Flowers for May Day
Even though I live in the Southern Hemisphere, I feel I cannot let May Day go without comment. The Bottlebrush, Callistemon sp. growing in my front yard has just begun to flower. A welcome splash of colour in the grey days.
I think you can see why they are nicknamed “Bottle Brushes” 
The nectar feeding birds love them, and I’m hoping to capture a few images of the local birds having a feed, as more flowers open up.
PS. Today the computer has decided to co-operate! Go figure…….
How can I tempt thee – let me count the ways…..
Fresh…..juiced….dried….baked….cider….. Apples……organic….delicious….delectable…..divine♥
Approaching the end
The leaf on my quince tree hangs on – just. Soon it will be gone. The month is almost at an end. Soon I will be gone. I planted this tree about three years ago, and watched it grow, and especially admired it’s autumn foliage. Hopefully it will continue to grow without my help, and maybe even give joy to another. Nothing in life stays the same. Nature is a wonderful teacher, giving lessons on letting go…..
Wirrabara Producers Market
As promised in an earlier post, I have more images of the May Wirrabara Producers Market. This community-minded monthly event is where authentic regional produce is available with a real country feel. Third Sunday of the Month.
A range of images of the market can be viewed at my Flickr page - HERE
The township of Wirrabara sits in the Southern Flinders Ranges – an area well worth spending time in, with spectacular gorges, well marked walking trails, abundant wildlife, and slow-paced delightful townships. 
A Day of Positive Action!
Sunday 1st. May is National Permaculture Day in Australia.
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that are modeled on the relationships found in natural ecologies.
Permaculture is sustainable land use design. This is based on ecological and biological principles, often using patterns that occur in nature to maximise effect and minimise work. Permaculture aims to create stable, productive systems that provide for human needs, harmoniously integrating the land with its inhabitants. The ecological processes of plants, animals, their nutrient cycles, climatic factors and weather cycles are all part of the picture. Inhabitants’ needs are provided for using proven technologies for food, energy, shelter and infrastructure. Elements in a system are viewed in relationship to other elements, where the outputs of one element become the inputs of another. Within a Permaculture system, work is minimised, “wastes” become resources, productivity and yields increase, and environments are restored. Permaculture principles can be applied to any environment, at any scale from dense urban settlements to individual homes, from farms to entire regions.
The first recorded modern practice of permaculture as a systematic method was by Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer in the 1960s, but the method was scientifically developed by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and their associates during the 1970s in a series of publications.
The word permaculture is described by Mollison as a portmanteau of permanent agriculture, and permanent culture.
The intent is that, by training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals can design their own environments and build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements — ones that reduce society’s reliance on industrial systems of production and distribution that Mollison identified as fundamentally and systematically destroying Earth’s ecosystems.
While originating as an agro-ecological design theory, permaculture has developed a large international following. This “permaculture community” continues to expand on the original ideas, integrating a range of ideas of alternative culture, through a network of publications, permaculture gardens, intentional communities, training programs, and internet forums. In this way, permaculture has become a form of architecture of nature and ecology as well as an informal institution of alternative social ideals. (Source Wiki)
Information on the range of activities taking place in celebration can be found at the Event Site here .
Many years ago I attended a weekend campout workshop on permaculture, and subsequently read extensively on it and have been guided by its principles ever since.
Permaculture makes pure and simple sense to me.
When I first moved to this property, there was virtually no garden, and the site was very exposed to strong winds and extremes of temperatures. The house sat exposed without any moderating influences, and my first summer here was horrendous. However, bit by bit that changed as I was able to build up soil fertility and grow vegetables and observe the microclimate and then plant bushes and trees in the most appropriate positions. Sometimes a plant had other ideas, as self-sown wattles popped up in unexpected places. Those are now providing beautiful blooms and shade and shelter. My garden after three years, is a place of life and thriving communities of micro organisms, insects, reptiles, birds, in addition to the plants. If I decide I want to photograph something, I need only walk out the door and take my choice – hence my foray into macro work. Naturally, eating fresh food grown organically on my property is a joy and certainly a buffer against the pressures of rising food prices in this country. There’s plenty of evidence to support the claims that gardening is good for one’s health – have a look here and here. After all, there’s more to it than putting food on the table…….
Organic, fresh and delicious!
While I grow some of my own food, on this property I am not able to provide for all of my needs and I like nothing more than getting a box of certified organic produce from O’Reilly’s Orchard at Wirrabara. I first met Jackie many years ago when I purchased a milking goat from her. Later I moved away from the region, she also moved, and now many years later we’ve reconnected. Life can be like that, moving in circles….
Yesterday I managed to remember to take a photo of my box of goodies, albeit minus some plums I couldn’t resist scoffing into first! There are onions and carrots hiding underneath the broccoli. Beats supermarket food hands down!
