Big Changes and Family

24th February

25th February

11th March

13th March

14th March - Only 23 hours later!

16th March

(13th February -Hoping for more of these)

And this is the reason why I happily let huge caterpillars eat a little of my citrus trees! Citrus/Orchard butterflies are the largest butterflies we see locally. I have enjoyed seeing them fluttering around over the last month- this female one was just over our fence in the neighbour's yard recently. Stunning! 

The Citrus/Orchard caterpillar changes appearance quite remarkably over a few short weeks. Sunday afternoon I saw Mr Caterpillar attaching to our mandarin tree and settling in to begin to pupate. When I looked Monday morning it still looked like a caterpillar, drying and changing colour.  I nearly completely overlooked him a few hours later, thinking Mr Kookaburra must have found him. The rapid change is stunning. He is so well hidden now I doubt He will be taken as food by a bird. Hoping for a happy ending in the fullness of time.

Looks like we'll be enjoying our own avocados again in a few months too!  :)

Good changes have been taking place in our family also with my husband making a gradual return to work (state government office job) over the last few weeks. Last week he worked 12 hours, this week he will work 15 hours and hoping to manage 18 hours next week. 

He has not been well enough to work since mid April 2014, nearly two years ago. My husband, and consequentially our whole family, have been through a maze of massive physical and mental health struggles during this time, an unpredictable rollercoaster of complex conditions and unusual complications. My husband (always accompanied) has seen a multitude of doctors and specialists, some of which we still visit regularly. His healing is ongoing yet some permanent damage remains. 

The good news is that his 'eczema' is virtually completely gone. In actuality his adult 'eczema' was always his body's reaction/addiction to the cortisone/steroid creams/drops/tablets which he was continually prescribed by various doctors and specialists for 24 years to treat the skin (which first flared on our honeymoon after a bad asthma attack a few weeks prior to our wedding was treated with lots of cortisone). His quality of life, and ours as family, has been hugely impacted by his ongoing struggles with his skin (total body, including scalp, eyelids etc) and general health over these many years.

All going well, he is hoping to increase to a full-time work load within a couple months. Maybe he will even be capable of safely driving a vehicle again within a few months. 

We are certainly hoping some of these recent chapters of life are never, ever revisited. Through perseverance, medical assistance and God's grace we stand where we are today and choose to appreciate the goodness of each day and to look ahead with humility and optimism. Big changes - for the better!

Ebor Falls

Even better than I remembered, the Ebor Falls were a beautiful sight in the afternoon sunlight. Recent rains meant a good water flow but not of flood proportions. The upper falls have two distinct drops over columned basalt rock.

 The Ebor Falls are pleasantly easy to view with wheelchair friendly access from a picnic area just off the Waterfall Way. It takes less than an hour to drive here directly from Armidale, however we had taken a stunningly scenic route with detours to Hillgrove, Wollomombi Falls and Point Lookout/Eagles Nest.

This is just the top half of the upper falls as the Guy Fawkes River begins to descend. I love the touch of rainbow colours in the spray.

There is a gently sloping pathway to follow which soon reveals some eye-catching natural rocks....

and another waterfall! These are the lower Ebor Falls, with the double upper falls in the background. If only I could make the trees on the righthand slope invisible we would be able to see all three sections of the falls at once.

Wandering back up the path I kept stopping to admire the amazing rainbow spray of the lower falls.

I was so enthralled with the rainbow effects that I nearly missed this bright little fellow on the walking track which Miss E pointed out to me. My 'Insect of Australia' book identifies it as a Monistria Concinna, a slow-moving NSW alpine grasshopper. 

Miss E also directed my attention to this beauty standing tall in the grasses just off the track. I'd never seen a flower like it. Thanks to the internet I've been able to discover that it's a Dipodium Punctatum, commonly known a purple-spotted Australian ground orchid, or hyacinth orchid. 

This native orchid doesn't have any significant leaves and is classified as being terrestrial or saprophytic, obtaining its food from organic matter in the soil.

The land beyond the walking track is currently a beautiful display of golden Australian everlasting daisies in the late summer. So many wonderful scenes with very little walking required. We headed off with one more stop to make.....

Witnessing Miracles

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 For over a week the golden wiggling chrysalis has remained attached to our front gate. Early this morning we were fortunate enough to witnessed a miracle happen. Photos # 3 to # 8  were taken within two minutes (and 10 seconds). This beautiful Australian Black Jezebel Butterfly stayed for over two hours to adjust to its final metamorphosis.  

This gave me time to gaze in wonder at its intricacies, to appreciate the miracle and be grateful. It made me feel strangely plain and underdressed. Jezebel then flew off to enjoy being the butterfly it was created to be. 


Sharing at Weekly Top Shot.

"Is it a Snake?"

That was the thought which flashed through my mind when first I saw this flower spike out of the corner of my eye. As it grew taller my curiosity grew also - what was this going to look like?

Then in the middle of one day some buds seemed to be swelling.

Five hours later when next I looked, they had sprung open.

Above and below were also taken late that afternoon, each flower appearing like a bell during its opening process.

Each day a few more buds would swell and then open late in the afternoon. Here my favourite little model  gives you an indication of the size of the flower spike (as well as the spinach/silverbeet which seems to love this particular spot in the garden).

A total of 30 days passed between the first and last photos here. It was quite a delightful experience to watch this yucca plant flower, a plant which I didn't expect any flowers from at all.