Almond Blossom and Fluffy bums

It's almond blossom time :) they are beautiful blossoms always .













Grebes have such fluffy bums!! ..this one was feeding underwater ..then popping up again like a cork.. always in a different spot .. it was difficult to get him in the viewfinder!

Today was a sunny, Spring -feeling day by the river

Time.

It is another year . The last half of another year!




                                                                  


The past  eight months have been taken up in dealing with the final illness, and  the  death  of my Mum.

In March this year ,we laid her to rest in the red, red sand,her coffin covered with the bluebush,  river gum ,mallee, fairy grass,daisies,and other plants amongst which she lived her life .Roses she planted, with rosemary & lavender from her garden ...these were also her last bouquet.

Now it is time to  begin  to once again look around me  and take note of the  living beauty and  daily happenings.Slowly.....

By Torchlight

I came across these two late last night :P)

Like a Pig In...

Here is April, enjoying the floodwaters, and able to have a good mud roll :) the thick mud on snout/ears/belly/legs protects pigs from a lot of mozzie/fly bites !

Magic in The Air

One of the few times I had no camera ..... of course ;)

I went to turn off our pump on the riverbank .It was a nice warm and sunny late afternoon, quandong trees and their flowers were full of bees/wasps/flies and other insects.whistling kites glided overhead,and little wrens were busy in the bushes.
I noticed 5 or 6 damselflies very close,they kept lighting on twigs and perching there near me .I had one hand up to brush aside a branch..when it happened - one perched on my thumb! I couldn't believe it :) he was there for some seconds..then he flew off- only to return almost immediately..followed by another, which perched on a finger!
So I am standing , amazed, with two absolutely gorgeous Orange Threadtails on my hand . 

Speechless.

They stayed put for about a minute ... then off they went, up into the sunlight :)

There is magic around ...and sometimes us mere mortals get a sprinkle :D

link to info

Colours on the Clifftop

There are now different colours than those of flowery early Spring - the Cassia seedpods vary from green to brown... and show up against the needlewood's creamy blossom,and grey foliage

Red sand ,darker when damp ,as been well dug by an echidna .Note the main ant hole in the centre of the bush!The echidna dug into many tunnels around the centre entrance.

Cassia seed pod ,with seeds, still connected by a thin(umbilical) cord ..just waiting to dry and fall to the ground.

Dragons at Dusk

Picture this,if you will...

A cool evening.The sun is well below a hilly horizon, leaving a band of gold to rim a dark blue sky.In the West, a crescent moon,and in the east the Evening Star.

Box trees are reverberating with the raucous roosting of hundreds of short billed corellas ,and a few galahs adding to the mix :) Small birds shuffle along branches away from the noisy neighbours ,as mosquito swarms spiral up into the evening .

I walk along, listening to April pig snuffling,and crunching on unwary locusts , the corella cacophony suddenly forgotten as I realise that I am in a large 'flock' of dragonflies -silent silhouettes darting and wheeling amongst a mist of midges.

Wondering why there are dozens of them together,with few fights , I notice them flying (into the wind ), around a small tree.Individuals peel off from the rest,and fly into the tree from underneath , seeking a suitable roost for the night . :)))

They grasp a twig, and test out their spot . If the wind is moving it too much, they drop and swirl out into the evening again.The silhouettes gradually disappear into a leafy 'hangar' and ,looking closely, I can just make out the shapes of sleeping dragons amongst the leaves....

Lovely Weather for Ducks :)

 First- find something delectable ...and grab a mouthful of water in which it is floating...











Then.....filter out the goodies..and spit out the water











                                                                                                                              


Now scoot off,and find another mouthful of something :)

water, water.Everywhere !

The Murray is currently rolling out of its bed... and is tickling tree roots with its wet fingers ....making everyone smile :D

                                                       Kulcurna Homestead...with 'overflow'

                                            Looking upstream from the Homestead

                                                Lindsay Cliffs

                                              Ducks in a recently dry and salted creek

                                                       Blue heron enjoying new hunting grounds

                                                         WETlands !

..And Spring continues...