If you’re ever in the Southern Flinders Ranges, call in at the Farm for fabulously fresh food, and you can even advance book a tour of the property and a Hosted Meal. It will be memorable.
Naked ladies in the rain
Tuesday 8th March is International Women’s Day and I’ve been wondering how to mark it. Then I remembered I had taken photos of these Naked Ladies growing in my garden. What better way to celebrate freedom than to be dancing naked in the rain!
There’s always exceptions to the rule!
I’ve said before, that I’m not a great lover of the colour pink. When it comes to flowers, there are some that really make my skin crawl – pink petunias for instance! But as always, there are some exceptions to the rule, and so I’ve compiled a little group, just to show I’m not completely heartless:-)
Purity’s other face
The Gardenia had its pristine white blooms affected by recent heat, and instead of turning dull brown as they age, this time they turned a deep chocolate colour. I don’t find them unattractive, but understand that not all will share my view. 
If I could paint……
I’d love to be able to paint, watercolours or acrylic. Alas, my talents such as they are, don’t run that way. I used to ‘paint’ in another way, when I designed other people’s gardens, and that was rewarding but not quite the same.
Perhaps the reason why I love photography so much, is at least I can express myself there, and sometimes even ‘play’ about a bit. This image is something I found the other day when going through old files….
Nature’s living sculpture
Before I had reached double figures as a child, I was interested in growing plants, and had a large cacti and succulent collection. Then time moved on and my interest shifted to horses…….but the circle kept turning and again I have a small collection of cacti and succulents. My eye is always taken by their form and I was thrilled to see this large clump when I was visiting a northern town some time ago. I felt the inclusion of the antenna simply added a quirky touch.
First of the season
This week I picked the first zucchini of the summer from my garden. Always a very satisfying thing to do, harvesting one’s own food especially when it’s been grown without artificial fertilisers and other poisons.
While the area I live in hasn’t been subjected to the floods affecting a great deal of Australia, there has been more rain falling than is usual for summer. This results in germination of weeds in paddocks and farm chemical supply places must be rubbing their hands together with glee, as farmers are out in force spraying very toxic chemicals on their paddocks. Of course, the chemicals don’t all go just on the paddocks but drift with the wind. The volatile chemicals saturate the air at times even when there’s no local paddocks being sprayed. I’ve been told by one farmer that he’s not had a crop off his home grape vine in 3-4 years, because of the chemicals in the air affecting the growth.
It was a beautiful world. Once upon a time.
Pretty in pink
I’m not really a pink person. One day I’ll share a little poem I wrote about that….but there are some pinks I can’t resist. Crab apple pink, carnation pink, and geranium pink. Here’s a little geranium from my garden, that bravely copes with extremes of temperatures with no complaint. 
A day of orange
Actually, my orange daylily that is blooming away at present. May it brighten your day:-)
The Green Room
Sometimes little dramas can occur even in the ‘green room’. 
Christmas decorations.
In Australia, Christmas falls in the middle of summer, and summers Downunder always mean flies. Well….except perhaps in Tasmania where it has been known to snow on Christmas day. While there are those who still celebrate in a traditional English manner, there are others who will have BBQ’s and beach feasts – outdoor activities = flies.
When I saw this tiny fly hanging from a seeding parsley flower, I was reminded of a Christmas tree decoration…..strange perhaps….but that’s the way my little mind works:-)
How could you be scared of this?
As children, many of us are taught to be scared of spiders and all things ‘creepy crawly’ – regardless of how tiny the little creature may be or how innocent it may be also. I look at the face of this tiny spider and can only think how sweet and cute it looks, yet once upon a time I had a different view. What changed me? Simply getting to know it and others like it.
Fear can drive us all to do things we may later regret. I strive to overcome my fears….step by step….or is it by reaching out a hand perhaps….
Filled with wonder
When I see the tiny life abounding in my garden, I cannot but be filled with wonder. This tiny spider – small enough to sit on top of a pen – in the late afternoon was very busy putting its web up to catch the evening insects. Truly, it is a marvel to consider the engineering feat it accomplishes. 
Who eats watermelon?
One of my local blue tongue lizards was wandering past the house verandah and saw the piece of watermelon my dog had left……and decided he’d like to have a taste. In fact, he attacked it with gusto and stayed eating it for a couple of minutes before wandering off to see what was on offer elsewhere. I used to grow strawberries but never got to eat many as the lizards would get to them first. They also enjoy the zucchini flowers……
Transformation part 2
The ladybird is an insect that also undergoes transformation. I can still remember the first time I came across a huge colony of ladybird larva, in a client’s garden when I worked as a professional gardener. They are quite unlike the adult and look more like a miniature crocodile!
Like a butterfly, the adult form of a ladybird is loved by many and features in children’s stories and in songs. 
