Sky Watch ~ At the End of the Day

This is the promised conclusion of last week's post.
Do enlarge them and be rewarded by the shifting colours.



As the afternoon wore on, a war between good and
evil erupted in the sky.



They fought like tigers, advantage shifting from
minute to minute.



A brief respite as the setting sun beat them into
submission,



yet still, while the light lingered, the battle raged on

spilling blood upon the virgin moon.

The last two pictures were taken on arrival at Horsham

in the pouring rain.

To fly the world, click on the Logo.

Thanks to our marvellous SkyWatch tem for continuing this

wonderful and stimulating meme.

Remembrance Day....

1918...my parent's wedding.



Today would have been my mother's one hundred
and eleventh birthday...
unlike the weddings of today, no designer dress or
multi-thousand $ reception. Just two very serious
young people, my mother, a university student, my
father just discharged army surgeon.

Life ahead .... uncertain.
Prospects ..... non-existent.

Medical positions were all filled ... they worked at
anything they could find. Father had perfect pitch
and tuned pianos for a while. They farmed but with
the arrival of children, ends refused to meet.

The depression of the thirties did not make things
easier. Father joined the police force reaching the rank
of inspector, mother worked as international telephonist
since she spoke 5 languages.

Their story of the years between the wars is worthy
of a book by itself. It was mother's fortitude that kept
her fledglings safe and together after the terror of 1940
when my father was deported to Siberia.

In 1944, her elder son already twice wounded and sent
back to the front, with the imminent threat of another
Russian invasion, she bundled up her brood and fled.

The story of flight, famine and 5 years of being displaced
persons, fills yet another book.

Starting again in Australia, a strange land, a strange
language and cusoms, even the seasons upside down
and not a penny to scratch with, at 51 years of age was
not exactly a picnic either ... yet she brought us all up
safely and helped each one of us to get a good start in
life. We owe her so much more than life itself. She was
a philosopher and poet who spent her working life in
Australia hunched over a sewing machine in an army
uniform factory just to put a roof over our heads and
send me to university.

Mother was truly a remarkable woman, see also her
granddaughter India's post.

Please Make a Difference

Dear blog friends, like this tree standing tall
in a fire-ravaged forest and surviving, aNNa
of Nature Trail needs our positive thoughts
and prayers for her wellbeing. She has been
through so much in the last few years caring
for others and now it is her turn to be the
recipient of our support.
*
Please visit her and show you care.
*
aNNa has responded to the big C with a very positive
attitude creating beauty and peace around herself but
just now there has been another change in diagnosis.
*
So , it you can, please send positive thoughts, offer up
your prayers, wrap her in white light or spend a little
time sending Reiki.
*
Please offer your help for Anna's wellbeing rather than
something specific, lest we meddle with the greater
workings of destiny.
*
Thank you to all those who care and respond to this plea.
*
AnnA dear, my support of course you can take for granted.
*
With love and light to all.....Arija
*

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.