The Things You See Sometimes!

I've been at home today, not feeling very well at all.  It's been raining quite heavily this morning, which was wonderful.  I have to admit I did doze off for a bit, but then decided to take a little wander out along the verandah while sipping on a fresh cuppa.

I'm constantly amazed at the sights I get to see here in my little corner of the world.  This particular sight is not all that common, so I was excited.

This is not someone's pet dog that wandered away from its home.  This is Australia's wild dog, Canis lupus dingo.

We just call it 'dingo'.

Over the years I have certainly heard dingo howls echoing down the little valleys here in amongst the foothills.  It doesn't happen every year, but I would say every other year for sure.  I've only ever spotted a dingo here once before and that was way back when we first moved in.

Well today I spotted another.  It looked fairly young, and it was enjoying a lovely little sun bake on a rock just over our yard fence line.  

This wild Australia dog does not bark.  It only howls.

Colours can range from sandy yellow to red ginger.  This is definitely one of the red gingers!  There can also be black, black-tan and even white dingoes.

They're usually most active at dawn or dusk, but this particular dog was enjoying a lovely sun bake in the middle of the day.

I'm not sure how long it had been there, lazing in the sun, but it only stayed around about five minutes once I had walked out onto the verandah.

Flower Flaunt on a Drizzly, beginning-of-Autumn Friday.

We're almost at the end of our first Autumn month and we're getting a few squally patches of rain coming over the hills today.  In between these occasional patches, there's been a very light drizzle since very early this morning.  It's still wet season here, but this is the first bit of rain we've had since about mid-February.  It's not heavy enough to soak very far into the ground here, but it's refreshing.  All in all, the 2013-2014 wet season has been a bit of a disappointment.  There are predictions for more rain over this coming weekend, so we'll wait and see what eventuates.

March is the first month of Autumn here, but you will not see leaves changing colour on loads of leaves falling off the tree.  Most of the trees around here are evergreen, or semi-deciduous, but those that do drop leaves will do it primarily during our dry season.

One tree that does show some change of colour at this time of the year though, is my Koelreuteria or Chinese Rain Tree.

The Koelreuteria formosana has been blooming for a couple of weeks now.  Clusters of small yellow flowers grow from the ends of the branches first,

and these form a 3-sided papery seed pod which starts out a pretty creamy-pink colour

which then turns to rose-pink, and gradually to brown as it dies off.

This tree is on the environmental weeds alerts list, but my neighbours and I have been keeping a look out for any little seedlings popping up ever since my tree started blooming just three years ago.  This poor specimen is planted in a spot with the poorest soil and in one of the driest spots on the property.  It's grown around about 3 metres since we moved in here, 13 years ago, which I think must be a record for the slowest growth ever for this particular tree. 

One tree that is usually covered in blooms by this time of the year is the Lagerstroemia speciosa, or Queen's Myrtle.  I have three growing on the property but they're all a little behind the blooming schedule this year.  Two of them have a couple of blooms appearing, but that's it so far.

As I wander around my place there are a few flowers to be seen.

Hymenocallis

Water Lily

Clerodendrum ugandense

Adenium obesum

our native Cordyline cannifolia or Palm Lily

Plumeria pudica

Crossandra infundibuliformis

Coleus and unknown Salvia

Thunbergia erecta 'Tru Blu'

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

Ixora

Streptocarpus caulescens or Nodding Violet

my unknown Dendrobium ... I think it's a Dendrobium bigibbum (such an unfortunate name!)

Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'

Coleus and Impatiens walleriana

Justicia carnea and Impatiens walleriana

Hibiscus schizopetalus

and the Jasminum officinale is still filling the air with its fabulous sweet perfume.

Out in the bushland, the Acacia has begun its blooming cycle.

I'm not sure which Acacia it is, but I do so love those golden puffs scattered all along the branches.


I'm joining Tootsie for her  Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers  meme.

Friday Flower Flaunt ... On This First Friday of Autumn.

Yes Autumn has officially begun, but it would be hard to tell the difference between the end of Summer and the start of Autumn here.  Some nights have been slightly cooler, but that's about the extent of it.  There are no fabulous Autumn leaf displays around.  The landscape is filled with evergreens.

So it continues to be hot and humid most days, with little or no rainfall from week to week even though this is still wet season.  There is another tropical low forming out in the ocean to the east and it's expected to move closer and develop into a cyclone over the coming weekend.  It may bring some heavy downpours, but we'll see.

At the moment there are a few flower sprays to be seen around my place.

Streptocarpus caulescens and Aeschynanthus in the shadehouse.

Dianthera nodosa near the front verandah.

Double Gerberas outside the shadehouse.

The first flower sprays of the Acacia mangium are appearing.

The flower buds of the Ardisia elliptica are starting to appear once again in the tiered garden beds.

The Galphimia glauca out in one of the front-of-house garden beds has been blooming beautifully for ages now.

The Acalyphas growing in that same front-of-house bed are also in full bloom.

The pink Ixora is blooming in the other front-of-house garden bed

as is the Allamanda cathartica 'Sunee'.

The Koelreuteria formosana or Golden Rain Tree has started blooming.

So have the newly planted Hymenocallis.

The Gardenia 'Soleil d'or' are on show and the perfume is heavenly.

Both of the Pennisetum advenas 'Rubrum ', under the Poplar Gum, are in bloom.

The Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Roseflake' bushes

and the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Snowflake' bushes are always blooming.

The Turneras will only open once the sun starts shining.

The Durantas are all covered in flower sprays and orange berries at the moment.

There is a pot of Crossandra infundibuliformis blooming as you walk towards the pergola.

The Water Lilies are flowering in the pond under the pergola.

The potted Clerodendrum ugandense is still blooming out in the courtyard

and the Jasminum, that is once more starting to cover the pergola, is covered in flowers which fill the air with a lovely faint perfume.

I'm joining Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers