We were driving out along the Harley Valley again this weekend and decided to try another of the eating establishments. This one is quite different from Ambermere Rose Inn that I showed you recently.
And so this walk through the bush ends. Fresh or familiar like this Grevilla ( Grevillia Buxiflolia ) there is always something to bring me joy on such a stroll. As I near civilisation I see through the olive green eucalypts, the bright yellow leaves of exotic garden trees beginning to turn on their autumn colour. A different delight for my soul.
On the way back, coming into ear shot of those noisy frogs again I diverted off the track to see where they were living. It was just a swampy puddle with not even a dragon fly to brighten the scene. I've seen quite a lot of dragon flies in the garden lately.
I saw other familiar flowers -- pink grevillia, blue dampiera, yellow hibbertia, and small white flowers that I don't know the names of. And this was a new one. I think it is a Pine leaf Geebung ( Persoonia pinifolia ). I identified my f irst Geebung (another variety) on one of my Sweet Wayfaring drives recently.
It is warm and humid from recent rain. Stinging flies are sipping the sweat on my brow. I brush them away as I turn back along the fire trail towards home. I wonder if having a mountain bike would make the return trip easier or just make me perspire more. (The only people I met on this walk and a new photo for my weekend people series.)
Tiny white flannel flowers ( A. Minor ) straggle in the sandy forest floor among the ants nests. Much smaller than their big sisters ( Actinotus helianthi ) which flower mainly in spring.
Ever since my surprise spider out at Whistler's Rest I keep an eye out for tiny bugs in the soil and on the leaves. No luck today, just a few ants nests in the damp sand and a orange bug with long legs that scuttled around too quickly for my slow camera reflex.
Varied Sword-grass Brown ( Tisiphone abeona ) . Thanks to Elaine and Steve for the identification The day is warm and summer-like. Butterflies dance across my path in dying warmth. This one was a little slower than the others.
There are always are few Mountain Devil (Lambertia formosa) flowers there to delight me whatever the season. I can hear a chorus of frogs calling, we must be near water.
A little further along the track the autumn flowering banksias ( Banksia spinoisa) are beginning to stir. I could hear the high pitched piping of the Eastern Spinebill but was too impatient to wait for it to show itself. These flowers are an important source of nectar for these honeyeaters during the lean winter months.
The bubbly bark of the old man banksia ( Banksia serrata) with their summer flowers now spent make me think of the ancient timeless beauty of the forest. In the distance (too far away for my camera) I saw a pigeon and bower bird in the gnarled old branches.
I found time to go for a short walk in North Lawson Park this weekend. I didn't go anywhere in particular and saw no waterfalls or escarpment views, just a lovely stroll through the bush looking for the evidence of the change of season. Australian forests are largely evergreen eucalypts so the change is subtle but still there. Over the next two weeks let's see what we find.
Behind Horse Shoe Falls, Hazelbrook I am participating in the City Daily Photo theme day on my favourite part of town. I had to think what I like most, the big blue mountain views with mist in the valleys, the places where the wild flowers grow or where the water falls by ferns. Oh I love them all. Sadly I am not getting out among it much at present so not posting regularly on this blog. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants