What's On Show This Weekend ... July 18-19, 2015 ... mid-Winter.

Well, old man Winter arrived in the tropics this past week.  He bought some seriously cold nights and early mornings, and some gorgeous sunrises.

Mid-week it was down to between 7 and 9 deg C  (44 - 48 F).  That is COLD for the tropics.  With very low humidity levels and dewpoints below 0, it was really, really, really cold.  Usually, our overnight winter temps don't get below 10 C.  The electric blanket had a workout, and the winter PJs and dressing gown and woolly socks all came out of the closet.  I even wore a jumper to work three mornings last week!!!!  Of course, it was off by mid-morning as the mercury rose to a more comfortable 22 - 24 C  (71 - 75 C).

Aside for the change in temps., the conditions have remained the same.  It's dry season and the skies are usually bright blue and fairly clear.  I spend quite a bit of time watering garden beds and potted plants these days.

This weekend as I strolled around moving sprinklers or watering with the hose, I spotted ...

Streptocarpus

Dragonwing Begonia

Impatiens walleriana

and this Anthurium in bloom out in my shadehouse garden.

Out on the courtyard garden there was

Eucharis

Azalea

Schlumbergera

and Torenia on show.

In my new garden beds near the carshed,

Pelargoniums in pots are finally blooming.

Justicia brandegeana in the tiered garden beds is covered in bracts and blooms at the moment.  For some reason, the wallabies have not feasted on this shrub in ages and ages.  Hence all the blooms.  It's wonderful to see!

Elsewhere, there are flowerheads on  ...

the Bougainvillea,

the white Penta,

and the Polygala.

You definitely know winter has arrived in my tropical garden when you see flowers appearing on my white Bauhinia.  There are now quite a few buds all over the tree, so there will be lots of stark white blooms popping open for weeks to come.

I usually spot quite a few birds as I wander around the garden and this weekend has been no different.

This male Sunbird was enjoying the nectar of the newly opened Bauhinia blooms.

The Forest Kingfisher is always a delightful sight.

I spotted another Spangled Drongo with its fierce looking red eye.

This pair of  Pied Currawongs were just lazily flitting around from tree to tree, looking for something to eat I suspect.

I spent quite a while watching this little Willy Wagtail doing a jig around the yard this morning.  Such a mesmorizing performance! 

What's On Show This Weekend ... July 11-12, 2015 ... mid-Winter.

The last week of the school holidays is over now, and work starts once more tomorrow.  It's amazing how quickly the time flies when you don't have to set the alarm for an early morning!

The weather has been simply glorious.  Whilst we call this time of the year 'winter', our northern tropical winters are very mild.  Our daytime temps. have mostly been around 25-26 deg C (77-79 F) and we've had day after day of bright blue sky days.

Some of the blooms out this weekend include:

'Bonanza' Petunias ... my favourites.

A rather unusual looking Begonia semperflorens flower.  It looks more like a daisy!

Eucharis amazonica.  I love the delicate sweet perfume of these flowers.

Clerodendrum ugandense or Blue Butterfly Bush.

Impatiens walleriana.

My favourite Impatiens walleriana - the double white.

Kalanchoe.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Pelargoniums.

Gerberas.

Just as an aside:  when we rose this morning we spotted two rather unusual garden visitors.

A Wedge-tailed Eagle and a Whistling Kite were enjoying a breakfast feast in the side yard.

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.