Most of the cacti in the bathroom bay window survived a month without water just fine. But this one’s looking a little worse for wear.
vacation casualty
Tag: nature
ardea herodias
where the light isn’t
Shadows can reveal things we may not otherwise notice. We might see new details or shapes, or even additional organisms that were not at first obvious. Shadows also highlight the shape of the object on which the shadow is cast, and show which parts of the organism are touching the surface. They can help explain complex shapes and how parts fit together.
Thanks to natural science author and illustrator Robin Lee Carlson, I now understand why a water strider’s shadow looks like it has big round feet. Fascinating.
Phascolarctos cinereus
Exploring with the grandkids, we spotted a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and her joey high in the branches of an ironbark tree near their home. A lovely sighting for our last day in Australia. Today we fly home.
springbrook
Springbrook National Park is astoundingly beautiful. I can’t believe I lived in south-east Queensland for ten years and never went there; so happy that situation was rectified today.
The Park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, one of Queensland’s five World Heritage properties.
Spectacular waterfalls, lush rainforest, ancient trees, impressive views, exceptional ecological importance and natural beauty makes Springbrook an outstanding place to visit. My sketch in no way does the scenery justice. You need to go there for yourself.
lemon tree very pretty
I sketched a kookaburra in the guest book at our lodgings, but forgot to photograph it before we checked out this morning. But here’s a lemon tree instead.
We’re done with north and central Queensland; our last few days in Australia will be spent in southern Queensland.
at my doorstep
While sketching these orchids at the foot of the front patio this morning, a butcher bird and kookaburra came down to feed on grubs and lizards.
halconia immanis
This big beauty is high on the bathroom wall in our current lodgings, quietly minding her own business.
Lisa Vankula-Donovan (on Instagram as @wannabe_entomologist) is my hunstman-whispering hero. I don’t know how she gets them to walk calmly over her; they usually scoot rapidly away when approached.
tropical beauties
I think this Golden Orb Weaver is Trichonephila plumipes, sometimes called a Tiger Spider. Its web glows yellow, and the legs are a light orange colour, black at the joints. Big spiders are so impressive! This type is not confined to the tropics, so I hope to see more when travel to the sub-tropics.
There are some 750 different types of pandanus; I have no idea which one I was sketching! I love their aerial prop roots.
cape tribulation
Another day, another idyllic swimming hole 😊 September is a great month to visit the tropics. Not too hot, not too wet, not too many mosquitos. No tribulation at all, in fact.
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