Christmas weaves a magic wand over this world

 It is only a few days till Christmas and life seems to be getting crazier and crazier with shopping, baking, present wrapping, get-togethers and going out to see the Christmas lights. 

Christmas is mid summer in Australia and I have heard today that our temperatures, at least in Western Australia's capital city, Perth, for Christmas Day will be around 41 Celsius - that is around 106 Fahrenheit! 

Even though it is hot you will see a lot of bright colour around here this time of year. Below you can see some of our flowering trees which we see on our daily walk - clockwise from top left - one of the red flowering gums, jacaranda (though from South Africa you will see lots here in Western Australia), the Western Australian Christmas Tree, and lastly a creamy eucalypt which I need to identify.

In case you missed it, I shared more summer colour in our Australian bush last week: Down in the West Australian bush this week in summer

Also colourful varieties of kangaroo paw - 

In the cappuccino strip of our city a yellow flowering tree with a pea type flower makes a shady canopy over the area -  I need to also find out what this tree is.  

My front garden has a lot of gorgeous colour this time of year. 

Crazy as it may seem in 40 degree heat, many people still have a hot roast Christmas dinner. But there are also cold drinks and salads. Top left are little Christmas puddings I make - delicious and no baking! 

Perhaps my handmade Christmas cards I have made over the last few years reflect the colours of the Australian Christmas

But I also have more subtle botanical eco-dyed cards too

And some little twiggy decorations and one made with wooden pegs! 

As I look at what is happening around us in this Covid world, natural disasters, a tragic incident with school children in Tasmania, and some health issues people close to me are currently going through, I struggle to be ''merry and bright'' but I hope that these words from Norman Vincent Peale will ring true this Christmas:

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world

and behold everything is softer and more beautiful. 

You might also like:

The Christmas in Australia edition

Summer in my garden

Thank you so much for stopping by. I wish you and yours a very safe and happy Christmas.

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!
   
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 
Welcome to Nature Thursday
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

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.

Manea Reserve - Down in the Western Australian bush this week

We have been sweltering here the last couple of weeks in Western Australia as we are hit by the summer sun. I have been waiting for a cooler cloudy day to go out to Manea Reserve to see if the summer flowering slipper orchids have opened. Saturday morning was my first opportunity - and I wasn't disappointed. I have always said there is always something flowering in the Australian bush. And this is true for summer.  

We were greeted at the gate with a heavily laden Jarrah tree - Eucalyptus marginata - much prized for it's wood for fine furniture making. 

My goodness there is a lot of yellow in this collage. 

Clockwise below from top left you can see the last of the Orange stars - Hibbertia stellaris. The Holly-leaved banksia - Banksia ilicifolia. Spearwood - Kunzea glabrescens. And bottom left Yellow starflower - Calytrix-angulata

Below here - top row the Western Australian Christmas Tree - Nuytsia floribunda and below that the Candlestick banksia - Banksia-attenuata - both of which I have blogged about before. Please click on the orange links to read more. They are so glorious this time of year. Interesting the Christmas trees were only just starting to flower in Manea, whereas I have seen them in full flower in other areas nearby. 

One little bottle brush was trying to put on a good red Christmas show, there were a few purple Fringe Lily T. multiflorus, and the last of the bushy boronia -Boronia fastigiata - were pretty in pink (though I don't have a definite identification of this one)

Below here is on the top row - Spider smokebush -  Conospermum teretifolium and below that Drumsticks, also known as pineapple bush - Dasypogon bromeliifolius. You can probably see why they are called drumsticks. 

Look at the height of these grass trees spikes! - Xanthorrhoea brunonis. My husband kindly posed so you can get an idea of the height.  There are around 28 species of grass tree endemic to Australia. The one you see below does not have a trunk like the Xanthorrhoea preissii, also known by the Noongar name balga.

Here is some information I found on the net: Bush Heritage Australia - Grass Trees and on ABC - Gardening Australia

But wait - there is more yellow! This is the native broom - also known as swishbush - Viminaria juncea. A large drooping bush 3-5 metres high that likes slightly swampy ground. 

And finally I come to the Slipper orchid - Cryptostylis ovata - the only Western Australian wild orchid that has leaves all year round. I've blogged about them before here - Summer colour in the south west Western Australia

All the spring orchids have finished in Manea Reserve, and I was so happy not to have missed the summer flowering slipper orchid. 

You might also like:

The candlestick Banksia

Nannup wildflwoer walks

Hunting for wild orchids in the Western Australian wheatbelt

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this wander through Manea Reserve with me. Have you a reserve you like to visit for wildflowers. Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. 

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!
   
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 
Welcome to Nature Thursday
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

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.

Easy gluten-free dairy-free fruity-nut slice

 It looks like Christmas is quickly creeping up on us. Are you prepared? Have you bought your supplies? Have you put up your Christmas tree? I would actually say no to all of these questions, though I have started to make a few preparations - but I am sure there is lots more to do. But to be kind to myself I have been busy the last few weeks getting ready for a Christmas market, and that was taking up my energy, but now that is done I need to get moving. 

Today I have a recipe for you. It is not actually a Christmas cooking recipe but it really could be with all those cranberries, dried apricots, mixed fruit and nuts.  It is gluten-free and dairy-free (not nut free) and so so easy and yummy. 

The recipe is from We are So Vegan - Homemade Energy Bars

I have made a few little changes which you can see in italics below. 

Homemade Energy Bars 

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup almonds - I cut them in half - or use any nuts you like
• 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats (hulled buckwheat) - I couldn't get the buckwheat groats so I used half cup of plain flour (as I wasn't worried about gluten free) - but you could use a gluten free flour. 
• 1/2 cup raisins - I used half a cup of mixed fruit 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup soft dried apricots - soak in hot water about half to one hour
• 1/4 cup maple syrup - I used Golden Syrup 
• 1/4 cup water

Method

1.            Preheat oven to 180°C fan / 400°F and line a 7” x 7” square tin with baking paper - I used a 30cm (12 inch) x22cm (9 inch) slab tin

2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Spread the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds evenly across the tray, then roast for 10 minutes. I didn't do this and result was fine
3. Meanwhile, put the apricots, maple syrup and water in a blender and blend into a smooth paste. Note: if you are struggling to blend the ingredients add an extra splash of water. The paste should be super smooth otherwise the bars might not hold together and might crumble. For this step I soaked the apricots in hot water for about half an hour and then blended 
4. Remove the baking tray from the oven and transfer the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds to the large mixing bowl and give everything a good mix. Leave the oven turned on.
5. Transfer the apricot mixture to a mixing bowl, along with the buckwheat groats, raisins and cranberries

2. Transfer the mixture to the lined tin. Smooth over the top using a piece of baking paper, pushing the mixture down as you go to make sure its compact (this will prevent the bars falling apart when you slice them later on). Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the tin from the oven and leave to cool completely. Note: the energy bars might crumble if you try to slice them before they have cooled completely.
4. Take the mixture out of the tin and slice into 10 energy bars - or just slice into the size pieces you want. 

Recipe notes:

1.          The apricots and maple syrup help glue all the ingredients together, while bringing a lovely sweetness to the bars.
2.          Make sure you blend the apricots into a thick paste. If you’re struggling to reach the correct consistency, add a splash more water.
3.          Leave the bars to cool fully before slicing them, otherwise they might crumble!
4.       Press down as much as possible on the mixture in the tin, which will help compact the ingredients so the bars don’t fall apart.

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You will find a few other Christmas recipes over on my blog: A little bit of Christmas baking

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!

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 
Welcome to Nature Thursday
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

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.