Category: Bushland

Eyelash Fungi (Scutellinia scutellata) on Animal Scat

I’m not in the habit of photographing animal scats. Yesterday, when I saw scats covered with bright orange dots, I thought it warranted a bit of investigation, so I took a photograph. With a bit of time on the internet, I discovered that the orange dots were tiny Eyelash Fungi (Scutellinia scutellata) .   Thanks to … Continue reading Eyelash Fungi (Scutellinia scutellata) on Animal Scat

Bird Attracting Tree

Near the house, a previous owner has planted a row of native trees that are not necessarily native to our area, but which are both beautiful and bird attracting.  Today I am going to write about the second smallest of these trees, which I am pretty sure is a Paperbark, but I can’t identify exactly which … Continue reading Bird Attracting Tree

Flowering Eucalyptus Trees (and the seed for leaf exchange)

A few days ago I wrote about the sole Corella flying with the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.  Since then, we’ve had small flocks of Corella landing in our trees.  This is not common.  While the Cockatoos do chew through twigs, sending a bunch of leaves falling to the ground, the Corella are much messier.  They seem … Continue reading Flowering Eucalyptus Trees (and the seed for leaf exchange)

My Favourite Tree

This tree is central to the view we have when we look out the window from the main rooms in the house.  Each day the light is different, and each day the fork I have photographed looks slightly different in colour.  It never fails to interest me.  I have lost count of the number of … Continue reading My Favourite Tree

Exotic: Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)

This pretty flower has had my attention for a month or two now. There is a very small patch of them growing along the front fence. In Summer, when hardly any flowers are in bloom, it was a lovely show  for a while.  However, I’ve just identified the plant as an Exotic species, or weed, … Continue reading Exotic: Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea)

Predators:

Occasionally when I am out walking, I come across finds like this: I will never know how each particular bird or animal died (we’ve also found two possums – one ring-tail, the other a brush-tail) but essentially there are five possibilities: The animal died of natural causes A native predator killed it (owl, eagle etc) … Continue reading Predators:

An Eerie Light

Last week we experienced a heat wave in Victoria, with highest-ever temperatures being recorded in some locations.  The intense heat led to many fires across the entire State, resulting in a smoke-filled atmosphere.  Fanned by strong wind, the smoke drifted for hundreds of kilometers.  For a few hours on Friday afternoon, while it drifted across … Continue reading An Eerie Light

Light and Shade

The texture and colour of bark continues to fascinate me. Often the colour of the bark on a single tree can change, depending on the time of day, whether it is sunny or shady, and how intense the light is on a particular day.  I love the contrast in colour and texture in this shot, … Continue reading Light and Shade

Tree Angles

Over the past month we’ve had some days of very high wind.  This took a toll on some of our trees, but mainly with branches falling.  These old Wattles were already dead, and some of them had already snapped off, but we had a few more snap recently. I like the effect of all of … Continue reading Tree Angles

Birds in Spring: Nest Hunting

Two of the trees we can see from the house have hollows in the trunk – just about right for nesting birds. Over this first week of Spring, I’ve noticed a flurry of activity as pairs of birds try to find the perfect nest.  It reminds me of house hunting.  The birds will land close … Continue reading Birds in Spring: Nest Hunting

Nature’s Carpets – The beauty of moss

In the last month, quite a bit of rain has fallen.  I’ve noticed thick carpets of moss, lichen and other tiny ground covers growing thicker and richer in colour.  At the moment, I don’t know the names of the specific species, but over the next few weeks I will do some research and try to … Continue reading Nature’s Carpets – The beauty of moss

October Wild Flowers – Part 3

Thank you to KMS who left a comment on my Cranberry Heath post, including a link to the VicVeg website. What a fantastic breakthrough. This wonderful website allows me to search by flower colour, location within Victoria, and type of plant (herb, tree, shrub etc) meaning, I have finally been able to put names to … Continue reading October Wild Flowers – Part 3

Stepping Outside the Boundary Fence

Apart from the occasional ‘self-sufficiency’ post, I try to keep the focus of my blog to the land outside our house, but inside the boundary fence.  However, the native heath flowering in the Enfield State Park is so beautiful, I thought I would share it with you.  We just happened to be driving past on … Continue reading Stepping Outside the Boundary Fence

Soil Analysis by Anthill

Last week, I noticed a very sculptural looking lip around the entrance to an ant nest.  It took me by surprise.   Shortly after moving in, I had  just stopped noticing anthills. We have so many of them they become unremarkable.  On this day, I was actually looking for fungi and flowers, but there was something … Continue reading Soil Analysis by Anthill

Playing Detective: Rainfall, Kangaroos, and the Lack of Native Flowers

Being new to this area, I don’t have a history of seasonal changes. What’s normal for these parts?  I simply don’t know.   When we arrived here in August 2012, the land abounded with native flowers, including ten species of native orchid flowering at one time.  This continued in early and  mid Spring, then as the … Continue reading Playing Detective: Rainfall, Kangaroos, and the Lack of Native Flowers

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – Momentarily Glorious

Momentarily Glorious … I wonder at the promise of a parched sandy landscape and one tiny orchid leaf waiting for rain to unfurl sensuous silken blooms … the fleeting moments of a violet sky calling corella flocks to roost somewhere other than here trailing sounds of raucous joy from North to South then silence until … Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – Momentarily Glorious

After rain comes: More Fungi

The rain has stimulated a range of fungi to grow.  I have not had time to research any of them, so at the moment, I can only write about where they were found.  See the captions beneath the photos for this information. If you know about any of these mushrooms, I would love to hear … Continue reading After rain comes: More Fungi

Rainclouds through Sunshine

I’ve always been drawn to images which show a hillside, or a tree, in full sunlight with dark, threatening clouds in the background. There is something in the combination of bright green and thunderous grey that appeals to my sense of colour.  The vivid contrast of sunshine and darkness  is also a metaphor for life, … Continue reading Rainclouds through Sunshine