Seasons grettings from Australia

I have finally gotten into the Christmas spirit and finished decorating my tree last night after coming home from Carols by Candlelight - there is nothing like the company of children and some Christmas carols to get you in the mood.

Today it has been unusually dull and drizzly rain all day - a dramatic change for the usually hot December weather in Australia. We have had a dry winter and spring, so my garden has welcomed the cool day and the soak.  It also was a great day for Christmas cooking - so I made sausage rolls, fruit mince pies, stained glass Christmas cake, melting moments biscuits and little Christmas puddings.You can see samples of my cooking below in my mosaic for today.

The little guy on the RHS is just me playing around with Christmas tree light bokeh!

Enjoy! And have a wonderful Christmas in the company of those you love.

 This post has been a part of Mosaic Monday at Little Red House. To see the work of Mary and other contributors, please click on the link -
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Life is a beach - Mosaic Monday

Summer is here and in Western Australia "life is a beach".....

The beach is part of Western Australia's way of life - kilometres of white sandy beaches, sparkling clear blue water, coral reefs, aquatic playgrounds, and the sun setting over the Indian Ocean in a brilliant array of colours.

Stretching from Broom's Cable Beach in the north, to Lucky Bay near Esperance in the south east, a trip to Western Australia would not be complete without a visit to one of its beaches. With some many to choose from, please read below my mosaic for a selection of some of the best.

Cable Beach, Broome - Established around the pearling industry, the tropical seaside town of Broome is the gateway to the Kimberleys. On Cable Beach's 22 kilometre stretch of prisitne white sand, you can escape the southern winter by relaxing on the beach, rejunivate in the warm ocean water, and enjoy a sunset camel ride.

Underwater Wonderland at Ningaloo Reef - Coral Bay and Exmouth -  Ningaloo Reef is one of the world's largest fringing coral reefs and a prime conservation sanctuary stretching 260 kilometres along North West Cape. You can snorkel over the reef only a few metres from shore, or take a dive tour and swim with the Whale Shark - Ningaloo leads the way in Whale Shark eco-tourism.

Monkey Mia, Shark Bay - Dolphin Experience - Thousands of visitors come to see the bottle nose dolphins which visit the beach at Money Mia, located in the World Heritage listed Peron Peninsular.

The Capes - surfing the South West - Enjoying a Mediterranean climate, the Cape to Cape region between Cape Naturalist and Cape Leeuwin is a playground for holiday makers during summer, and surfers all year round, as well as being an internationally acclaimed wine growing region.

South Coast - where the forest meets the sea - When summer hits the northern half of Western Australia, it is time to escape to a milder climate and the beautiful pristine beaches of the South Coast.  From Mandalay Beach west of Walpole, through Denmark to Albany, the southern coastline is a mixture of magnificent coastal scenery, rugged headlands, rock pools and secluded beaches, as well us spectacular Karri and Tingle forests and an international biodiversity hotspot.

Esperance - Australia's whitest beach - The combination of dazzling white squeaky clean sand and cold sparkling aqua blue water under a canopy of brilliant blue sky is a feast for the senses. Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance was judged in 2006 by a national committee of scientific experts to be the whitest beach in Australia. It is a paradise for beach lovers with kilometres of pristine beaches, spectacular coastal scenery, national parks and an aquatic paradise amongst the island of the Recherche Archipelago.

To read this full story, please see Go Camping Australia magazine, February 2011 edition.

Mosaic Monday is an initiative of Mary at Little Red House. To see the wonderful work of other contributors, please click on the link  - http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Colour in my summer garden

Summer has come to us in Western Australia, and my garden is a picture of red, green, yellow, white, pink, orange and purple. We have had a dry winter and spring, and a hot start to summer, so water is going to be a problem this summer. However we actually have a overcast day today, which gave a beautiful even light for photography, so I took the opportunity to wander about my garden this morning and take these photos to share with you.  They are a mixture of native Australian plants and European garden flowers. I hope you enjoy them. And may peace and joy and the company of those you love be yours at Christmas.

This selection is my contribution this week to Mosaic Monday at My Little Red House. Please go to the link to view others contributions- http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/.

This is my first try at creating a Mosaic, which I did through Picasa - I hope you enjoy it.

Greeting cards for sale

Everlastings

I now have a series of greeting cards for sale at $2 each (15cm x 11cm (including envelopes). Here is the current selection of 8 cards. Please email me at rodjill@gateway.net.au if you would like to buy some.

Everlastings

Roses with reflection

             

Everlastings

I also have photos for sale -

  you can see a selection of my work at my Picasa album - please click on the link - Life Images by Jill - Picasa album - http://picasaweb.google.com/lifeimagesbyjill

Lightbox rose

Jelly beans

Shark Bay sunset. Western Australia

Gerbera with reflection

The joy of spring , love and life - Mosaic Monday

The joy of spring has come to my garden and the promise of summer days.

As I wander about my garden today, taking photos of the beauty I find there, I think of the preciousness of life, the joy of living, the importance of accepting every precious moment as a gift and doing the very best we can with our lives and treasuring those we love.

I am sending special thoughts to my several of my dear friends who have recently lost a loved one. I hope they will treasure and hold close to their hearts the special memories they have, and know that their loved one is till with them.

