I try, often unsuccessfully of late, to add a photo each day to my Blipfoto journal. One day that I try to participate in however is “Mono Monday”, a day in which “blippers” are invited to add a black and white photo of a theme, as created by a generous host of the challenge each month.
A brilliant blue sky on a winter’s day.
Today, the theme chosen by an Australian blipper was “Winter”, so my camera and I took a wander around the garden in search of suitable photos for the theme.
With the brilliant blue sky overhead today, we had a maximum temperature of around twenty-three degrees Celsius, I had in mind to take some photos of the almost bare branches of the pecan nut tree. The leaves begin to grow again when the weather warms up in spring, and by autumn we have a tree laden with pecan nuts.
A touch of colour.
About a month ago, the leaves began to fall, and now, the only leaves left are those that got caught in the branches during their fall, and have since lost their brilliant green colouring.
I think I’m being watched!
As I walked toward the pecan tree, I heard a rustling sound, and there amid the scrub outside our side fence was an old friend of mine, Mr. Bush Turkey! I haven’t seen him for over six months now, and had feared the worst. Apparently, he left the area for a while, and has now returned and taken up residence in his old nest amid the scrub and small trees.
Hello there! Where have you been?
He’s not the prettiest of creatures, you must admit, but what he lacks in looks he makes up for ten-fold in personality, and he remembered me! As I said hello to my old friend, he ran to me, showing no fear. (I have been known to slip him the occasional treat to eat.)
The sugar mill in the valley, surrounded by cane fields.
Another notable sign that winter has returned is the smoke rising from the huge chimney at the Condong Sugar Mill. I can see the mill, way down in the valley, from the back of my house. The mill remains dormant throughout summer, awaiting the new stalks of growing sugar cane, harvested and brought to the mill by many local farmers during the winter months.
Leafless in winter.
After my garden walk, I took the clothes off the clothesline, leaving my camera on a table on the veranda. A while later, remembering where I had left my camera, I collected it, at just the right time to see the muted tones of a gentle winter sunset. So pretty, and so much a sign of the season.
Subtle, and oh so winter.
Ah winter, how I love the cooler months. 🙂
One of my friendly magpies, guarding their territory. Nesting has begun.
“April came along like a blessing, and if it were a fine April it was so beautiful that it was impossible not to feel different, not to feel stirred and touched.” ~ From “The Enchanted April”, by Elizabeth Von Arnim.
A Misty Morning.
Without meaning to let it happen, the month of March has passed me by without my adding a single post. I checked back to March of last year ~ it was the same ~ post-less. I seem to have formed a habit.
This summer has been hotter than usual. I know I spend every summer muttering under my breath about my intolerance to hot weather, but this summer, I wasn’t the only one. It wasn’t just hot weather, it was humid. And sticky. And sweaty. And dry. Not pleasant at all.
The rain arrives!
Now, I think the months of extreme discomfort may finally be behind us for another few months. The rain finally arrived in such abundance that our nearby river was on flood warning one day last week. But that’s okay. We needed the rain. The ground needed the moisture. Even the weeds were dying from the heat, not a bad thing when you think about it, but I lost some of my plants too.
Tess’s Garden.
Between showers of rain last week, I started gardening again. We are extending an existing garden, which I call “Tess’s Garden”. It’s where our beautiful dog Tess was laid to rest in January, and I have planted “her” Azalea on her grave. The garden isn’t finished yet, but when it is I will show you the finished area. In my mind’s eye, I see a beautiful and relaxing area and it is beginning to take shape, now we can venture out into the garden again.
The Moody Mountains.
Early morning is the most delightful time of day right now! The air is so cool on my bare arms, the mist swirls around the mountains in the valley and often it is thick in my garden too, before the sun rises and melts it away.
Petals Falling.
Frangipani’s must love this kind of weather. The branches are still covered with leaves, when usually by this time of year they are all but bare. The rain last week knocked many of the last of the flowers to the ground. It looks so pretty though, seeing the dainty flowers on the ground. Whilst many other plants in the garden give up in the extreme heat, the frangipani’s thrive.
Eastern Rosella.
Every afternoon for the last week I have had a visit from a pair of Eastern Rosella’s, right near the front door. They love the flowers of the Grevillea tree, an Australian native, but they are so timid and it has been a challenge to sneak outside the front door without disturbing them! After a few attempts I finally managed to make it to the veranda and take a few photos before they took fright and flew away. As you can see, they are incredibly colourful. I have plans to plant more natives in the garden. I love to see the birds they attract.
Thirsty Work.
You know that I always have a helper in the garden too, right? Little Miss Tibbs loves the garden too and really appreciates the watering can being filled to the top!
If I’m not mistaken, this is the time of year when the whole world rejoices at the change in weather. Here, we are loving the cool air, whilst in the northern hemisphere everyone is heaving a collective sigh of relief as they watch the snow melting and the green buds beginning to grow on the trees.
A Noisy Miner bird, watching me gardening from the safety of the lemon tree branches.
