Tuesday, October 23, 2012

24 Hours




Same place (from the footbridge looking west) same time of day (around 8am) same camera (trusty Lumix super zoom) same edits (minimal). Images on the left taken yesterday, images on the right today.



Looking east.....identical edits etc.

The last few days have been very hot, up to 38.9 C (102 F) and windy, perfect for wildfires, or as they are known here, bushfires. Yesterday's local paper read "main fires causing a concern.... a 2000 hectare blaze (5000 acres).....no threat to property....backburning operations will put more smoke in the air..."

We live in a rural area of a big land!

Late yesterday a cool change came through with a few patchy showers of rain. Much of the smoke has been blown away now and hopefully the fire fighters will be able to extinguish the remaining fires.




 Not even the smoke could blot the beautiful jacaranda flowers from sight as they are now all bursting into bloom.




Yesterday morning I came across the local family of wild Wood Duck, there are still 9 ducklings, almost as large as their parents now!




Amongst the smoke-difused light, these nearby amaryllis looked just as wonderful as they could be.

Grateful for a cool change and cleaner air, today is far more pleasant for everyone.


Sharing at Our World Tuesday, SkyWatch Friday.

32 comments:

flowersandhome said...

I wish I could send some of the rain from our side of the world to yours. I hope the bushfires will be under control and extinguished completely.
The Amarillis look gorgeous! I had never seen them growing in full ground in groups like that. It's amazing. Here, Amarillis is known only as an indoor flower.
Bye,
wishing you all the best,
Marian

Giga said...

Oj, to straszne. Pożar i dym mogą zaszkodzić ludziom i przyrodzie. Mam nadzieję, że strażacy dadzą sobie radę z tym żywiołem. Pozdrawiam.
Oh, that's terrible. Fire and smoke can harm people and the environment. I hope that will give firefighters cope with the disaster. Yours.

Jan said...

Yes thankfully much cooler today and an enormous contrast in the outlook! The one with 'columns' under the bridge?
The clumps of Amarillis especially atttractive this year.
Great photos as always.
Blessings.

Michelle said...

The Amaryllis is just gorgeous!

Photo Cache said...

the amaryllis caught my attention. i love them. i own a few in my garden.

Sylvia K said...

I do hate to see the fires come!! We had so many here in Washington this year!! Love your beautiful captures as always, Karen!! Such lovely flowers and colors! Hope your week is off to a good start! Stay safe!

Cat said...

The weather has been terrible these last few days hasn't it! We have a cool change here today and the sky is looking a little better but still it is difficult to see the mountains in the distance, lets hope there is some heavy rain not too far away. The jacarandas are beautiful at the moment. :)

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

What a difference a day makes! Lovely shots.

Unknown said...

it was very smokey yesterday morning when I dropped our car off to get fixed. We haven't had much out here though the wind is driving us crazy today!

Gillian Olson said...

Wow, that is a significant amount of smoke, so glad the smoke has largely gone away now.
The ducklings seem big for this early in the season, but then it is hotter where you are than our spring.

Photo Cache said...

Hi I'm back to reply to the question you left on my blog. The camera I use is Pentax Kr.

Anonymous said...

What a difference the mist makes. Lovely shots.

geanina said...

beautiful shots! :)

Katrin Klink said...

Beautiful pictures!

Cinzia said...

Very beatiful shots!
Cinzia

Gail Dixon said...

Boy, that is really hot! Glad the rains came to help extinguish the fires. The photo differences are incredible! The amaryllis are beautiful!

Rosemary said...

How wonderful to catch up on the duck family! I'm so happy to see they are all alive and well, and such a big-sized group now :)

Deborah Tisch said...

I like your paired shots showing the contrasts in conditions. Very creative!

Unknown said...

Fire is a ascary propostion. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Unknown said...

O Thank God the ducklings have all grown and alive! That's assuring :) Such a lovely family!

Vision By Mila said...

I like foggy days, except when flights are delayed because of fog.. otherwise, I think it's nice & creepy at the same time..

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

However it was smoke, not fog, and hung around all day, with helicopters overhead as they collected buckets of water to fight the fires.....

Laura Delegal - Leroy Photography said...

That's a lot of smoke. When looking at your pics, I thought, "That looks like spring," and then I realized it is in Australia. :D Hope you have a good weekend.

Marijke said...

38 C oef thats very hot. Great the fires are gone and the sky is clean again. Overhere frost is forecasted for the weekend. Your photograps are so great Karen.
Have a wonderful week ahead.

Anonymous said...

so much smoke!! what a difference one day to the other. thank goodness for the rain. your photos are exquisite. can't name one as favorite because they're all really beautiful (except the ones with smoke but that as nothing to do with your eye for beauty). happy Wednesday dear :) xxo
I'm your new follower 545! wow! congrats :)

Jennifer said...

That is a lot of smoke hanging in the air in some of your first pictures. It must effect people with respiratory problems especially.
I have never seen amaryllis planted en mass. They are very dramatic.

Kaipiroska said...

loved your 24h shots. very original :)

renae said...

Wow that was fun to see the comparisons.

I also just noticed that Ana just joined you and she just joined me, too. Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank YOU for joining me.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

The contrast on the same two days is a lot like what happens here in Oregon where we are this time of year; I love the way you presented it next to each other though...perfect, great idea.

Love the rest of the pictures too.

Liz said...

Lovely captures, Karen! We have had similar weather here and busfires. It's been lovely to see all the purples around the plavce in Brisbane too.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Lovely. Really enjoy the comparison shots.

Ocean Soul said...

We had many smokey hazy days this summer too. Very dry and combustible forests. But I can't believe the difference that the rain made in 24 hours! YAY for the firefighters!

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