Yesterday is history,

tomorrow is a mystery, 
and today is a gift; 
that’s why they call it the present.

Eleanor Roosevelt

This selection has been presented for your enjoyment as part of Mosaic Monday. Please click on the link to visit Mosaic Monday at Little Red House and see the work of other wonderful contributors. Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

Walking the Capes - Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia - Mosaic Monday

Yellow Tailflower

The bushfire that raged around Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse in February 2009 devastated the natural coastal heathland, so we took pleasure in experiencing the amazing regeneration that follows fire in the Australian bush when we explored the walk trails around Cape Naturaliste in early spring 2010. We could still see the burnt sticks which were grim reminders of the fire, but the thick growth that had sprung up around them was ablaze with a kaleidoscope of colourful wildflowers.  Many plants, like the Yellow Tailflower (also known as fireweed), have taken advantage of the clearing of the undergrowth.  An opportunist species, the Tailflower grows in abundance after fire, and is just one of the wildflowers that ensure walking around Cape Naturaliste is a delight in spring.

Located not far from Dunsborough, Cape Naturaliste is part of one of Western Australia’s great walks, the 135 kilometre Cape to Cape Track, which traverses windswept rugged cliff tops with spectacular coastal vistas, across sandy beaches, through diverse coastal heath and along shady woodland tracks through the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park between the Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin lighthouses in Western Australia’s far south west corner.

Some of the sections are rugged and challenging, but if you are not up to the full five to eight day trek you can still explore the track by splitting it into shorter walks of varying distances and difficulty.

A good introduction is the Cape Naturaliste trails network which gives the opportunity to enjoy the Cape’s vegetation, wildlife and panoramic views on easy 30-40 minute loop trails or half day walks. The trails are well signposted at each junction and the layout of the circular walks starting from the Naturaliste Lighthouse, make it easy to extend your walk and still be able to loop back to the Lighthouse.  There are numerous lookouts where you can enjoy the views.

Temperatures at the Cape can be blistering in summer, so I suggest either walking in the early morning or late afternoon in summer, or a spring walk when the Cape comes alive with wildflowers

Much of the trails are along sand tracks through low heathlands, so it is interesting to see the resilience of coastal Marri trees growing high on the ridges, their shapes stunted and sculptured by the wind.   The walks also give an opportunity to spot birds and animals living on the Cape, such as the Southern Heath monitor - Varanus rosenbergi. Seats provide places to rest and enjoy the fauna and coastal scenery.

One of the most popular walks is the Whale Lookout track (2.4km) leading to a lookout which provides a perfect vantage point for whale viewing during the annual migrations. Here you have the opportunity to observe seals on the rocks at the base of the cliffs, humpback whales during October to December, and occasionally Southern Right Whales during June to September.

Native Violet

I hope you have enjoyed today's post which is part of Mosaic Monday - to see Mary's beautiful work and the work of other contributors, please click here to go to Little Red House Mosaic Monday

Winged Clementis

To read this complete article, please see the December 2010 issue of Go Camping Australia magazine.

Mosaic Monday - Native Orchids

Crimson Spider Orchid

Now it is spring we go searching for native orchids in the bush. Our native orchids are quite small, not like cultivated varieties, so they are always a joy to find and photograph. Here are some of my favourites - I hope you enjoy them..

My post is part of Mosaic Monday - an initiative of Mary from Little Red House. To see her beautiful work and other contributors  please go to  Little Red House Mosaic Monday  

To see some more of my native wildflower photos please go to my Picasa web album - Life Images by Jill - Picasa web Album

Blue Lady Orchid

Donkey Orchid

Queen of Sheba

Leopard Orchid

Rattle Beaks

Mosaic Monday - Fun with layers

It is cold and wet outside today so I have been playing with layers in Photoshop Elements. You can find free layers and tutorials on the web for adding layers. This is my first try. Just a little experiment. Not all photos would lend themselves to layers - in many cases perhaps the original is better. Anyway, this is another of my everlastings shots I decided to experiment with. The first photo is the original, and second as 2 layers, and the other 2 just one layer with saturation adjusted.

Mosaic Monday is an initiative of Mary from Little Red House - please go to her site to see her beautiful work and the work of others contributing to Mosaic Monday.   Mosaic Monday at Dear Little Red House

Mosaic Monday - Love in a light box

My love affair with my light box continues as I experiment....These are roses from my garden and beautiful wildflower everlastings. I hope you enjoy them.  Click on the title to see more photos from my light box.

Mosaic Monday is an initiative of Mary from "Little Red House". Go to the link below, or to my website links, to see more of Mary's beautiful beautiful work, and photos from other contributors to "Mosaic Monday".  Moasic Monday at Dear Little Red House

Autumn Garden - Little Red House Mosaic Monday 24 May 2010

It is a dull chilly autumn day here today - The grape vine leaves are turning to autumn colours, and the oranges are starting to ripen.  Here are some images from my garden - I hope you enjoy them. 

Mosaic Monday was created by Mary at "Dear Little Red House" - see the link in My Website Links - please stop by to see beautiful photography, settings and gardens.  Mosaic Monday at Dear Little Red House