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.
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.
I took myself down to a nearby (dry) creek and sat in the shade of a California sycamore for a while. This is my favourite local native tree, with its mottled leopard bark and floppy clown-glove leaves. I’d plant one at our place if we had the water, but alas our block is too dry for a sycamore to thrive here.
The fruits have a long maturity time; hopefully this one can hang on for the requisite months.
Our strawberry guava tree is busting out all over with fruit in varying stages of ripeness. We usually leave them for the birds to eat, though sometimes I’ll gather enough to extract a cup or two of juice. We preferred the lemon guava, but sadly that tree died after a few spectacular crops.
When looking up its Latin name, I learned that Psidium cattleyanum is (a) named for English horticulturist William Cattley (1788 – 1835) and (b) considered the most invasive plant in Hawaii. So many unintended consequences, when we move biota around the world.
Well how about that. It turns out that honeybees eat fruit. Amazing what you can learn when you pay attention!
I slipped into a part of the State Park I hadn’t visited before, and followed a deer trail under overhanging boughs, to discover this secluded open glade within a circle of coast live oaks. I lay down on the thick bedding of dry, prickly leaves, my sketching bag as a pillow, and watched the dappled light dance above me.
For a few minutes, I stopped thinking about what the US Supreme Court did yesterday. I just breathed.
Maples are scarce in the Santa Monica Mountains. They need cool, damp, protected shelter, which is in pretty short supply. But we do have two Acer species nearby (one native, one introduced), and today I visited both of them. Gotta love a tree with hairy balls, right?
Watched a quick demo by TJ Marston yesterday and tried to follow along. I struggle with painting trees so was glad for her tips. She says that viewing landscape through the design lens of a landscape architect can improve one’s sketching; an intriguing idea. I might have to take her 90 minute class next month to find out more.
hashiworks 