Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Ever wondered why “gum trees” were so named?
The answer will face your stare, if you examine this post’s image!
It shows a Eucalypt, in the aftermath of the most recent of probably many fires which this tree had survived, very near to the Australian continent’s southernmost point.
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No other large desert is so densely populated by humans.
Its remarkably abundant and diverse wildlife also defies preconceived notions of deserts as “empty” or “barren” places.
Most of the Thar Desert is in northwest India; the other 15% is in Pakistan.
The greater portion is in Rajasthan.
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It was – in the exact words uttered earlier tonight on Australian television – “an analog, off-line experience”.
On the morning of 19 October 2019, the valley floor on which we stood was almost twice as high as Australia-proper’s highest peak.
The peaks above us were a deal higher, again.
…and yes – rather more than a thousand, mostly-vertical metres away from us – wild yaks were making their way across a snow-blanketed alpine meadow.
Comments closedThis one is probably the most popular African flower among Australia’s gardeners.
This post’s example was photographed on Anzac Day afternoon, in a petite, surprisingly lush parkland, on the “doorstep” of Perth’s CBD.
Today’s musical selection was inspired by an African flower…or, perhaps, by an imaginary one, blooming in a jungle, somewhere…
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The image shows the sky above Australia’s Perth on 13 April 2020, at 5.31 pm – 27 minutes before sunset.
You almost certainly already know one of this post’s three sky songs, but almost certainly not its particular version.
Comments closedWell, not quite!
However, this post’s vantage point is at the top of Australia’s highest sealed, “all weather” road…and it does give me an excuse to hail a musical hero.
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A Flower is a Lovesome Thing (occasionally, wrongly, it appears online as …a Lonesome…) is one of many exquisite compositions which Billy Strayhorn composed for Duke Ellington.
This post’s flower is one of many orchids that exist only in certain locations in southwestern Western Australia.
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For many birds, standing on one leg is entirely comfortable, even for extended periods.
When did you ever see any such bird lose its balance?
For Homo sapiens, it is another matter entirely.
However, our ability to stand on just one of our own two feet is very much more telling/predictive than most of us realise.
Comments closedIf the tree in question were a deciduous, Northern Hemisphere species, its autumn leaves would be the “right” colour, but otherwise all “wrong”.
These autumn leaves are young and growing, not old and preparing to fall.
They will soon change colour – from red to green, not vice versa.
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The “skin” of almost any tree will reward your close attention.
There are just nine recognised species in the genus Andansonia – the baobabs.
One is Australian.
Two live in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The other six – this one included – are Madagascan, only.
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