Month: July 2020

Australia · books · in my garden · Mount Warning · Tweed Valley · winter

During a Study Break

Joanne4 Comments

I’ve spent most of the day today at the computer, reading, and feel just a tad cross-eyed tonight. It’s been a long day with uni today, what with reading, an online quiz, and preparing for an assignment. At least the assignment is fairly small, but it’s due by Sunday night.

Around 2pm I took a break from my computer and went for a wander down the back garden. I thought it might be a nice change to take a photo of Mount Warning from further down my yard, where I can look up to the mountain towering above me and the cane fields are closer. It was a dull day again today, and I could see rain in the valley. It didn’t reach my house though.

On my way back to the house I took a detour into our pool area. We haven’t been spending much time in that area lately, but the hibiscus hedge that I pruned about a month ago has quite a lot of new growth on it already. We plan on making a few changes to the garden in the pool area before summer, so that will be a section of my garden that I’m sure I’ll be sharing photos of over the coming weeks. The only flowers near the pool just now are a few day-lilies, which I thought look quite pretty.

I’m heading off to bed now. I have a Mills and Boon romance novel to read for one of my units, Popular Genres. It’s not my usual choice of reading, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever read a Mills and Boon before now. There are only just over two-hundred pages, so hopefully it’s an easy read. I’m not expecting it to be a book I will highly recommend others read! I also have to read Dr No by Ian Fleming, which I’ve started reading and it seems like a pretty good read. After that, I’ll be reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – my first Harry Potter book, which I’ve borrowed from my daughter, who has read all the Harry Potter books three times! She’s very happy that I’m finally reading a H.P. book, even if it’s for uni. After that I’m reading Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

If everything goes to plan over the weekend, I’ll have time for some reading, gardening, and have my assignment finished in plenty of time before the deadline. 🙂

Australia · birds · butterflies · garden flowers · in my garden · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · photography · Tweed Valley · winter

Around the Garden

Joanne4 Comments

Just the tiniest, flimsiest wafts of mist danced around the valley this morning.

Before sunrise Mount Warning looked a tad grey, even the sky was grey. Then the sun peeked over the hill and lit up the morning sky.

What a difference a few minutes makes early in the morning!

I’m sure kookaburras enjoy the attention, because it seems that every time I venture outside with my camera lately, I find a little poser nearby. This little guy struck a pose on the top of my clothesline.

“Would you like a closeup of my profile? I think this is my best side …”

I can’t resist taking photos of the kookaburras I see perched on a tree down towards the valley. There were two on the branch this morning.

There are so many flowers blooming in my garden right now, even though we are in the middle of winter here in Australia.

The daisies look gorgeous right now, dancing in the sunshine.

There are only a few gazanias, but the yellow always looks so bright and summery, even in the depths of winter.

Did I say depths of winter? Our weather just now is probably similar to what some countries experience during summer! It’s a beautiful time of year.

My pink dianthus bloom nearly all year round.

When I saw this butterfly, which I believe is a male Common Eggfly, flitting around the daisies, I suspected it would fly away before I had a chance to get a decent shot – but it didn’t! I’m pretty excited to get my first decent photo of a butterfly in my garden. There’s another photo of him on yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday post too, with his wings open.

 

 

 

Australia · birds · colours · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · palm trees · Tweed Valley · winter

It’s all about the clouds.

Joanne2 Comments

The day began so incredibly dull that I thought we were in for more rain.

After the magnificent colour show yesterday morning, this morning Mount Warning looked bleak and one-dimensional. The valley still looked pristine and clear after being washed by the weekend rain, as did the mountain and ranges, but there was nothing outstanding to take a photo of.

Dare I say, after the brilliant colours of yesterday, the mountain appeared … well … boring?

By sunset though, the mountain did not disappoint any longer. The clouds absorbed the colours of the sun and put on a beautiful show in the sky.

To be completely honest, I was not at all disappointed by the mountain. To me, it is always beautiful and magical. I love the way the mountain dominates both my garden and the whole of the Tweed Valley. But now I’m committed to sharing a photo of my beloved mountain each day I want to show her at her spectacular best.

Perhaps I’m setting my standards a tad too high!

I had a flock of figbirds visiting today. The bunch of palm seeds they are feeding on are at the top of one of our palm trees, so the photo is taken on full zoom.  Unfortunately the birds aren’t as clear as they would be if they were closer, but I still love to see them munching on the red berries. The bird on the far right of the photo with his nose down is a male figbird and the two other birds with the mottled feathers are females.

One bird I can always rely on to come close enough for a clear photo is a kookaburra. They seem to have a knack of posing in just the right place for me to take a photo with a lovely background.

I’ve trained then well. 😉

Australia · Changes · colours · Mount Warning · photography · sugar cane · Tweed Valley · winter

After the Rain – A Moody Mountain

Joanne2 Comments

Between 6:30 and 6:50 am today I took several photos of Mount Warning. She’d been in hiding for most of the weekend, but this morning she emerged from behind the clouds, washed pristine-clean by the heavy rain we had during the weekend.

I could see the Condong Sugar Mill clearly this morning too, with bright green cane fields in the foreground and rolling hills behind.

As the morning sun hit the mountain the colours of the sky, clouds and the mountain changed.

And then the colours changed some more.

The mood of the mountain changed before my eyes as I watched, fascinated, clicking away with my camera.

Within the space of twenty minutes, the mountain put on a show which more than made up for her absence during the last few days of rain.