Beauty in my garden

Each year about this time these appear

Gratitude for the old year and hope for the new year….

Wishing all my friends and followers in blogland a Happy New Year!

Thank you for your comments and likes over the past year and thank you for the wonderful blogs i have found to appreciate and learn from.

All the best for the new year….may peace reign from Trees in south oz

Winter at the farm…

It seems that winter is well and truly here…..some more pics from the farm…. it had rained off and on for most of the night. The smell of wet bark and gum leaves and the sound of parrots dashing through the trees and the occasional flash of sunlight were sensory delights…..

The marron ponds full of water….

The cows are waiting …..the tractor is coming….

MMMM this is good…….

Hurry or you will miss out!

Meanwhile Pico is off on a hunt of his own…. a piece of chunky wood for me to throw as often as im  willing!

What once was…. now falling into disrepair. Sunlight streaming through the trees….

Mannu gazing down serenely surveying his patch.

weekly photo challenge- Symmetry in the New Zealand Alps

One of many different perspectives at Milford sound. i took this early in the morning before we headed out into the Sound on our boat trip which was spectacular. A day with no rain and some blue sky.

And another clear and gorgeous afternoon at Glenorchy…gazing west across the lake.

A lone dinghy in the mangroves

I loved the colour contrast and the quietness of this pale blue dinghy hove to and tucked away in the mangrove swamps.

My orchid

A couple of years ago a close friend gave me the gift of an orchid. I do love orchids and have bought a number of them over the years, usually when they are in flower. And usually they never flowered again! No matter what i nourished them with….

This is what my gift orchid looked like last year….it started growing these amazing aerial roots. I loved them

 The spikey tipped roots pale green on the ends seemed to be exploring the world outside their pot.

 A few months ago what i thought was going to be another leaf  started to emerge. It wasn’t long before I realised this wasn’t more leaves this was a flower spike. How excited was I…very.

  Over a period of weeks it continued to grow, stretching up towards the sun.

   About four days ago, there was a quite a warm patch of weather. Suddenly the blooms seemed heavier and somewhat larger. And there towards the end of the spike was the first opened flower…delicate and beautiful.

 

 Over the last couple of days more and more have opened. Each morning I venture out the back  to find more. I did count the buds. There were 46 buds.  This is the latest image taken early this morning. They are still not all out….. How amazing  is that?

End of year Reflections

I want to express my thanks and appreciations to all those who have followed, liked  and commented on my blogging efforts this year. It has been an amazing learning experience for me….an ongoing one I might add. I have learnt so much about life in other places, people’s   incredible capacity to be creative beings and the myriad of ways that this can be expressed.

I feel like I know a few of you a little bit through your photos and writings. I have been blown away by people’s talents, creativity, empathy and generosity both in the sharing of knowledge and the sharing of their personal experience and passions.

In the bigger picture it fills me with optimism for our future when I explore other’s blogs, read freshly pressed and appreciate the incredible images that grace my screen on a regular basis from all over the planet… thank you  again and I look forward to the coming new year with anticipation and joy

Yours in gratitude ….Trees