Our surprise visitor this afternoon was a very friendly kookaburra, an Australian native known for its raucous cackling laugh, also the world's largest species of kingfisher.
Miss V enjoyed some cricket coaching at a nearby small village on the weekend. This village is home to the only fully Australian owned sugar mill, surrounded by cane fields and the river - a very picturesque setting. There are large mounds of sugarcane waste stored near the refinery. There are plans to turn these mountains of waste into ethanol one day for possible use in farm machinery and cane hauling devices. We usually drive straight over this tiny village as we follow the highway, along the bridge over the big river. On rare occasions this bridge opens/raises to allow tall boats to pass through.
Gracie is continuing to pursue her music dreams with further training, a delight to see. Here she is singing one of her originals at a lunchtime concert on campus.
Last night's sunset was stunning. I was collecting children from hockey and cricket practice at the time with only my phone to take photos - I kept watching and snapping, in awe at the changing colours. I was last into our family bus to drive everyone home....
Miss O found a beautiful Scarlet Jezebel (Delias argenthona) butterfly today. Sometimes called a Northern Jezebel, I believe they only live a few days.
And one last look at Mr Kookaburra - I hope he didn't have Miss Scarlet for dinner!
Sharing at SkyWatch Friday.
Hello, wonderful series. Your daughters are beautiful and talented. The closeup of the Kookaburra are just awesome. And I love the beautiful sky shots. Have a happy day and weekend!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to have two daughters who enjoy cricket and singing. A lovely series of photos. The kookaburra certainly is an interesting looking bird, and so cute! Interesting about the sugar cane also.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, absolutely stunning Karen!
ReplyDeleteThank you Denise. Five of my six daughters love to play cricket, even though it’s only in the backyard for our youngest for now. My eldest daughter doesn’t play but does enjoy watching. My eldest son loves to play cricket too.
ReplyDeletemange fine bilder !
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures of the animals. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteNice collection of pictures of your world, especially the bridge with the little house on it and the bird and butterfly shots. Great.
ReplyDeleteOh, I do love your collection of photos for the day!! What a cute one the Kookaburra is and your daughters are indeed so talented and beautiful!! Thanks as always for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful series of photos of precious moments. That Kookaburra is a funny one and the beautiful Scarlet Jezebel butterfly has such an amazing colourpattern.
ReplyDeleteThe evening skies are great!
Lovely pictures! At first I thought the kookaburra was a close up of one of our most common birds; the sparrow, but he has a cheeky look on his face. Then I saw your last picture. When I read your posts it really feels you are far from here in a beautiful part of our world.
ReplyDeleteAn intense stare from the kookaburra in the first photo. Love these guys. Love the pink lighting the clouds. A scenic series of photos.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the cane waste was sand! Such great shots of the kookaburra and butterfly! Your sunset surely was spectacular. Your children do you proud!
ReplyDeleteAnother gorgeous series of images, Karen - thank you for sharing your family and your part of our world. That red/orange coloured cotton ball cloud effect is amazing! ... and of course the kookaburra and butterfly shots are beautiful too. Happy weekend to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great selection of photos...love the kookaburra !
ReplyDeleteDelightful pictures! I love the kookaburra too.
ReplyDeleteThat sky is amazing!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you and your family are "busy" people. Your photos are always exceptional. Love the Kookaburra--as a child I sang the Kookaburra song at Girl Scouts and later, as a teacher, I taught it to my students (always a favorite). Mickie :)
ReplyDeleteAmazing images!
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of amazing shots in your collection. The sky ones are outstanding.
ReplyDeleteDear Karen,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed again reading your post today. Your red sky is stunning.
Cheers, Heidrun
Love these peeks into your daily life Karen. Always love to see your pictures of the amazing Australian nature. Beautiful butterfly and extraordinary bird, it looks as if it's smiling. Also love to read about the endeavours of your children. That picture of Gracie shows how she loves to sing so much. It's great to see our children follow their dreams and making plans for their future, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteMarian
Thanks for sharing the beautiful photo’s!! I always love to see photo’s from places I’m not likely to ever visit!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I wonder if the sugar cane waste would be useable as livestock bedding? It looks so much like wood shaving. I love that the red and white marks on the butterfly actually look like feathers :) and Mr Kookaburra's visits must be such a treat!
ReplyDeleteI just love Kookaburras! I remember when I first moved to Australia and being surprised at how large they were! What an absolutely stunning sunset too :-)
ReplyDeleteNice collection)) have a great Sunday!
ReplyDeletexoxo, Juliana | PJ’ Happies :)
love the shot of Gracie singing especially. What a great family you have and what a great mom you are!
ReplyDeleteWhat an beautiful selection of photos. I love the kookaburra photos and that butterfly is so beautiful, I haven't seen one like it.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful series here Karen! I'm so glad that Gracie is following her dreams... She has the voice of an angel!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful photo set!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad Gracie is being given opportunities to perform.
ReplyDeleteAs always, I enjoy seeing your "views" of life.
Blessings to you!