
continuing with this meme.

Watery Wednesday ~ 12 & Bird Photography Weekly ~ 20

Young Galah exercising his wings and learning to
balance.



Massed goldfish in a Summer Palace pond near Xi'an
in China,




and an Adelaide Rosella drinking at the dam in our
park with reflected autumn colours.



More interesting when enlarged.

To see oceans of water and flocks of birds, click on the
respective Logos.

Thanks to Birdfreak nd 2sweetnsaxy we can join in and
enjoy these two memes.

MY WORLD ~ 37 Local Changes

All photos enlarge for better viewing.

There are some changes being made. We are building
a 17,000 gallon water tank and the long overdue shed.
The back end of the house is really the front end so some
tidying up and I hope a shade-house and gazebo on the
water tank will follow.



To clear the site, firstly the pine tree behind my little
car needs to go. Our son, on one of his rare visits, is having
another 'bonding' experience with his father.



Going out to assess the situation....



and getting to work.

It is not easy to cut it at such a high level but the reason

is that now it can be pushed over and uprooted with a

Bobcat.

Cutting up the debris and removing the large pieces

by tractor down hill onto an open space for burning.



Father and son togetherness tidying up, always the

worst part of the job.

A big bonfire at the end, and the coast is clear for

the next stage of the project.

The doings of the world will open with a click on the Logo.

As ever, my gratitude to Klaus and his Elves for keeping this

wonderful meme running like clock-work.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 25 Raindrops on Roses...

Please enlarge to experience the magic.



For once I caught a perfect white Rose drenched after
rain, no sunburn, no water damage, just perfection!



This buttery yellow 'Graham Thomas' loves the rain
and always holds up well.



'Fourth of July' one of the most dependable Roses.



Straight from the bath, an unnamed beauty,
enlarge to see her sparkle!

Now, click on the Logo and walk on rose petals...

Luiz my friend, I still love your meme. A big thank
you to all of you who make it happen!

The Bird

A bird I know not
and have never heard before
so near yet far away
with mournful cry
he fills the air
with his sad voice
yet find him I can not.

He haunts my sleep
disturbs my dreams
awakens feelings
of things lost
and just beyond recall
or hoped for and forgot
pulling at heartstrings
with melodies of wordless longing