Nobody knows… most especially those who pretend that they do.
Happy New Year, in any event!
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Category: photographs
Meet Mustela altai.
Asia’s Mountain Weasel, or Altai Weasel is an absolute carnivore whose preferred habitat is 3,500 metres+ above sea level.
On October 12, 2019 my beloved and I had an uncommonly close encounter with one, on his or her “moving day”.
This occurred in a very pleasant valley, just off and below the Tibetan Plateau proper, but – at circa 3, 800 metres – still within this species’ allegedly-preferred altitude range.
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One of Australia’s finest half day walks is the ascent & descent of East Mount Barren.
The path is not treacherous, it is very unlikely to be crowded, and – in mild weather, at least – it is eminently feasible for healthy septuagenarians, provided their knees have not “packed it in”.
The flora at your feet is incredible, most especially in Spring. (See earlier post)
The wider landscape is also magnificent, and no matter how many times you walk up & down this modest “mountain”, it will always deliver something new/different.
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…with a musical bonus, 100% free of irony…and a suitably ironic “salute” to Australia’s most prominent “bad Santa”
Merry whatever to everyone!
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Pictured above and below: Hakea victoria, known as Royal Hakea.
Arguably, it has the most spectacularly variegated leaves of any plant on earth; the individuals in this post are by no means unusually splendid examples.
Fitzgerald River National Park is its stronghold, and all naturally occurring Royal Hakeas are within easy driving distance of “the Fitz”.
Most photos in this post were taken on a morning ascent of East Mount Barren on 21 September 2021.
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The featured image has not been photoshopped; it is not a composite of monochrome and full colour.
Such juxtapositions of the “drab/dark/subdued/almost monochrome” with the “brilliantlly/exquisitely/flamboyantly colourful” are commonplace in southwestern Australia.
Here, some of the world’s poorest soils are in fact the key to an astonishing, highly diverse array of endemic flora.
In global terms, the relevant “mountain” is in fact a relatively modest hill, rising 311 metres above the nearby ocean.
However, if you love wildflowers, this hill has few peers, anywhere…
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This post enables you to see how West Beach sits within the expansive landscape/seascape of Fitzgerald River National Park’s eastern section.
(the western section is quite different, and equally splendid, but “the Fitz” is huge…so even the view from atop the Hopetoun end’s best vantage point will only give you a view over the park’s eastern section)
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This series’ concluding image was taken at 2.42 pm on 20 September 2021.
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This series’ penultimate image shows the western end of West Beach.
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Today’s image offers a closer look at part of the rock-face which was featured in episode 7 of this sequence.
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