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Category: nature and travel

“Softly, as in a morning sunrise” (#84 in “a shining moment” series)

Its tautological title notwithstanding, the song is one of the loveliest “jazz standards”.

As is true of many “jazz standards”, it was not written as a jazz song.

This post’s photo (copyright Doug Spencer) was taken recently on a beautiful Spring morning in my favourite “Deep South”.

Australians do not need a passport to access it, but internal border closures currently render it “off limits” to most Australians.

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Passion Flower (#83 in “a shining moment” series)

Most – around 80% – of southwestern Australia’s flower species are endemic.

Many naturally only occur in very particular, small portions of WA’s southwest.

Almost all are extraordinary.

Some are very obviously beautiful and/or highly unusual.

Others – this one, for instance – only reveal their singularity if you stop walking, get your head down to where the flower is, and look closely.

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Word power: Richard Flanagan on “a writer’s achievements”

 

It’s presumed that the author starts with an intention and if the book’s published they’ve succeeded in it. But successful books are ones that have escaped the author’s intentions and become something else. Novels when they succeed are incoherent and contradictory and mysterious. Nothing is more secondary to a writer’s achievements than their original ambition.

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Perfect storm, at last (#82 in “a shining moment” series)

In 37 years of visits to Albany (on Western Australia’s south coast) we had failed to achieve a key ambition: to experience a major storm there.

A few days ago, nature finally obliged; the image shows Lowlands Beach at 3. 54 pm on Sunday 20 September 2020.

Joseph Tawadros provided this post’s suitably tempestuous music.

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But birds are better than bees…

…at least if you are a Kangaroo Paw, seeking effective pollinators,

All Kangaroo Paw species primarily rely on birds; for them, bees are “useless”.

Kangaroo Paws are not alone in relying on vertebrate pollinators; in this respect, Australia’s southwest is the world leader.

And many West Australian plants that do rely on insect pollinators are “liars” – plants pretending to be “receptive” insects!

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