Mount Wilson, Waterfall Walk. 11th Jan 2013.

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).