Category: clouds

Australia · clouds · garden flowers · in my garden · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · native Australian plants · new beginnings · photography · summer · sunset · Tweed Valley

Contemplating the New Year

Joanne23 Comments

The afternoon sun hid behind a cloud today, so the sky colours are far more subtle than they have been recently at sunset.

For the last couple of days, the light hasn’t been wonderful for taking photos. I think we have a bit of glare from the brightness of the sky, so none of the photos I have taken look all that wonderful.

But not to worry, I have a few photos, taken a couple of weeks ago, which didn’t make it to a blog post for whatever reason, so I will share those today.

Did I mention we have two baby Butcher Birds this year? I don’t believe I did. They are still a tad shy, but visit the garden occasionally. One day, both visited at the same time.

They seem to like perching on the trampoline I have in the yard for my grandchildren.

Since I added a few seedlings to some empty plant pots I had in the garden, the birds seem to enjoy rummaging around in the dirt, for reasons only known to them. Even the little Noisy Miners have taken a liking to the new pots.

Clearly it was raining the day I took this photo of a few of my regular visitors. I complained no end about the rain causing clouds and mist which hid Mount Warning, but after having so much rain that the area flooded, it hasn’t rained since! We could do with a touch of rain for the garden, just not so much that it causes a flood again!

And finally, here are a couple of flowering plants in my back garden. The first flower is probably the most recognisable – a hibiscus. A tiny Ladybird insect had taken a fancy to the stunning orange flower too. 🙂

The last flower is an Australian Native, whose name escapes me!

There’s a few more photos on my desktop waiting to be added to a blog post, so if the dud light continues, I have a few more photos to go on with tomorrow. It’s convenient timing too, I’m using up all of my December photos before we begin the New Year.

How is everyone feeling about a new year beginning – are you ready to launch into 2021 with gusto, shouting good riddance to the old year? Or do you feel wary of the new year, planning on tippy-toeing forward after the trials of 2020?

Australia · Christmas · clouds · family · Mount Warning · pets · summer · sunset · Tweed Valley

What day is it?

Joanne18 Comments

It’s that time of year again, when one day blurs into the next and I forget what day of the week it is. Thank goodness for calendars!

So having discovered it is Saturday – not Silent Sunday – I can say a few words. 😉

Today I spent the day relaxing. Christmas is over, everyone enjoyed the food and gifts that were handed out, the kitchen looks liveable again, the fridge is stashed full of left-overs (so I don’t need to cook for a while) and the torn wrapping paper and curling ribbons are ready and waiting in the garbage for next week’s bin collection. With a contented sigh, after another Christmas well celebrated, life moves on.

This morning we had a sweet little visitor who arrived with her mummy and daddy.  After a swim in the pool, she enjoyed a gingerbread ice cream sandwich.

After they left, I spent over two hours on the phone to my sister, who lives about a six-hour drive away. After catching up on how each of us spent Christmas Day, my next visitors arrived.

This is the newest addition to the family – my fur-grand-baby, Summer.

Summer’s owner, my eldest son, stayed for dinner and helped us eat some Christmas left-overs while his wife was at work.

We have had some beautiful weather the past couple of days, with temperatures around the mid-twenties, and very little humidity. Perfect Boxing Day summer weather, accompanied by another beautiful sunset sky. 🙂

Australia · Christmas · clouds · family · Mount Warning · summer · sunset · Tweed Valley

A Bit More Mood at Sunset

Joanne14 Comments

If you close one eye and squint, you might just see the outline of Mount Warning. Well, almost. For just a few hours yesterday the mountain was visible. I must be careful not to claim the mountain is back, because clearly it didn’t go anywhere. It just hasn’t been visible much lately, due to the clouds, mist, or heat-haze we have had hovering across the valley. Today, it was hidden again.

Just as the mountain teased us all with a hint of normality, so too did Covid-19. Australia had no new community transmitted cases for a short while, until late last week. Somehow, it has leeched into Sydney, sending the country into a panicked frenzy of border closures again. The Queensland border, which is just up the road from us, had reopened. The community rejoiced. The locals were free to cross between states without being scrutinized as if they were lepers. Families planned on travelling far and wide across Australia to be together again for the first time in months, to celebrate Christmas.

It seems like it was all a cruel joke. In many ways, people are suffering more from the promise of seeing their loved ones only to have that promise ripped away, than they were when they thought they couldn’t be together at all. Tonight on the news, we saw scenes at airports, of people disembarking from ‘planes only to be told they couldn’t stay. Border closures were announced mid-flight. The government would pay for their return flight, or they could go into two weeks quarantine. Theose were the choices – four days before Christmas.

I am one of the lucky people. My children and grandchildren all live nearby, in the same state. We can spend Christmas together. Our friends from Sydney, who were going to join us, have to stay home. Their visit will have to wait. My heart bleeds for those people who are not fortunate in having their family close by, as I do.

Did I just note that it’s just four days to Christmas? I have so much to do in so little time!

In other news, tonight at 9:02pm – just over two hours ago – our summer solstice occurred here on the eastern coast of Australia.