Tag Archives: nature

resplendent robin

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Winter has arrived and our gorgeous scarlet robins have returned. They form permanent monogamous pairs and move to the open forests during the warmer months, returning to nest in our garden as the days shorten. The male makes quite a show once he is back, letting everyone know this is his territory again. Late one afternoon, he spent quite some time admiring himself in the window. Unfortunately, he was in shade and I didn’t capture him in all his glory.

The next day, Michael sat patiently while the sun shone on the same perch, in the hope of catching the perfect image.

5.no robin

Initially disappointed, he was soon rewarded with a prolonged robin lavation.

The black headed honeyeater seems bemused by the aquatic antics, reluctant to take the plunge.

10.robin & friend

I haven’t seen the female recently and assume she is busy building the nest while he makes himself irresistible.

I’m pleased to say he is not totally narcissistic. While his partner incubates the eggs, he will feed her and both parents share responsibility for feeding the young.

13.robin

Bali Elephant Camp

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Although there is some controversy about the keeping of elephants for the entertainment of tourists, it was something I wanted to see for myself. Bali Elephant Camp is home to a herd of Sumatran elephants, brought to Bali as part of a government program in 2004. The aim was to establish a protected remote population, to care for the elephants and promote the plight of these beautiful creatures. A declining natural habitat and the sickening actions of poachers has seen the Sumatran elephant population decrease by 70 percent in the past two decades. I was surprised by the distance from ground to back of elephant and the rocking gait took a while to get used to.

2.starting out

Our pachyderm was named Ari. He gently swayed his way along the path

3.down the path

guided by his personal mahout with the twitch of the rope and a whispered word.

4.nice hat

We stopped briefly, very glad we weren’t following behind.

5.when you've gotta go...

With a lighter load, we continued through gardens

before the landscape became a verdant, tropical jungle.

10.jungle

13.jungle

The nerves were jangling as the path neared the edge of the precipitous valley, hoping our mount was as surefooted as he appeared.

14.jungle15.jungle

At the end of the thirty minute trek, Ari cooled off in the wading pool while we remained high and dry.

16.cooling down

Returning to home base, Ari posed for a couple of photos

before enjoying some delicious fresh fruit and vegetables.

It was time for us to do the same, lunch at the restaurant didn’t disappoint.

23.restaurant

An afternoon downpour was very welcome and alleviated some of the heat.

24.afternoon shower

These elephants are well fed and well cared for and the funds raised from riding these magnificent creatures help protect their wild cousins in their native habitat in Sumatra. I know there are two sides to every story and this may not be the life an elephant should be living but it is far better than this.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/erin-the-elephants-plight-casts-spotlight-on-conservation-in-indonesia

 

lunar landscape

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One of the wondrous elements of living in the backwoods is the presence of a clear night sky. Many times, the night is never really dark, the light of the moon and stars filter through the closed curtains. Our last full moon was no exception. One evening, I had tucked myself into bed while Michael accompanied Poppy outside for her bedtime ablution. He promptly returned to retrieve my camera with the message that the moon was amazing. The first photo showed the bright, waning moon shrouded mysteriously in cloud.

1.moon

What followed was nothing less than spectacular. The countless craters, produced by meteor impacts are clearly visible. The dark regions are the seas, though they don’t contain water but are remnants of lava flows on the moon’s surface. Curiously, almost all the moon’s seas are on the side of the moon facing Earth. The light areas are the highlands and the bright rays shooting outward are impact craters. I wonder what is on the dark side of the moon?

2.moon

the humble bumble

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One of the things we noticed on our earlier visits to Tasmania was the presence of the bumblebee, something we had only seen in Britain. I was distracted from my gardening recently by the frenzied activity around the Grevillea.

1.Grevillea

I sat with my camera, trying to capture these gorgeous little creatures at work. Bombus terrestris have round, furry bodies with a yellow band across the thorax and abdomen and a buff coloured tail end.

2.bumble bee3.bumble bee

They were first found in Tasmania in 1992, presumably introduced from New Zealand. Like their honey bee relatives, the bumbles feed on nectar. They lap up the liquid with their long, hairy tongues, sometimes making a hole in the base of the flower to access the nectar.

4.bumble bee5.bumble bee

Our cooler climate doesn’t bother these bees, they can absorb heat from even weak sunshine and are well insulated under their thick coats.

6.bumble bee

Bumblebees are very social insects and, apparently, very smart. There have been many studies on the behaviour of bumbles, I like the idea that they can play football

https://www.nature.com/news/bees-learn-football-from-their-buddies-1.21540

7.bumble bee

Unfortunately, in Australia the bumblebees are considered feral, with some concern that, being such efficient pollinators, they will increase the spread of environmental weeds. However, their decline in Europe, North America and Asia is causing concern as they are important agricultural pollinators. Tomato growers in Tasmanian have fought for years to change the laws to allow them to use bumblebees as pollinators but their applications have been rejected on environmental grounds.

8.bumble bee

Newcastle, Eire

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We left Edenderry early morning and headed for the east coast to embark on our counter-clockwise crusade of Eire. We had no accommodation booked, no firm destination. November in Ireland is not a popular time for tourists. We arrived at Warrenpoint around Guinness time and related our previous days escapades to the very friendly barman. He advised us to stick to the coast as, “there is nothing in the middle worth seeing.” Warrenpoint is in Northern Ireland, separated from the Republic by the Newry River. It was the scene of the deadliest attack on the British Army during the 30 year conflict between north and south. Eighteen British soldiers were killed and six seriously injured by two roadside bombs, aimed at their army convoy. The Warrenpoint ambush occurred on the same day, 27 August 1979, that Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb aboard his boat at Mullaghmore. The pervasive tranquility belies the violent history, the views across Carlingford Lough were stunning.

1.Warrenpoint looking west2.Warrenpoint Beach looking east

I wouldn’t mind living in one of these apartments.

3.Warrenpoint

The barman suggested staying the night at Newcastle, only twenty miles further up the coast. We called in at the tourist information office for some advice on accommodation. Most of it was quite pricey but there was one hotel that was awaiting star status so, for now, could only be considered one star. We were happy to have a look and found the Avoca Hotel, though not terribly attractive from the outside, was clean and comfortable and they served an amazing breakfast the next morning.

4.The Avoca Hotel

Overlooking Dundrum Bay and the Irish Sea, there were no complaints about the scenery, either.

5.Dundrum Bay

Newcastle became a popular seaside resort in the Victorian era following the arrival of the railway in 1869. The gorgeous buildings along Central Promenade are testament to that time.

6.Central Promenade

They all seemed well cared for, apart from one ‘renovators delight’ in the middle of the row.

7.Central Promenade

The Mourne mountain range, home to Northern Ireland’s highest mountain, Slieve Donard, lends an impressive backdrop to the town.

8.Newcastle, Eire9.Newcastle, Eire10.Newcastle, Eire

As the sun was descending in the western sky,

11.Dundrum Bay

our thoughts turned to refreshments. We had passed a place on the promenade and returned to ponder the menu. O’Hares had a welcoming, rustic atmosphere

and after a Guinness, we advanced upstairs to enjoy a superb meal. On second thought, there may have been more than one Guinness.

15.O'Hare's Guinness