Today's Flowers #20

Christmas Bells...Blandfordia nobilis
FLOWERING: December - February

Christmas Bush...Ceratopetalum gummiferum
FLOWERING: October - November

Around the house

No it's not a mouse, it's an antechinus. This one jumped into the vase.

We get echidnas stomping through the yard.

Bats!

Flight of the flying foxes...thought I'd just sneak this one in.

What's rare in your area?

Styphelia angustifolia
HABITAT: open forest, rocky outcrops
FLOWERING: December - March

This species has a scattered distribution, and has only a few recorded sighting in the area (Lucky for me, there's a shrub growing near my house).

In my area, this species is unusual because it has cream flowers with pink stamens, instead of the ususal pale green flowers.

Watery Wednesday #14: Rain drops and Apple-berry

Billardiera scandens Apple-berry, Dumplings
HABITAT: in wet scleraphyll forest, rainforest margins and occasionally coastal heathland.
FLOWERING: September - December
The fruits of this little twining plant are edible. The ripe fruit can be eaten raw, the green fruits after roasting.





It rained on Thursday...

The rain didn't stop till Friday night..
The sun came out on Saturday....

Flooded: Part of a mountain bike track

Wild Orchids

There are a lot of species of native orchids that grow wild in my area. Here's a snapshot of what's been growing around my house this year.

Dipodium punctatum
Hyacinth Orchid
FLOWERING: November-February

Caleana major
Flying Duck-orchid, Large Duck-orchid
FLOWERING: Semptember-January

Thelymitra ixiodes
Dotted Sun-orchid
FLOWERING: August-October

Petalochilus catenatus (formerly Caladenia catenata)
White Finger, White Caladenia
FLOWERING: May-August

Moon gazing on a windy night

Did you know that the same side of the moon alway faces toward the Earth. This is because it has a synchronous rotation. This means that the Moon is locked in phase with its orbit so that the same side is always facing toward the Earth.

A few degrees of the far side can be seen from time to time. This is because the Moon does not orbit the Earth in a completely circular orbit, making it appear to 'wobble'.