November bushwalk

Considering the variable weather we had in November - everything from snow to 30ºC heat - the day for our hike to Lockley Pylon high above Govett Gorge was pleasantly sunny if a bit windy on the heights. We set off on the track towards Mount Hay...



... and stopped for morning tea in the shelter of a rocky outcropping.



We were travelling mainly across heathland with views over the surrounding valleys and plateaux.



As we walked, we could hear the first cicadas singing among the surrounding shrubs, and came across one on the path which stayed still long enough for me to photograph it. Cicadas come in various sizes and colours, and have equally colourful local names like Greengrocer, Yellow Monday, Cherry Nose. This one is a Black Princess.



It was a perfect time for catching the spring wildflowers in bloom, especially flannelflowers ( Actinotis helianthi) which had sprung up in the most inhospitable places:





... even among the branches of a banksia blackened by bushfire two years ago. While it may have killed the banksia, the fire is the direct cause of the proliferation of flowers this year.



The flowers of Dampiera stricta are truly this intense blue:



On the way back, we came upon a well-camouflaged cow orchid (Cryptostylis subulata)in a clump of greenery. Although it is supposedly common in this area, it is not common enough to make it into either of my encyclopaedias of Australian plants.



Waratahs have already finished flowering, but their new young foliage glowing in the sunlight is very attractive.

November bushwalk

Considering the variable weather we had in November - everything from snow to 30ºC heat - the day for our hike to Lockley Pylon high above Govett Gorge was pleasantly sunny if a bit windy on the heights. We set off on the track towards Mount Hay...



... and stopped for morning tea in the shelter of a rocky outcropping.



We were travelling mainly across heathland with views over the surrounding valleys and plateaux.



As we walked, we could hear the first cicadas singing among the surrounding shrubs, and came across one on the path which stayed still long enough for me to photograph it. Cicadas come in various sizes and colours, and have equally colourful local names like Greengrocer, Yellow Monday, Cherry Nose. This one is a Black Princess.



It was a perfect time for catching the spring wildflowers in bloom, especially flannelflowers ( Actinotis helianthi) which had sprung up in the most inhospitable places:





... even among the branches of a banksia blackened by bushfire two years ago. While it may have killed the banksia, the fire is the direct cause of the proliferation of flowers this year.



The flowers of Dampiera stricta are truly this intense blue:



On the way back, we came upon a well-camouflaged cow orchid (Cryptostylis subulata)in a clump of greenery. Although it is supposedly common in this area, it is not common enough to make it into either of my encyclopaedias of Australian plants.



Waratahs have already finished flowering, but their new young foliage glowing in the sunlight is very attractive.

Bottlebrush Season

When we arrived home after 5 weeks overseas, the bottlebrushes (Callistemon citrinus)were in full bloom. We have a small one planted in the garden, but it is not nearly as spectacular as these ones planted along the Great Western Highway that links the Blue Mountains with Sydney.



While I was admiring them an elderly gentleman with a distinct resemblance to Santa Claus appeared, and told me he had been instrumental in getting the Roads Authority to plant them when they upgraded this particular stretch. He had augmented their efforts with some of his own along the edge of his property, and allowed me to take a photo of him with the beautiful results.



The yellow flowers are Coreopsis grandiflora, which grows wild along the railway lines and roadsides in much of New South Wales. In our area there is a rumour that seeds were deliberately scattered by a train traveller, who no doubt saw herself as an antipodean Miss Rumphius. (If you don't know who Miss Rumphius is, your childhood education is sadly lacking. Googling her name will help you out.)

Bottlebrush Season

When we arrived home after 5 weeks overseas, the bottlebrushes (Callistemon citrinus)were in full bloom. We have a small one planted in the garden, but it is not nearly as spectacular as these ones planted along the Great Western Highway that links the Blue Mountains with Sydney.



While I was admiring them an elderly gentleman with a distinct resemblance to Santa Claus appeared, and told me he had been instrumental in getting the Roads Authority to plant them when they upgraded this particular stretch. He had augmented their efforts with some of his own along the edge of his property, and allowed me to take a photo of him with the beautiful results.



The yellow flowers are Coreopsis grandiflora, which grows wild along the railway lines and roadsides in much of New South Wales. In our area there is a rumour that seeds were deliberately scattered by a train traveller, who no doubt saw herself as an antipodean Miss Rumphius. (If you don't know who Miss Rumphius is, your childhood education is sadly lacking. Googling her name will help you out.)

Hong Kong

On our way home from Europe, we broke the long journey with a couple of days in Hong Kong. It's more than 30 years since I was last there and, of course, the change has been massive. The transformation is still going on with shiny glass and metal towers rising beside crumbling old tenements in both Kowloon and Hong Kong. There are many more cars, and no longer any rickshaws, but the picturesque old trams still provide cheap, convenient transport, and bicycles are still popular with the locals.



The contrasts visible on land also apply to the harbour.



Land being so scarce on Hong Kong Island, there were few shrubs or trees other than in the Hong Kong zoo...and this cemetery, photographed from the top deck of a bus on a rainy day.



However, there is a lovely park on the Kowloon side. The HK heritage centre in the park has interesting photos of the city in colonial times, and a tranquil inner courtyard with a simple but effective planting...



... and a sign that I was sorely tempted to steal:



Our journey ended as it began, with one of our trademark mirror shots:

Hong Kong

On our way home from Europe, we broke the long journey with a couple of days in Hong Kong. It's more than 30 years since I was last there and, of course, the change has been massive. The transformation is still going on with shiny glass and metal towers rising beside crumbling old tenements in both Kowloon and Hong Kong. There are many more cars, and no longer any rickshaws, but the picturesque old trams still provide cheap, convenient transport, and bicycles are still popular with the locals.



The contrasts visible on land also apply to the harbour.



Land being so scarce on Hong Kong Island, there were few shrubs or trees other than in the Hong Kong zoo...and this cemetery, photographed from the top deck of a bus on a rainy day.



However, there is a lovely park on the Kowloon side. The HK heritage centre in the park has interesting photos of the city in colonial times, and a tranquil inner courtyard with a simple but effective planting...



... and a sign that I was sorely tempted to steal:



Our journey ended as it began, with one of our trademark mirror shots:

Paris

For our last four days in France we returned to Paris and the little left bank hotel we had stayed in 15 years earlier. It is still a nice, simple place to stay,and very convenient, being just around the corner from the Gare St. Michel metro station, but last time we'd had an attic room at the back, with a great view of Paris chimneypots. This time we had a first floor room facing the street. Thank goodness for ear plugs! This is a pedestrian-only area of cafes, restaurants and nightclubs and the carousing, shouting, thumping music goes on almost until dawn. Great for people-watching but not so good for sleeping. This is the view from our window at night.



I didn't take many photos in Paris because all the good ones are already on postcards, taken by better photographers with better cameras.
However, I did like this street named after me...



...the Cafe de Flore, haunt of Hemingway, Fitzgerald et al, with its vertical garden



...and the Luxembourg Gardens on what may have been the last sunny Sunday of the year.



Most of the lawns in the Gardens have "Keep Off" signs; you are expected to find one of the lovely old chairs, an almost impossible task on a day such as this. The one stretch of grass where it was permissible to sit became increasingly crowded as the long shadow moved across it and those on the shady side sought a place in the sun.


Of course, we couldn't leave Paris without a mirror shot, appropriately arty.