MY WORLD ~ The Grampians

Please enlarge to fully appreciate the details.

Last week on our way back from Melbourne we made
our over night stop at Halls Gap in the Grampians in
Victoria. I thought we were too late for the wildflowers,
but was I ever mistaken! The season was late this year
and we had a veritable feast.


View towards a small portion of the Grampians Nat.
Park from the main Western Highway.

On the right is apart of the Elephant's Hide. In the gap
you can just spy the plain beyond. Sorry about the
quality of the shots ... it was raining and this is shooting
directly into the morning light, what there was of it.



Everywhere in impossibly stony or dry sandy ground,
was an unbelievable diversity of flora. I shall post many
more in TODAY'S FLOWERS next Sunday.



The flowers came in all the colours of the rainbow.



These little stars of light shone between fallen Gum
leaves and were less than 1/4" in diameter.



We went on a reasonably level hiking trail to view the
Balconies. Although I managed the walk carrying my
camera, the case I had left in the car to ease my load
and naturally, snapping away at the flowers I ran out
of battery...now guess where the spare was...yup, you
guessed it, safely in the car.
Sorry, no shot of The Balconies.



This Crimson Rosella was feeding on the back lawn
of our Motel, there was an abundance of birdlife in the
early morning but also minimal light and 'raindrops
were falling on my head' as well as my camera.



Just a tantalising little piece of Mackenzie Falls,
a long stepped waterfall cascading down the gorge
with the main spectacular boiling torrent dropping
right into the river at its base.
I could have made it to the bottom and, although the
spirit was willing, without a crane to hoist me up, I
would still be there.



From one of the lookouts even in the rain you could
almost see forever.

Clicking on the Logo will take you on other hidden paths
around the world.

Sorry I am late in posting...it was so hot last night that
although my photos were marshalled, the starter motor

on my brain refuse to raise a spark.

Thanks to our gracious hosts who make this meme happen.

TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ Tree Peonies

A magnificent Tree Peony found in an old nurseryman's
patch who should be honoured as a national treasure.

Please enlarge to appreciate all the visitors.



The bar is open and customers galore arrive in droves.



Tiny wasps hover and flit abour the offered bounty.



How could they resist such etherial beauty?

The flowers are a good 6" in diameter and abundantly
cover a 3' hight and 4' wide bush.

Please click n the Logo to join or just enjoy this meme
hosted by Luiz Santilly Jr. and a group of dedicated assistants.

SkyWatch ~ Somewhere Along the Way...

Most of our road trips are accompanied by dramatic
skies to which this was no exception. For the six or so
hours we travelled, my eyes and shutter finger were
very well entertained.



Rapidly banking and changing clouds promising
thunder and downpours surrounded us on all sides,
yet our drive remained dry.
Now and again the clouds gave way to patches of
bright light and glimpses of blue.



This is a group of afternoon lit trees on a bare hill
which I have always loved. It is opposite 'Pink Lake'
which at present is still sleeping in my Nikon. My
computer is down to its last 5% of space, mainly
because I have stored 22,000 photos on it in less
than one year!



Although we could see the rain in the distance, the
road remained dry,



but just before the flaming sun sought shelter beyond
the holizon, the humidity increased as though we had
just landed in the tropics after a downpour. I had never
driven in a sauna before, the air was saturated. The
day had been a very hot one and the downpours on the
hot earth evaporated like a steaming kettle.



Next week, God willing, I shall post the next exciting
episode of the weather as the day ends and the
moon turns pink with excitement.

All photos enlarge with a click as always.

To fly around the skies, click on the SkyWatch Logo.

Thanks to Klaus and our great SkyWatch team, we
can all join in with this great fun meme.

Back Home Again.

Hallo again my friends, followers and casual
droppers in, it is good to be back and blogging again.
I'll come and visit you as soon as I have rested.

This young couple, some 52 years later has just

returned from a 1,000 + mile trip to celebrate

my brother-in-law's eightieth birthday.

*

It was a wonderful weekend with my sister who still

had a copy of this old photo of the two of us while we

were still courting. As you know, all our memorabilia

was lost in a fire more than a quarter of a century ago,

so it was doubly nice to see this and augment our

memories by sharing them.

*

About a week ago our elder brother would have had his

90th birthday had he lived. One day I will share his story

with you. At present if is still rather raw. His life was the

hardest and most tragic of anyone in our family. He was

the eldes and I the youngest, yet we were so very close.

It is hard to keep the tears back when I think of him.

*

My sister, as always, spoiled us rotten....her cooking is to

die for! Enough! I must have put on half a stone and

havn't looked like the above picture for years.

SkyWatch ~ Halloween

Enlarge them if you dare....



As the sun was setting, I hiked to the pumpkin patch
to await the arrival of the great pumpnin.

With darkness setting in, strange things came flapping
at my face.



Others, wrapped in their black cloaks, were still
hanging about waiting for the blanket of night to
take to the skies...did I see the glint of fangs?



Shivering a little, I hurried on, breathing a little faster
and desperately curbing the impulse to look behind me.

Passing the graveyard, whisps of grey fog? floated on the
breeze curling around my knees and sending chills up my
spine. I forced my eyes to look away fron the shadows
and stumbled along my teeth chattering in my head.



An owl's wing or was it someone elses, brushed my
cheek, my knees crumpled beneath me and as I looked
up I saw the hanging trees on the crest of the hill....
That was the last straw, I turned tail and stumbled
back past the graveyard, breaking into a run with
rustlings all around, my hands flailing cobwebs from my
face,



when the moon rose darkened in the midnight sky,
bats and larger darker shadows outlined against it.

In a cold sweat, I barely made it back to be met
by witches and skeletons dancing around a bonfire,

ah, the comforts of home.

Thank you Klaus and the SkyWatch team for giving us

this outlet for Halloween.

Watery Wednesday ~ White horses on the Wind

Click to enlarge.

*

*

Sea horses galloping

white manes flying

noses into the wind.

*

Where do they run to

what do they seek

snorting in the storm.

*

They seek their freedom

they seek their home

far, far from churning foam.

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.