Random days of June

 Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are well and safe. We are in mid-winter here in Western Australia and it goes from rain to freezing cold with clear blue sky days. Because I seem to be totally devoid of inspiration for my blog this week, I bring you Random Days of June. Enjoy! 

Clockwise from top left.... a bunch of sunflowers I bought for myself shown here against that blue sky day, the pin-cushion Hakeas are flowering - so beautiful, seeing beauty in bushfire burnt leaves in the bush, the Geraldton Wax flowering in my garden, laying out some leaves for eco-printing, and our orange tree is producing delicious oranges. 

A delicious pumpkin quiche I enjoyed at Hummingbird Cafe in Busselton, a walk along the river in Donnybrook, the chairs on the Bunbury waterfront, new apartment highrise in Bunbury, a book I have ordered from our local library, and pelicans meeting on the sandbar between the Collie River and the Leschenault inlet. I blogged about the pelicans before here: Where the pelicans meet

And playing around with this image for a Photography Group compeition.

Did I show you the eclipse...it was in May...but here it is anyway.

So there it is....random days of June.....

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!
   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 
Our World Tuesday
Pictorial Tuesday 
ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Der-Natur-Thursday 
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Catching up with my photo a day project - 8 June to 5 July

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing ok during these stressful times. I didn't imagine when I started my Covid Photo-a-Day project back in March that at the end of June I would still be going with it. It is hard to believe it has already been about 3 and a half months since the fear of this virus raised it's head here in Australia. Who would have believed it back at Christmas?

Actually I thought a couple of weeks ago that Covid was under control at least in Australia as our numbers have been so low, however this last week has seen a huge spike in numbers in one of our eastern states, Victoria. Thank goodness the Premier of our state, Western Australia, is staying firm about keeping our borders closed between our state and the rest of Australia as well as international other than for transport of produce or family reasons - ie health. 
Anyone coming into Western Australia has to quarantine for 2 weeks. However they have found recently in Victoria that you may test positive after this 2 weeks. 
On the news tonight they said there had been 6 new cases in Western Australia today, all people returning from overseas, and all in quarantine. We haven't had any community spread in Western Australia, but the virus is still coming in. 
 It is such worrying times. 

Surely there is some light on the horizon. 

So I am continuing my photo a day project and trying as much as possible to stay positive and stay away from shops and crowds. But to get out for exercise and to enjoy exploring our local walks and seeing the wildflowers starting to flower.  We have had some beautiful weather in between the winter rain storms.And if this virus has taught us anything it should be the preciousness of family and all that is beautiful around us which we should treasure. And take time to savour the moments, however simple, in our lives.

8 June to 14 June 2020

12 June - sign of the times in one of our cafes

 14 June - this is a gorgeous native grevillea along one our local walks

10 June -  and a tiny native shell orchid - one of the Pterostylis

15 June to 21 June

15 June - botanical eco-print of autumn leaves on paper

17 June - it is winter here so this seems appropriate - who has seen the wind? -
 "The Wind" by Christina Rossetti - I remember this poem from my childhood - 

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

18 June - native Pincushion Hakea - Hakea laurina- along one of our local walks 

19 June -  the black cockatoos were feasting on the dry cones of the Candlestick Banksia in Manea Conservation Park. I didn't have my long lens - so I can't decide if this is the Carnaby's or the Baudin's cockatoo - Baudin's has a longer top beak - I can't tell from this photo and I couldn't get a better pic.

20 June - tiny fungi on a log at my son's bush block

21 June - I love the light on this dry native fern

 22 - 28 June 2020

24 June - long overdue cleaning out my filing cabinets. I found these old job offers - the first going back to 1972 when I left school and my first job in the library at the WA Institute of Technology in Bentley, Perth - now Curtin University. You can see a letter head with Shark Bay written on it - well I didn't end up working in Shark Bay because my husband had his teaching posting changed to the south west of the state at the last minute. How different our life would have been. A bit of a "sliding doors" moment.

25 June - Cockies Tongues - Templetonia retusa- along one our local walks - a glorious splash of red.

27 June - experimenting platting and weaving with Guildford Grass. Inspired by
Margaret Ridley who wove with Guildford Grass in Western Australia during the 1930s.

29 June to 5 July

30 June - playing with camera blur in my garden

1 July - easy family favourite when you have been out all day - curried sausages. We've been making this recipe for over 40 years. 

 2 July - native flowering hovea creeper

3 July - We went out to the Crooked Brook Forest for a picnic. I love this mosaic looking bark on a eucalypt tree along one of the walks

4 July - along the Leschenault Inlet in town looking over to the Port 

5 July - walking along a boardwalk along the Collie River at Clifton Park - I only had my phone - silly me - but I played with post processing after we got home

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. Stay safe, have a wonderful week.  
And keep smiling and dancing - like my Spanish flamenco dance group friends who will have fun and dance anywhere, even in the kitchen.

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!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Arbor Day - celebration of trees

Last Saturday 20 June was Arbor Day in Australia 2020. 

The day is celebrated on different days around the world. Arbor Day–which literally translates to “tree” day from the Latin origin of the word arbor – is a day which celebrates the planting, upkeep and preservation of trees. 

 The Spanish village of Mondoñedo held the first documented arbor plantation festival in the world organized by its Mayor in 1594.

 The first American Arbor Day originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska by J. Sterling Morton^. On April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska.

Arbor Day has been observed in Australia since 20 June 1889.

When I was a child in school, Arbor Day for us was a day to plant trees around our school. 

In the light of the horrific bushfires during the Australian summer of 2019-2020 where thousands of hectares of bushland, farmland, and homes were destroyed, this year more than ever seems to be a time to celebrate and plant trees. 

Whilst we didn't plant any trees, I did sketch the Sea-Urchin Hakea - Hakea petiolaris - at my son's block  - I really love the veins on these leaves.

And on Sunday we went up to the bush. So today I am sharing some images, all taken with my 100mm Macro lens. 

There is something really rejuvenating about walking out in nature don't you think away from the stresses of the world, albeit for a short while.  

We were a bit too early for flowering, but I could see where some wildflowers were starting to bud. 

Below you can see:
- Water Bush - bossiaea aquifolium. The sharp pointed leaves collects rainwater and gives you a shower if you brush by. They are covered in yellow pea flowers in spring.

- The Prickly Hakea - Hakea amplexicaulis - flowers August to October. I love the way the prickly wavy leaves wrap themselves around the stem, and the flowers sit on top of the leaves.

Below is the Snotty Gobble - don't you just love the name! The bark lays in thin red paper like layers. I thought at first there was a fire - but it was just the sunlight shining through the paper thin bark.

The botanical name this small tree is the Persoonia longifolia.  In the Eastern States this tree is referred to as the Geebung. Geebung is an Aboriginal word for the fruit which they use for food and medicine.

The snotty gobble flowers in summer and have fruit the size of blueberries which ripens in autumn and falls in June to July. If I had known this I would have looked around the base of the tree to see if I could find some fruit to taste. 

Fungi

And little mosses growing on fallen logs

 Ferns

Treasures on the forest floor

You have to look carefully to find these tiny orchids - these are from the Greenhood orchid family - Pterostylis 

And marri nuts way up in the canopy- Corymbia calophylla is commonly known as marri, a name derived from the Noongar language of Southwest Australia region

So there you have it - a quick overview of our visit to the bush in the south west of Western Australia on the weekend. 
My tip - bring a kneeling pad and a groundsheet if you want to get down at ground level to take photos.

For more information on Arbor Day -
 History of Arbor Day - USA
Arbor Day Foundation
 National Tree Day - Planet Ark Australia 
 Wikipedia.org - Arbor_Day 

 You might also like:
Down in the Woods today 
Enjoying the Western Australian bush 
Bushwalking at Hoffmans Mill 

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Does your country celebrate Arbor Day - what date is it? And do you do plant trees as part of Arbor Day. Perhaps you would like to share in your comments. 

I hope everyone is well and you and yours are staying safe.  Whilst in Western Australia our numbers of the virus have plateaued, in the Eastern States of Australia numbers unfortunately have spiked this week.  We are in this for the long haul.

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!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.