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” ~ May Sarton.
Mother Nature has waved her magic wand over our autumn days here in the Tweed Valley during the past week and today I have spent three hours in the garden, achieving much, yet feeling more energised at the end of the toil than I did before I began.
Miss Tibbs adds even more meaning to my time spent in the garden.
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero.
I would change the above quote slightly, to read, “If you have a garden to share with a fury friend or two, along with a few feathered friends, you have everything you need. If you also have a library, where you can sit quietly with a book whilst your aches and pains disappear after the gardening, with a hot cup of coffee, you are doubly blessed.”
Another recent regular visitor to the skies above my home, a Brahminy Kite.
The blue skies were dotted with clouds of a million-and-one shades of white and grey today. A pair of Brahminy Kites flew silently overhead, but I could only get one at a time in a photo. You’ll have to take my word for it, there were definitely two Kites here today.
Massive balls of cotton wool, floating overhead.
“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” ~ Gertrude Jekyll.
There were a few grey clouds among the white balls of fluffy cotton clouds, yet the sun continued to shine all day long.
Look at that intense shade of blue in the sky!
Looking up at the expanse of blue sky with the explosions of white clouds can be absolutely breath-taking on a day like today.
Miss Tibbs so enjoys her time in the garden.
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Miss Tibbs and I are totally on the same page when we are in the garden together. I can completely relate to the way she rolls and rolls over the grass, with the sun shining and warm on her silky fur, showing her absolute delight in the garden.
A touch of striking red.
When I crawled under my Tibouchina tree to remove a few weeds (and as my hands were playfully grabbed by Miss Tibbs), I came across this magnificent red flower. Actually, there were more than one of these flowers on the plant. It may be a Bromeliad, but I’m not absolutely sure.
Pink carpet.
My Camellia is covered in precious pink flowers this autumn, so delicate and beautiful. Even the fallen petals still look absolutely glorious.
The overseer of all things garden related.
“What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.” ~ Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871.
My only complaint about gardening is the aches and pains I feel in my body when I return indoors. If the discomfort is there whilst I’m gardening, it wasn’t noticed today, although I have become familiar with a few previously unknown muscles tonight! But it isn’t really a bad complaint. Gardening wouldn’t be gardening without the excercise.
Another fury helper.
My beautiful Tess came down to the garden with me today too. She’s ten now and she hurt her front paw a couple of years ago, which has left her walking with a limp. Tess doesn’t venture too far from the house nowadays, but she did enjoy her time in the sun today.
Did I hear something?
Always alert, always the Protector of Family and Home, Tess doesn’t rest for too long, but a word of reassurance had her enjoying her place in the sun again before long.
Is there any Chai tea left for Miss Tibbs to share?
As I headed back towards the house, Miss Tibbs sat on my garden seat, next to my empty mug. Was she telling me it was time for another coffee break?
My little friend, the Butcher Bird.
“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.” ~ Mirabel Osler.
I don’t know if I smile when I am spending time in the garden. I’m not conscious of physically smiling, but I’m always aware of smiling on the inside!
“In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.” ~ Dodinsky.
I have more photos to share of my time in the garden today and will add those here next time, but for now I will end today with a photo of the beautiful moon I saw tonight, smiling down at the front door of my home. 🙂
A tangled web, the morning sun,
Gossamer on high,
Dewdrops beading, fragile whispers,
Magic in the sky.
Spiders are not everyone’s cup of tea and if I am to be totally honest, they aren’t mine either. What I do find fascinating about spiders though is their webs.
Web of pearls.
How do these tiny creepy bug things build such beauty? What instinct has taught them how? How do they build these homes of theirs so quickly? What is contained in those gossamer strands that will hold an unsuspecting fly in place for the spider to feast on later?
Sparkling diamonds.
You know something, I don’t really want to know the answers to these questions! I love the mystery surrounding spider’s webs! And I don’t really need to see the spider either, although I don’t mind occasionally bumping into one (figuratively speaking!) just so that I can admire his agility as he builds his home.
Incy-Wincy spider.
If there is one thing prettier than a spider’s web in the sunlight, it is a spider’s web in the sunlight with drops of rain, or dewdrops, hanging like delicate pearls from each silky strand, and this is just what I have seen outside of my window over the last couple of mornings.
Pink pearls.
What an incredibly beautiful way to start the day! It is a sight to make my heart sing!
Diamond edged spider’s trampoline.
These clever spiders have chosen the ideal area in my garden, between some evergreen trees and shrubs, where they won’t be disturbed at all, and best of all, I can see them from my window.
Strands of diamonds sparkling in the sun.
This family of spiders is welcome to live in my garden as long as their collective little hearts, and multiple hairy legs, desire!
The whole family has moved in, and they’re welcome. 🙂
I try, often unsuccessfully of late, to add a photo each day to my Blipfoto journal. One day that I try to participate in however is “Mono Monday”, a day in which “blippers” are invited to add a black and white photo of a theme, as created by a generous host of the challenge each month.
In My World 