Category Archives: Trees

Birds, Flowers, Trees

Snowball tree and other stuff

WP_20140928_004ABOVE:  I think this is a ‘snowball’ tree, it still has old balls hanging from it. It has gorgeous red buds opening. [I’ve since discovered it is an American Sycamore]

The sunrise was gorgeous this morning. Only minutes after this photo, the fiery red sun sprang above the horizon, bathing the lounge in a red glow, and giving me spots before my eyes! Serve myself right for looking at it.

A pretty little bird looked at me through the kitchen window today, and hung around long enough for a few terrible photos. I really must clean that window! A striated pardalote, methinks, though not as dark on top as the sample from Wikipedia: a juvenile perhaps.

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It actually looks more like this … from Wikipedia

By Ric Raftis (originally posted to Flickr as Striated Pardalote) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

By Ric Raftis (originally posted to Flickr as Striated Pardalote) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Fly on succulent flower

fly on succulent flower, Sept 29th

LEFT: Thisch flower succulent, featuring here in early August, is now flowering.

RIGHT: I was taking the photo before I noticed the fly, so I chased it around a bit.

BELOW: This last photo taken on my walk yesterday shows a tree with these weird, green catkins which seem to opening into leaves. I’ll take more notice tomorrow. I have no idea what type of tree it is.

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Trees

What is this tree?

Do you know?

The blossoms might be yellow, saw a bit of a glint in one of the pods, which look like an elongated gumnuts. I’ve lived here for nearly 24 years, and recall these trees being planted, but have never noticed their flowers at all. It will be an Australian native tree. The flower pods are in clusters reminding me of the claw-like ranunculus bulb;

WP_20140811_004which then reminds me that I must weed, on the off-chance some of my little bulbs wish to appear this year. I have a small scattering of ranunculus,  anemones and sparaxis in my front garden. It won’t happen today, the weeding – we have another icy wind and blue sky day.

WP_20140811_002Photos taken yesterday on my phone.  Now, I must away to my class work, an assignment to complete and submit, for Learning How To Learn.

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Trees, Writing

Grevillea – & – A Tidbit From My Novel.

The Grevillea bush is in full bloom and I try to catch sight of the honeyeaters as I walk by. Unfortunately, they are too quick to fly off as I approach. Maybe if I left the dog at home … but that would defeat the purpose.

Roadside Grevillea

Roadside Grevillea

Now, I’ve decided to share  the opening dialogue from my novel, only because I’ve already revealed this on my other blog (the online learning journey one). When I found myself without sentences for a writing task, I snatched words I had prepared earlier.

Being Fantasy, I know it will not appeal to some! A mere tidbit.

 

“You’re sure, absolutely sure, no one else knows about this?” the wizard asked, peering at his informant in the gloom.

The elderly dragon-rider leaned into his green dragon, slipped a hand inside his leathers and absent-mindedly scratched while he thought. He nodded slowly.

“It would be all over town, if anyone else knew,” he said, flicking the fingers of his free hand towards the Tower.

“I suppose.” The wizard sounded unconvinced.

“My dragon will tell you the same thing.” The dragon-rider thumped the ribs behind him. “We’ve not spoken of it to anyone. Once word gets out, you can’t keep something like this quiet,” he insisted.

The wizard and the dragon locked eyes. The wizard looked away first.

[All grammar and verb use corrections gratefully received!]

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