OuR WORLD - Spring in the Grampians II

Our world is big beautiful and diverse and all our little corners

of it are different. Here are a few snaps of one of my special place,

The Grampians in Victoria, great granite outcrops and a wonderful

garden of Eden after rain. This year there has been plenty of rain,

in fact, enough to wash out most of the roads and bridges in the area.

A little sun orchid smiling at my camera.

A great big patch of hooded green orchids, you really had to

mind where you planted your feet to avoid damaging them.

The white stems of trees burnt a couple of years ago

behind ghostly white bushes.

Mind your feet, a tiny bright green bush, no more than 4-5"

high with a citrus coloured bud.

A great big Banksia, tucked between Eucalypts and Acacias.

The ants are building high again, looks like there is going to

be more big rain. I hope it does not wash out any more roads.

A recent fire seems to have wiped out all vegetation but the

Xanthorrhoea has survived and is sending up a great flower

spike.

An odd plant that I had never seen before with leaves like a

Holly only softer.

Some of the erosion caused by the great rains earlier in the year

and the footprint of a wallaby in the soft moist sand.

I know this is a very long post, have I put you to sleep yet?

If so, just leave me a thank you note and hit the hay. If you are

still awake, bear with me, there are only 3 pikkies to go.

If you don't enlarge any of the others, at least embiggen this

one to see God's own garden.

Normally this country is dry but after rain, ah, after rain it

all comes alive

and, aha, there it comes.

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looks like!

TODAY'S FLOWERS - Pink and Pretty

Spring is in full swing, daylight lasts longer, the days are

warmer and blossoms abound everywhere.

Prunus persicum, in my daughter's garden just down the hill.

A closer look - isn't it pretty?

I just popped in this one to see if you were awake, no, this

is not pink but it is a Prunus and looks like a veritable snow

queen.

Just to whet your appetite, one of my all time favourite trees,

Malus floribunda or flowering crabapple. I'll show some

more of this tree in another post.

This one is a real splash in my garden, a double flowering

almond

and again so you can see the very double blossoms

All may be enlarged at will.

Join TOSAY'S FLOWERS and show us what is flowering in your neck of the woods.

Weekend Reflections - A Thoughtful Little Grebe

Last night I took a tumble, smack on my face on a rough,

unfinished path, my teeth landing on my camera and the

rest of the face on the stones, You will be happy to know

that my camera came away unscathed - unlike yours truly.

The bruises are starting to really come into their own, also

on knees and my left hand. The face however definitely came

off second best and looks like it has been hit by a brick.

I seem to be sore all over and a little unsteady in the brain

box so please excuse it if I cannot get to your posts just yet.

I am feeling a strong magnetic attraction to my bed . . .

This Little Grebe is contemplating a dilemma of her own,

where to build her nest since the water level of the dam has

drowned the reeds which normally hide her brood.

A dilemma indeed!

All photos enlarge with a click.

Hop over to Weekend Reflections by clicking on the Logo at right,

to see great reflections around the world.

SkyWatch ~ Spring Skies

Spring is in full swing, the air is balmy, I need to do some

spring cleaning and masses of weeding but instead, I take

a much read and much loved book into the semi-shade of

the almond tree and give myself up to the heady perfumes

wafting on the breeze, the twitter of birds, the croaking

of frogs and my well written novel . . . aah, bliss . . .

There is nothing nicer than feeling vaguely naughty whilst

reading, knowing that just maybe there are more important

things that need to be done . . . but . . . if I drop dead in an

hour, will it matter? At least I will I will die happy, having

savoured this moment.

The garden is already drying out and tomorrow I will water

but today this mousy is all for play.

Enjoy your day wherever you are, as I am enjoying mine.

Click on the SkyWatch Logo and add your bit of sky for all to see.

World Bird Wednesday - Common Suburban Birds

On one of my walks in suburban Melbourne recently, I shot a

few common birds of the area. It is seldom I catch a Sulphur-

crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita with the crest so visible.

Ubiquitous to our whole continent except the very driest

desert, the Magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen, has a voice like

burbling water, also warbles on moonlit nights. It is very

protective of it's nest and will attack passers by in the

breeding season.

Another common bird, the Rainbow Lorikeet, Trichoglossus

haematodus, fast flying and hard to catch in the field of a lens.

I was just plain lucky to get this pair in one frame, no points

for guessing which one is the male.

The Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis, looks like big bad

Leroy Brown, meanest man in all the town. A very cheeky

customer and certainly not a kind bird, breeds like rabbits in

an urban environment.

The Noisy Miner, Manorina melanocephala, has also flourished

near human habitation and steals material for its nest, even

unravelling the ends of ropes and tenaciously braking them off

strand by strand or unpicking shade-cloth.

Common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, as the name implies,

is very common indeed.

The Piping Shrike, Murray Magpie, Mudlark or Peewit,

Grallina cyanoleuca, is a common sight in Australia and

surrounding islands. Smaller than the Magpie and with a

totally different call, watching over the wetlands sign.

The Red Wattlebird, Anthochaera carunculata, is quite a large

and raucous bird. It seems to have increased it's numbers

greatly in the last ten years, possibly because many more people

have turned to planting native gardens that are less reliant on

water during our recurrent droughts and produce the nectar

bearing flowers they love.

Australian White or Sacred Ibis, Threskiornis molucca, that

I came across in the wetlands near my sister's house.

Spooked by the landing Intermediate Egret, Ardea intermedia,

one of the Ibis took off.

Intermediate Egret in flight . . .

A purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio, posed for me for

a moment before disappearing amongst the reeds.

Lastly for today, the Spotted Turtle-dove, Streptopelia chinensis,

a pretty little thing that is rather stupid with it's nest building but

it does coo so nicely.

Naturally the 'burbs are full of many more birds but this is all

I bagged in one walk.

To see birds of all persuasions, click on the Logo at right and show

us what's flapping around in your world!

OuR WORLD - Spring in the Grampians

The main from Hall's Gap to the Great Western Highway was

still closed after a rain-even at the beginning of the year that

washed away steep roads and bridges. To get home, we had to

take the dirt road to Rose's Gap and Mt.Zero. It looks rather

unprepossessing,

the bush was still fire-scarred but if you get out of the car and

look more closely,

you are bound to be surprised at what you can find. Pink heath

in bloom,

a gentle touch of yellow,

up close is a little beauty.

The much rarer white heath,

and in thick scrub, tiny white stars.

This looks like nothing much but if you enlarge it you will see

that all those bushes are actually in flower!

Little things with not only pretty flowers but also interesting

foliage.

This bush was a good 5' high, with pretty pea flowers.

Little things blooming literally underfoot,

and this pure white grevillea providing nectar for honeyeaters.

Behind it all, the backbone of these mountains towering up high.

If you are still interested, next week, there will be a second instalment.

All photos enlarge of course.

Come one, come all and show us what your world is made of! Click on the

Logo at right to enter a world of wonders or show us what is special in yours.