Strolling through the nursery

It was still early so I stopped at one of my favorite nurseries only to be greeted by this drunken pair soaking up the sun. LOL!! They are about 3 foot in height and I loved the bottle sticking out from its hiding place.
There was a lovely show of pansies of every color imaginable.
I have never seen such tiny dwarf daffodils and although this is not the best picture I took, I had my finger next to it to give you some perspective.
I cannot believe that there are so many flowers around in the beginning of winter. These Camellia’s looked beautiful.
…and the cyclamen came in many different colors too.

This Azalea looks beautiful with the drops of water on it.
This is a truly beautiful bonsai and is about 18 inches in height. I did not recognize what kind of tree it was but looked like it might be something with flowers. I love the way the stem has been trained.
A late rose.
On the one side of the nursery, they have a pet shop and were selling these lovely koi. They were about 3-4 inches long….still babies.
After this I stopped to pick up something for lunch and headed home. Hope I could should show you something different today!!

Dahlias - Part 2

I am dedicating these to a very special person in my life who would have been 78 today.....my Mother.

Frangipani

They are one of the most beautiful and fragrant trees we have around I love them in the garden as they come in a wide variety of colors.

The following interesting information is courtesy of Wikipedia:

Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.
"Plumeria" species are easily propagated by taking a cutting of leafless stem tips in Spring and allowing them to dry at the base before inserting them into soil. They are also propagated via tissue culture both from cuttings of freshly elongated stems and aseptically germinated seed.
The genus, originally spelled Plumiera, is named in honor of the seventeenth-century French botanist Charles Plumier, who traveled to the New World documenting many plant and animal species. The common name "Frangipani" comes from an Italian noble family, a sixteenth-century marquess of which invented a plumeria-scented perfume.
In Mexico, the Nahuatl (Aztec language) name for this plant is "cacalloxochitl" which means "crow flower." It was used for many medicinal purposes such as salves and ointments.
They are now common naturalised plants in southern and southeastern Asia, and in local folk beliefs provide shelter to ghosts and demons. The scent of the Plumeria has been associated with a vampire in Malay folklore, the pontianak. They are associated with temples in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures, though Hindus do not use the flowers in their temple offerings.
In several Pacific islands, such as Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii, Tonga and the Cook Islands Plumeria is used for making leis. In modern Polynesian culture, it can be worn by women to indicate their relationship status - over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.

Mushrooms - Part 1

This is probably not the most exciting post I have done, but it shows a variety of the mushrooms found here. Todate I have not found any colorful red ones although I do believe we have some.

Sunday morning birdpark visit

From the North west side of town I suddenly had a longing for a piece of chocolate cake. There is only one place I buy it from and it is on the south east side of town. OUR TOWN IS LARGE!.......so it took me a while to get across there. Near to it, I remembered the bird park was nearby so I decided to stop there.
These were sitting on the wall watching the action on the other side of the dam.
There were some Egyptian Geese there and I thought that they have lovely colors on their backs.
These are Wattled Crane, Sacred Ibis and White-faced ducks.

It was preening time and most were found in pairs doing just that.
This Ibis posed nicely for me in order to get its reflection as well.
There was plenty of action with some coming and going all the time, but I had only taken my 55mm lens with me so could not get any close-up of it.
There were Mallards, Egyptian Geese, White-faced duck, Yellow-billed Teal and Knobbed Koot.
Then I went to the cake shop only to discover that they had closed down. NOW where am I going to get my twice yearly chocolate cake fix??

Winter walk 26/7

Early morning and there are about 30 birds sitting outside the window in the tree waiting to be fed and making one hang of a racket. This was taken through the glass so it is not so good, but you can also see how misty it is in the background. Even at 10pm, it was still cold outside although the sun is shining, but it has no warmth today so I have not been able to sit outside. I decided to take a walk down the road and found another pray mantis sac of eggs. This is the second one I know of around here and will be watching them to see when they hatch. There was also a very large bagworm hanging from a tree waiting for warmer weather. (Me too…no, I am not a bag or a worm!! I am waiting for warmer weather! LOL!!)
Did you know that you can grow roses from seed? Did you know they had seed? The reason why the nurseries do not do so is because it is much more difficult than growing it from a cutting.
Poor old Petunias!! They are definitely on their last legs…a bit like me. LOL!! But I see there are new buds starting out there too.
The gooseberry bush is definitely at the end of its season. They get fruit in winter but the bush looks sad with just these few fruits still on it. I ate the ripe one and it was lovely and sweet.
Hmmm!! Dipped in fresh cream they are as delicious as strawberries.
The Lantana have no more flowers on them so there is not a butterfly to be seen. It is dreary out there and I headed back home to a cup of coffee and a slice of pizza. Now THERE’s a good breakfast for you!! I guess I will curl up with a book and try to keep warm inside. Maybe later it will get warmer!!

The most beautiful lilies on earth

I was a very spoilt lady as from the day I met my husband, he bought me flowers every weekend. When these Stargazer lilies were in season, ever basketful of flowers had them in as he knew how much I loved them. They have the most beautiful perfume. Just one in the house, would make the whole place smell wonderful. I have just planted some in my garden and cannot wait for them to bloom. These were bought and come from a hothouse at one of the nurseries.