Category: Australia

Cat among the tulips

September 18, 2020

Cats Beware!!!

He knows something you might not. Did you know that tulips are toxic to cats? Have a look at what they did to this cat! He’s been sitting there literally stoned, for many, many years.

What are you looking at?

Seriously, the bulbs are apparently where the real danger lurks, but any part of the plant can cause harm. The cat doesn’t have to consume very much for it to be a lethal dose.

Mind you this cat has shown no symptoms. He could have been affected by the allergenic lactones, that might have caused vomiting, diarrhoea and depression, even death. But wait, he is looking a little depressed. His ears are definitely not in a happy way.

A dark red tulip

So be careful, the dangerous dosage is less than one leaf.

And if that’s not bad enough… That beautiful bouquet of tulips on the table contains yet another threat.. If your poor old moggie takes a drink from the vase, he could be ingesting poison in the water.

They’e poisonous to other animals as well. But that’s another post…

Cactus Macro

September 17, 2020

It was fascinating. But I was worried that when concentrating and looking through the view finder, I might not be able to judge my distance away from this prickly character. Especially with the new tube attached making the lens longer.

I’m still learning to manipulate the functions of my camera, (despite having had it for years). I must have got over enthusiastic, because this shot (below) was, I admit, totally accidental. I wish it wasn’t! It’s just a double exposure, but to me it looks like little satellites surround the plant.

This shot is effective in black and white. Those thorns are sharp. I think I got a few in focus.

Beginning macro

September 16, 2020

Tulips became the subjects for my mucking around. I got some very unusual views.

Loving the water drops from the hose, just before I took the pictures.

The white ones also had a shower.

Closer up, you might not recognise the flowers as tulips.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day

Sweet new toy.

September 15, 2020

Playing around with macro photography

My new extension tubes arrived in the mail. They were the cheap plastic variety, but I was still thrilled. I found the first sweet pea of the season also today. It made sense that I played around with both. I have only used the first one so far. Two more to play with later.

I love this shot. I tried to move the camera so that the tendril underlined the curve of the flower.

I’m also playing around with different feels to my pictures. In the shot below I experimented to see if I could get a romantic soft fuzzy feel. I used some paper around the lens to confuse the camera. It’s like looking through the fuzz to see the sweet pea. I was annoyed that I cut off just a little too much of the stem, I wanted more. Maybe if I had a fancier program I could post edit it back. No, that’s too much of a challenge just yet.

I forced myself to NOT use auto focus. That’s a whole new learning experience. I moved around the subjects, and that makes everything much more complicated.

The shot below isn’t quite right. If only I could reverse the flower into the light. Maybe one day I’ll save up and buy Lightroom.

I got carried away with this last shot. Maybe there’s too much drama with the dark surround. Sweet Peas are too delicate for such a dramatic pose. But….I have just discovered vignettes. And I learnt how to use them, even if it’s only in paint. Maybe one day I’ll have Photoshop???

I’d love to know your thoughts. Which pictures do you prefer?

Grey birds

September 13, 2020

Did you know some birds use their wings to make sound?

This is a crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes). It uses its feathers to communicate with other birds. They make noises when they fly, sometimes being called whistle-winged pigeons. The wings can make different notes, high notes signal danger. For more information click here.

Here’s another visitor. I need help identifying it.

It is a Noisy Miner. Eliza Waters, on the other side of the globe in Massachusetts, US, identified it from another Australian blogger’s site.

Red Tulip

September 12, 2020

But I have always thought that these tulips must have had names. They were red, and orange and red, and red and orange and yellow, like the ember in a nursery fire of a winter’s evening. I remember them.
― Neil Gaiman,”Coraline”

Red tulips represent true love. Red evokes passion and romance.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Rock Lily

September 11, 2020

Rock lily (dendrobium speciosum ) is a small orchid native to Australia.

Photo from Carol Hall.

It is found growing on rocks in southern half of eastern coast. It flowers in spring with sprays of graceful blooms. This one originated from her mother in law and she had it for 40 years, growing in pots.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge

More Paradise

September 11, 2020

Did you know that there are different colored bird of paradise plants?

This flower is also known as the crane flower because of its distinctive shape. Apparently there are 5 species of Strelitzia but I think I’ve only ever seen this one. I really want the white one, but they grow much, much larger. I read somewhere you have to wait for years for the plant to flower.

I tried to take some photos from more unconventional angles. From underneath….

and then there’s this one….

My ‘arty’ shot click here