I have been neglectful of the humble 'blog' . :)



Spring continues..with the Christmassy look of the Dodonea flowers/seed pods







and the sweet honey scent of the Fan Flower












A spiny wattle is covered in scented ,fluffy blossom



and the quandongs are having a population explosion after good soaking rain!

oops-Spring has Sprung ..and I nearly missed it :)

It is Spring, we have had around 30 mm rain for September, and all around are living things showing their 'true colours' :)

Why I walk at night....one reason.

Tonight, on a little walk, I saw little stars with cloud halos, and trees full of birds, swaying with the rythm of the wind's silent song.
A silver part-disc moon threw her silver cloak over the damp earth, and kangaroos  were dark shadows half-hidden in the undergrowth...

I love.....

the colours and shapes which make up mallee/bluebush landscapes......   :)

Young blue doe in her perfect habitat 

Almost Evening

...and the cold air flows down the hills into our little valley, bringing with it the tiny sounds of newborn lambs, and the scent of small flowers, and drying foliage :)

Looking across the 'valley' to the neighbour's house .

opportunists!

Scrounging pig food .

The Apostlebirds are very much at home here- helping themselves to left over poultry feed, and demanding extra when I feed April the pig. :) They sit on our clothesline and scold when I hang out washing - they swoop and scold if one of the cats is outside ,and they also alert to feral cats/foxes .
They are generally sociable, but fight noisily when feeding! They play with each other, and preen each other - they perch right next to each other, and are unafraid of us mere, earthbound mortals .

The photo on the left was taken at dusk , using a flash . These were in April's pen .

(Struthidea cinerea) Apostlebird.

I like having them around- they make me smile :) :)

Trials&Tribulations-Upside Down.

..Walking with a pig has its moments..April sometimes is not  easy to keep track of , and other times is close by when inconvenient .

On Wed. night  we were returning from our walk, and as I have many times, decided to do the shorter walk home- which means climbing over the fence near our house.Our fence is just an old plain wire stock fence- no big deal. Anyhow- With walking stick firmly planted on the opposite side of the fence, I gripped the top wire, and straddled it- just getting ready to earth my topmost foot , when April pushed her way thru the fence underneath me!
Elegantly ( it must have been!) and in slow motion , I turned, still holding the top wire, and landed on my back right on top of a dry prickle bush! April thought this was wonderful- she now had easy access to the food treats in my pockets - and I had to clamber upright quickly, before she started her raid in earnest !

Luckily, apart from some sore muscles, and a stiff and sore neck, there were no real injuries . I have de-prickled my clothes....and I shall now be  more careful when climbing fences! :)

Under a Halo

Last night's walk was cold and calm -
Overhead, the moon was centered in an ice-halo , a glowing , perfect circle .The stars covered their faces with wispy clouds, and the birds of the night sent calls out across the dampness.
A lone frog croaked out into the night, as tiny spiders sat atop prickle bushes, their eyes glittering in the headlamp's light.

:)

Wedgetail Proud

Wedgetail Proud
Originally uploaded by binjy

The Wedgetails are a glorious sight . This one was very near the house - he had his eyes on a nearby rabbit warren - and allowed me to get within a reasonable distance.
Photo was taken in Summer- when food was scarce and 'our' wedgie family supplemented their diet with our free range Guinea fowl!

My Imagination and a snowy slope.

This morning , it was minus 2, and the morning was casually scattered with glittering frost patches .The sky was  pink, dotted with birdsong, and stirred into tiny breezes by the beating of many bird wings as they all started their day .

As I looked east to where the sun was just making an appearance , my imagination decided to intrude. It does this, frequently, and carries my mind off to somewhere else :)

So, this morning, I was looking across our shallow valley and the fog, (which was clambering up the ridge to get away from the cold ground) made the slope appear as a snow-covered hill , and it looked just beautiful :)

Winter mornings are the best!

I love fog!

Foggy mornings are my  treasures- to be stored away and remembered on those dry scorching summer mornings when moisture seems extinct .
Fog gently covers the imperfections and the 'wrinkles' of our landscape - it washes the leaves, and provides a 'soft-focus' view of things :)

 clumps of trees are soft shadows on a foggy morning .

and a hopping kangaroo seems drawn in charcoal- then  smudged.

All praise for  Fog!

:)