A thirsty bird!

Early morning after Christmas Day found me at the Adelaide seaside suburb of Grange, delivering some late Christmas gifts.

A number of people were out enjoying walks along the beach or foreshore with dogs, friends or family (or all of the above!).

 

But obviously this pigeon was also enjoying itself, judging by its closed eyes as it drinks in the water just scooped up!

 

 

It was a blustery, but not cold, morning - temperature around low to mid 20sC

at that time, heading towards a scorching 38!

 

I thank you all for the unique contribution you've added to my blogging world throughout 2015 and wish you a happy, healthy, safe and peaceful 2016.

 

Linking up with

Camera Critters and

Wild Bird Wednesday

 

Colourful guests

Since I've not been out much with my Nikon P510 of late, these images have come out of the archives and were taken in the back yard of my previous home.

 

The birds are Eastern Rosellas and - in case I'd missed noticing - the blooming of the two palm trees there was invariably announced by the excited and noisy arrival of these colourful birds (and many bees!)

 

 

Sincerely wishing you all a joy-filled and safe Christmas with your loved ones, in celebration of the real reason for the season.

 

Thank you, too, for the joy you've brought to my life this year in sharing your spectacular photography - I look forward to seeing more in 2016.

 

Special thanks to all the wonderful hosts of numerous themed blog sites, whose dedication enables us to share our images effectively.

 

Linking up with

Our World Tuesday
and
Outdoor Wednesday

Morialta Conservation Park

I'm back to blogland again after a 3-month break during which

I was preparing for moving into a "new" home and settling in.

That done, I couldn't resist the opportunity to get out with my Nikon

on Sunday afternoon while outside temperatures were pleasant.

 

Following are some images taken during a 2-hour walk in

Morialta Conservation Park, some 20 minutes' drive from home.

(I had hoped to see at least one of the waterfalls here, but sadly there

was no water flowing that day)

 

 

 

A member of the Banksia family

and this little butterfly stopped flitting about long enough to pose for me!

 



a colourful Scotch thistle

 I think this was blackberry blossom - in abundance throughout the park -

and a busy bee !

 

 This Koala appeared to be sound asleep despite the uncomfortable "bedding"!

 

 Could this be a wild sweet pea I wonder?

 

 and here are some figs growing wild

  

 and here's another Koala - either "nodding off" or being shy!

 

. . . . a very pleasant Sunday afternoon - however, I continue to be

conscious of the tragedies unfolding not an hour's drive north of here,

with more devastating bushfires destroying homes and lives.

Thoughts and prayers are with all those directly affected by loss

as well as the brave volunteers fighting the fires.

 

Joining in the fun at Our World Tuesday and
Outdoor Wednesday

with grateful thanks to our team of hosts

 

Pontrieux

Last year I was greatly blessed to spend a week with friends exploring Brittany. One of the delightful towns we visited was Pontrieux. (I have also posted other images of this town previously).

Francethisway.com describes it thus -

"Pontrieux stretches along the banks of the River Trieux and owed its prosperity - from medieval times onwards - to its position at the head of the estuary.

The success of the port led to the building of many fine bourgeois houses here, each bourgeois house has its own lavoir - a special wash area on the edge of the river where the maid could do the family’s washing without having to go to a communal washhouse. There are 50 of these private lavoirs along the river, each of which has been restored and beautifully planted up with attractive flower displays."

The scene above shows two such lavoirs.  The weather was glorious and the surroundings peaceful - the twitter of birds and the hum of bees complementing the ambience!

To see other scenes from around the globe, do visit Our World Tuesday, kindly managed by a wonderful team - Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy & Jennifer. Thank you ladies for your dedication to keeping this fascinating blogsite up and running!
 

On the way home ...

On my way home from the Fleurieu Peninsula outing, I came across this lagoon

 

 

 

which was the "icing on the cake" - and yet another reminder (if one was needed!) of why this region is my favourite part of South Australia

 

Joining in the fun at James' Weekend Reflection

Fabulous Fleurieu

Recently I visited a cousin who lives at Encounter Bay, near Victor Harbour on the fabulous Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.

We drove to Petrel Cove and this was the scene from the carpark....

 

 

On the Victor Harbour side of the Bluff, I aimed my camera at this boat and its passengers - imagine my surprise, after uploading the image and zooming in, to notice the passengers had been deeply engrossed checking out their smartphones!!

 

. . . and this Magpie dropped by as we stood in the carpark

 

A lovely day's outing in good company in my very favourite part of our State.

 

Sharing the views with Skywatch Friday

High St Oxford

High Street, Oxford (England)

 

Joining in the pictorial fun at James' Weekend Reflection

Breathtaking BC

 

Having been a bit preoccupied of late to get out with the camera,

today I am drawing on some images from last year's travels.

 

The year began with a spectacular 3-week house exchange on Vancouver Island

in British Columbia.

Following are just a few shots from that visit.

(Those of you in the northern hemisphere may perhaps have seen

your share of snow - especially recently! However, it is a rarity for us in the

southern hemisphere, hence my fascination with these scenes)

 

Taken in Cathedral Grove

Near Englishman River Falls

Looking across Blue Heron Bay to Mt Baker in the US State

of Washington.

 

Joining in the fun at Our World Tuesday

(with thanks to the team who manage the site)

Cute & Pretty

 

The cute calf above I spotted during the recent brief holiday to the Fleurieu Peninsula

(and taken with my Nikon P510)

 

while the butterfly was on the grass of a local oval where I take Jessie for her exercise

(and was taken with my smartphone - hence the lack of sharpness)

 

 

Sharing both creatures with Camera Critters

 

and wishing you all a wonderful weekend

Keukenhof surprises

Enroute to the UK last year, I stopped off in the Netherlands for a couple of days and was generously treated to a visit to the Keukenhof Gardens -

a showcase of glorious blooms covering some 30+ hectares (with a few feathered friends and others). Following is a small sample of its offerings -

 

 

A Mandarin Duck

 

 

( For some reason I am unable to enlarge these images within Blogger, but hope you will still be able to get a feel for the environment there!)

 

Linking up with Outdoor Wednesday

 

 

Canvas of day's end

Wonderful textures unfolding at day's end along the coastline of

South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula

 

Linking up with Skywatch Friday (thanking Yogi, Sandy & Sylvia for hosting)

and James' Weekend Reflection

Crazy piano!

During my recent rambles around the Fleurieu Peninsula, I spotted this artistically painted piano in a shopping mall.

(I doubt this is how Mr Wertheim anticipated one of his masterpieces would be used, but nevertheless it made a clever and colourful addition to the surroundings!)

 

Visit Our World Tuesday to see a variety of other scenes from around the globe.

(and a BIG thank you to the ladies hosting that site)

What stories this holds

This charming old cottage, seemingly abandoned in the midst of the Fleurieu Peninsula, caused me to wonder about its former inhabitants and their lives.

I also wondered about what appears to be a huge painting leaning against the outside of the home - had it been on an inside wall? why was it now outside? how was it apparently not damaged by the weather???

(... wished I'd made an effort to ask these questions of locals at the time !!!)

 

. . . and these wonderful gum trees were adjacent to the Ingalalla Waterfall (shown in a previous post) - their rich trunk and bark colours complement the surrounding environment.

 

Linking in with Outdoor Wednesday