With tiny flowers, hardly more than 2 mm across when fully open, I was lucky to see the Common Beard-Heath, let alone photograph it clearly without a macro lens. This is my first effort at capturing the fluffy petals (with the assistance of Photoshop to enlarge the flower). Today is a clear sunny day, so … Continue reading Common Beard-heath Leucopogon virgatus (Labill.) R. Br.
Tag: Bushland
How Gorgeous! Joey Antics Outside My Window.
About twelve hours after I posted the photos of our kangaroo mob, lamenting that they had not visited for days, they all showed up. This included the mature female with the older joey. For some reason they showed up at noon – almost on the dot. As a habit, the kangaroos are gone before 9am … Continue reading How Gorgeous! Joey Antics Outside My Window.
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
Scented Sundew Part 2
A week ago I would have walked past hundreds of Scented Sundew plants, and not even noticed that they were there. Having found the first Scented Sundew on Saturday, I’ve had a heightened awareness of tiny leaves, looking for the telltale sticky hairs. It turns out we have patches of Scented Sundews all over our … Continue reading Scented Sundew Part 2
Climbing Sundew Drosera macrantha Endl.
On Saturday, I posted two photos of the Scented Sundew an insectivorous plant. I took these photos late in the afternoon, when the light was not good. They were quick photos, for identification of the flower. Heading back out on Sunday, in better light and with the aim of taking better photos, I discovered they were … Continue reading Climbing Sundew Drosera macrantha Endl.
Scented Sundew: Drosera whittakeri ssp. aberrans
The wild flowers are just starting to emerge! How exciting! This week, the Nodding Greenhoods began to show and today we noticed very tiny white flowers coming up in places on the recently mown grass behind our garden beds. Tell-tale sticky red hairs covering the leaves revealed it was an insectivorous plant, and further research … Continue reading Scented Sundew: Drosera whittakeri ssp. aberrans
Nodding Greenhoods Are Emerging
It’s fantastic to see the Nodding Greenhoods emerging again. This was the first species of Australian Native Orchid I had ever seen. When we first moved in they were flowering, in large patches right across our property. Hopefully they will do the same this year, but so far we have a few scattered along … Continue reading Nodding Greenhoods Are Emerging
Kangaroo Update – now there are two joeys
I’ve held off posting these photographs for a couple of weeks, as one of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys seems almost ready to climb out of the pouch. I thought I might be able to include photos of the joey hopping around. However, since I took these photos, the kangaroos have been grazing in a … Continue reading Kangaroo Update – now there are two joeys
I found a Striated Thornbill in the Fernery
If it had not been for the persistent, urgent chirping, I would not have noticed the Striated Thornbill in our fernery today. It seemed to be giving an alarm call, as if I were intruding into its territory. The longer I watched it, the more exaggerated the flitting from one place to another appeared to … Continue reading I found a Striated Thornbill in the Fernery
Common Bronzewing Pigeons Return
A pair of Common Bronzewing Pigeons have started to turn up to the bird feeder each day. Toward the end of Winter last year, we had a pair of bronzewings turn up occasionally, so perhaps it is the same two birds? This time, they’re not just showing up once or twice a day. I come … Continue reading Common Bronzewing Pigeons Return
Scarlet Robin
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a photo of a bird to be added to the Species List. Yesterday I saw two species I had not noticed here before, but I only managed to capture photographs of the Scarlet Robin. The second sighting was a group of small birds which were probably Red-Browed Finch, … Continue reading Scarlet Robin
November Wildflowers: Part 1
The last month of Spring seems to be the peak flowering period for Australian native plants that grow around here. In November they were the most spectacular, as well as the most plentiful. Leading into this month, rainfall had been good, the dam was full, and the ground moist. The late Spring sun shone down … Continue reading November Wildflowers: Part 1
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
Cranberry Heath
In between documenting the native flowers on the property month by month, I’m pausing to post a flower we have open right now. It is a tiny plant – not much taller than lichen – and it is growing in only one spot on our dam bank, as far as I can tell. I’ve looked … Continue reading Cranberry Heath
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
Baby Joey Photos: A new addition to our kangaroo family
It has been obvious for some time that the mature female had a joey in her pouch, but this is the first time we have actually glimpsed it. This makes five kangaroos here now. The middle-sized female also now seems to be carrying a joey, so I guess five will soon turn to six.
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
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
An Assortment of Cormorants
We have cormorants drop in to fish in the dam every now and again. Mostly, they come on their own, but sometimes they bring a friend or two. In the months leading up to Christmas, I was much more drawn to the herons, ducks, and more exotic species of bird, paying little attention to the … Continue reading An Assortment of Cormorants
Strange Fungi
I know absolutely nothing about wild fungi other than most of them should not be touched! Recently there has been enough moisture to allow these strange rounded fungi to begin showing up along bush paths, and even near our front gate. approximately 10cm across, they are easy to see, and always in the same shades … Continue reading Strange Fungi
White-Eared Honeyeater
Yesterday, you caught a glimpse of the White-Eared Honeyeater in My Morning Walk and I promised you more photos today. Here they are! We’ve been catching glimpses of this species ever since we moved in, but they are fast, and tend to spend their time in denser trees. This makes them hard to photograph. On … Continue reading White-Eared Honeyeater
Daily Prompt: Journey – My Morning Walk
I’ve discovered the WordPress blog ‘The Daily Post’ which offers challenges to bloggers. Today’s challenge is to photograph or write about a journey. I won’t do this every day, but today I was inspired to get out and capture the journey I take every day around our property, including the things I look for each … Continue reading Daily Prompt: Journey – My Morning Walk
Fifteen Acres 