No, It Isn't Autumn!

 I have just spent another glorious 4 days down on the family farm, at Afterlee in Northern New South Wales. I wasn't looking forward to the drive down as the past few months have been extremely dry and the fire danger ratings soaring. The weather forecast stated that there was a possibility of a few millimetres of rain, but no one was at all hopeful.

I set off at 8.30 a.m. for the 2-hour fifteen-minute drive. There was so much beauty in the day that I took nearly 4 hours and arrived in drenching rain, which brought the biggest smile to all the farmers and gardeners. My cousin recorded 28 mm. Further along the creek, 42 mms were noted. Back here in Brisbane, my husband emptied 14 mm. There is now a prediction for more to fall later this week. Fingers crossed.

The further south I travelled, the more dramatic the skies became, accenting the beauty of the flowering Silky Oak trees.

The Silky Oak or Grevillea Robusta is an Australian native tree growing up to 30 metres and lives up to 100 years. They have an ancestry older than the dinosaurs, originating on the super-continent Gondwana. It is quite drought-resistant and I was thrilled that my visit south coincided with its flowering.

Although an evergreen tree, it is almost semi-deciduous, losing most of its foliage just prior to its October flowering. Its bright golden-yellow flowers are actually flower heads made up of 100 small small flowers. They produce large amounts of pollen before a seed capsule is produced. The Honey eaters and parrots love them for the nectar and the cockatoos for the seeds. 

My post, " Breakfast with my Feathered Friends" features the smaller and cultivated varieties of Grevillea.

Views on the journey down.

Down on the farm.

A sunny drive home.

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