Nothing special today, some might say a waste of time. Me, I put it down as just a little speed-hump in the learning curve that is life.
I remember coming here many years ago, during spring, and the area was ablaze with colour but this time, in mid-summer, it was hard to find anything in flower. A return visit in spring will be required to show how colourful this reserve can be.
You could once drive you car though here, but the trouble was that some people took advantage of this by driving other peoples cars into here and then setting fire to them, reminders of these actions can still be found scattered about.
Persoonia linearis - Narrow-leaved Geebung
Prostanthera scutellarioides - Coast Mint Bush.
Looking more like a little alien is this seed pod of
a Grevillea juniperina - Prickly Spider-flower.
Spent seed pods of a Prickly Moses Acacia.
Micromyrtus sp. (possibly M. minutiflora (thanks to 'Unknown') )
I was once King of my domain. This Ironbark is now
mainly termite fodder.
Goodenia bellidifolia - Daisy-leaved Goodenia
One of the peas. Possibly Dillwynia tenuifolia - Coastal Parrot-pea (thanks to 'Unknown')
. Plus the home of a Leaf-curling Spider.
Hakea sericea - Needle Bush, Silky Hakea. (fruits)
Steel springs and Ironbarks.
FEATHERS, FUR and FANG. Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.
There was no way I was going to be out walking for any length of time today with the temperatures predicted to be be in the low 40's C again. The waterlilies garden, I hoped, would give me the maximum floral opportunities in the minimum time so as not to be in the sun for too long.
As it turned out it was a smart move as Sydney reached a record 45.8C (114.4F) and at home it reached 45.5C (113.9F). The fellow at the garden told me that the blooms would probably burn in the predicted heat, and, as I was leaving at about midday that just what they were starting to do.
Nelumbo Kakadun (Lotus)
(hardy type)
Chromatella (hardy type)
Empress (tropical type)
Sunrise (hardy type)
(tropical type)
(tropical type)
(hardy type)
(tropical type)
(tropicals)
Red Stemmed Thalia.
Pitcher Plant
hardy type and
Nymphoides Spinulosperma - Water Fringe Lily
Nymphoides Indica.
Director Moore (tropical type)
(tropical type)
(tropical type)
(tropical type)
Sunflower (that's because, that's what it is)
FEATHERS, FU
Nearing midday, due to the heat, the flowers started to burn.
As I was only wearing open sandals my toes were also
beginning to burn and it was time to head for home.
R and FANG. Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.
Eastern Water Skink
Starting a new life.
Dragon Fly
A Noisy Miner cooling off.
Water Strider.
Dwarf Tree Frog.
I thought it was going to cook itself on the leaf.
With temperatures predicted to reach the low 40s'C (107F) in my part of Sydney I thought I'd take my own advice from last week and head for a rainforest.
The village of Mount Wilson,with an elevation of 1,008 m (3,307 ft), was created as a 'hill station', a retreat from the summer heat of lower altitudes, and, by 1880, eight houses had been built to take advantage of this. The rainforest here is temperate, Mt Wilson had 13cm (5 inches) of snow last October. There is not a lot of colour at ground level of a rainforest, and as the main understory plants here are ferns, the main colour of todays images will be green.
The max temperature here today was 33.7C (92.6F), a little cooler than that at the bottom of 'the hill' which (only) reached 39.7C (104F).
Senecio linearifolius - Fireweed Groundsel.
Lomatia silaifolia - Crinkle Bush.
Acacia elata - Cedar Wattle.
Cassinia aculeata - Dogwood, Dolly Bush.
Juvenile leaf of a native Clematis sp.
Microsorum diversifolium - Kangaroo Fern.
Microsorum scandens - Fragrant Fern.
Dawsonia sp. One of the tallest growing Mosses.
Sarcochilus falcatus - Orange-blossom Orchid.
(no flowers)
Dendrobium pugioniforme - Dagger Orchid.
(no flowers)
Dicksonia antarctica - Soft Treefern.
Old man of the forest.
Hymenophyllum cupressiforme - Common Filmy-fern.
The fronds are only 1 cell thick (you can see through them).
Blechnum patersonii - Strap Water-fern.
A fungi plays 'peek-a-boo, I can see you'.
The flowers below are all (maybe not the first one) garden escapees (weeds).
Could be Helichrysum rutidolepis - Pale Everlasting,
or it could be an introduced garden escapee.
Daisy.
A reminder that Mount Wilson has been planted out
with trees (e.g. Oak - Quercus robur )
from the northern hemisphere.
Violet.
Peruvian Lily.
FEATHERS, FUR and FANG. Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.
Small cicarda shell.
They look like vey small moths.
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo trying to impress the missus.
(missus: an informal term of address for one's wife).
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo trying to impress the missus.
(missus: an informal term of address for one's wife).
There were 100's of these flying around.
They would land under or behind leaves so it was hard to
get a photo of them.
Ant enjoying a drink.
Not that wild, but they are 'life'.
White blinking eyes look back from inside a hollow log....aliens??? (more than likely just a spider.....maybe).
