Beauty and The Beast

You can choose which you think is which - I don't know anything about Mons Jules Elie, he might have been a beast. But if he got this lovely flower named after him, then that's unlikely. But I don't want to give the Lizard a bad rap, either. In his own way, he is pretty handsome. OK, the flower is a Peony, and one of the most beautiful of the old-fashioned Lactiflora Peonies, with a delicious perfume. This is, as indicated, Monsieur Jules Elie. It is a huge flower. This is a delightful flower, and I am pleased to have grown it, despite the neglect which my plants have had to put up with.
This is an Eastern Water Dragon, doing what his name implies - hanging out near water. This was taken beside the Nepean River, just before it enters the SCA's "Special Area", just below Tourist Road, in Kangaloon. Strangely, he was very placid, and was reluctant to move, even though I was barely 3 metres from him. Obviously he knew he could give one kick and be safe in the water. Both his right legs (front and rear) are folded back, with the toes turned upside down. (Click on the image to enlarge it - to see what I mean.) I'm not sure what that posture means, but he is not in a "rearing to go" position, anyway.

As with the other Water Dragon I showed several weeks ago, (that one was much larger than this fellow) the tail is deceptively long. That's why I have labelled the photo to show exactly how far the tail extends.

Gaye from the Hunter has an interesting post about her resident Water Dragon, which you might like to check out here.