Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Tuesday 23 May 2023

May Randoms 2023

 HI everyone, I hope you and yours are well. I can't believe that May has nearly gone - only a week and a bit to go. I really don't know where May has gone. Here are a few randoms from May. 

Quinces are my favourite autumn fruit and I am so lucky to have a quince tree in my backyard. So delicious! But you must cook them first as they are rock hard. i've blogged about them a few times before. Remember the Owl and the Pussycat ate slices of quince with a runcible spoon? 

This is Mesomelaena tetragona Semaphore Sedge - we see lots of them when we are walking in the Crooked Brook Reserve. Can you see why they are called Semaphore? You kno...the flag symbols they used to use for signalling... britannica.com/technology/semaphore


You might remember earlier in the month I took you to the Balingup Golden Valley Tree Park - you can see more by clicking on the link. So beautiful with the golden autumn colours this time of year. 


It is a nice time of year to go bushwalking - with slightly cooler days - though not many wildflowers this time of year. However we found two of the winter flowering orchids at Manea Reserve last week. 

At the top - The Hare Orchid - Leporella fimbriata - these are tiny flowers only 10-30mm and very hard to find.  But they do grow in colonies, so once you have found one you will perhaps find some more. You need a good orchid spotting companion. They have long ears like a hare. 

At the bottom - I am not a botanist but I believe this to be the Common Bunny Orchid - Eriochilus dilatatus subsp multiflorus. There are several varieties of Bunny orchid. 


This is the amazing ghost fungus - Omphalotus nidiformis - which grows in large clusters at the base of both living and dead trees. In Western Australia, it’s common on bull banksia (Banksia grandis), peppermint (Agonis flexuosa), sheoak (Allocasuarina spp.) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) as well as understory shrubs and plants in jarrah forest and coastal woodlands.

White during the day, during the night the ghost fungus is luminescent and glows an eerie green colour. The intensity of the luminescence varies and diminishes with age. The reason for its luminescent is not known, but perhaps it is to attract night flying insects which feed or forage on it and then spread its spores. You can learn more here - WA department of Environment & Conservation

So cool! but poisonous - i photographed these beneath peppermint trees on my son's small property. My son photographed them with his mobile phone on a slow shutter speed but I used my DSLR camera on bulb setting, on a tripod, with a remote shutter button, on about a 2 minute exposure - in order to capture the green. 

The first photo shows the ghost fungi in dayllight, the one next to it is the same fungi at night. 

Book i am reading - I highly recommend both these books. 

The Book Binder of Jericho by Pip Williams - The follow-up and companion to one of the most successful Australian novels, The Dictionary of Lost Words. 

What is lost when knowledge is withheld?

In 1914, when the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, it is the women who must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of studying at Oxford University, but for most of her life she has been told her job is to bind the books, not read them. Maude, meanwhile, wants nothing more than what she has. She is extraordinary but vulnerable. Peggy needs to watch over her. Into the mix come refugees from Belgium, and wounded soldiers. 

There is a short video below from Pip. 



Just a short post from me today but thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
   

Tuesday 9 May 2023

Autumn has arrived at Golden Valley tree Park, Balingup, Western Australia

 Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are doing well. I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks because I have been so busy.... mainly with the Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail in Dardanup and through the Ferguson Valley near Bunbury in Western Australia. 

I was one of six artists who exhibited at the old Dardanup convent. A huge thankyou to Jenny Spokes and the Dardanup Art Spectacular & Art Trail Committe, Father Wayne from the Dardanup Catholic Church and his helper Ifor at the old Convent Prayer House for your hospitality, generosity and assistance, and to the amazing talented artists who shared the space with me - Christine Blowfield, Sandra and Sylvia Nysten, Cynthia Dix and Gemma Mangano.

Whilst I wasn't in the winner's circle at the Art Spectacular Exhibition, I thank the people who purchased my ecoprint and photo image at the Art Spectacular exhibition (it would have been lovely to meet you), and those who came to my space at the Convent to purchase or just chat! It was lovely to meet you all. And to my husband Rod without whose support and help I couldn't do any of this! Thankyou everyone!

You can see us below here - Sandra, Cynthia, Christine, Gemma, Sylvia, and me, with Ifor in the background. Thanks girls and Ifor for making it such a fun weekend.


It had been such a busy leadup to the the Art Trail getting my exhibition pieces for the competition ready and getting my bits and pieces - ecoprinting and photography - ready for the Art Trail, that it was a relief when it was over and I was able to step back and relax. The first thing we did on Monday was go for a bush walk!

Then on Thursday we took our annual drive down to Balingup to go to the Golden Valley Tree Park. It is autumn here in Australia and as our Australian trees are evergreen, the tree park is a wonderful place to see deciduous trees turning reds, oranges and goldens.


I have blogged about the Balingup Golden Valley Tree Park many times before. There are walk trails that wind around the park, plus a wheelchair and pram friendly walk. Most of the trees have labels so you can identify them. And there are picnic tables and places to sit.

The Golden Valley Tree Park is a sixty hectare landscaped park set in the picturesque hills of Balingup. The heritage listed site has a collection of international trees that was begun over one hundred years ago, and is now the largest arboretum in Western Australia. The land was bought by the Government in the late 1970s and  park was establshed around 1980. 

One of my alltime favourites is the Chinese Pistachio walk.



And I can't go past the colours of the Red Maple


And the Persimmon Tree


The sheep that graze in the park were enjoying the fallen acorns


The Scarlet Oak


Some of the fruit we saw growing at the tree park, clockwise from top left - Canary Island Madrone, Chinese Persimon (in the center), Pomegranate, Red Mexican Hawthorne, and Sweet Chestnut. So interesting to see these fruits we don't normally see. 


That's about all from me today. If you would like to see more from the Balingup Golden Valley Tree Park you can visit my previous posts below here. As you can see we have been to Balingup Tree Park many times over the last 10 years or so.

Usually we go sometime during May. We were perhaps a little early this year. It is a bit hard to pinpoint down the best time to go - too early and the leaves haven't turned golden yet, and too late and the leaves have all fallen. Though anytime during May we have found is perfect regardless. It is very popular on Mother's Day, and second Sunday in May. 

Golden Valley Tree Park 2022

Autumn in Western Australia - 2021

Autumn Season of Change 2016

Autumn in Western Australia - Golden Valley Tree Park -2017

Autumn Colour Balingup - 2019

For more information please go to: Balingup Golden Valley Tree Park

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this little look at the Balingup Tree Park. Please click on the links to see more!

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 


I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!