About a year ago I was approached by Dr Jennifer McFarlane, the curator of the Arts in Health program from the ACT Government, who was putting together some artwork for the new University of Canberra Hospital which was then under construction. She was particularly interested in images which would connect people with the local wildlife and bush landscape. One thing led to another and I was asked to pull together a suite of photos which would recreate the feeling of going for a bush walk in the Brindabellas.
Read MoreLorikeet shenanigans
It was the perfect spring evening. We’d just made home-made pesto pasta and sat down to eat on the front porch. We are incredibly lucky to live on top of a hill with views out over Belconnen and to the Brindabellas in the distance.
Read MoreSwainsona the Pea
Do you think I am too orchid-obsessed in my photography? Well, you’re undoubtedly right. But I’m going to use Swainsona, a wonderful genus of native peas, as proof that I can also point a camera at other flowers too…
Read MoreA visual tour of WA orchids
It was a source of great frustration to me that fieldwork in eastern Australia dictated that I leave Western Australia toward the end of August. However, late August in Perth is just about when things start to heat up on the wildflower front and so again, like last year, I will miss the best of the Western Australian Wildflower Experience.
Still, there are a few things to be seen in the winter months. I am very grateful to Ross and Carolyn Jones, who took me under their wing and showed me some of their orchid spots within a days drive of Perth. Not only did we see many beautiful orchids, I got to experience some of the countryside that I otherwise would not have seen.
Read MoreFirewood Banksia II
A year ago I wrote about my first experiences with the Firewood Banksia, or Banksia menziesii. Funnily enough I called that blog post "Banksias up close: a post script", as reference to a previous blog post about Banksia ericifolia. Rather than being a post-script, I think it may have been the beginning of something new; the beginning of a love affair with Banksia.
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