Getting ready for "The Robbo Show"

Nothing is bigger in Robbo than "The Robbo Show". It is our Village's "once-a-year" opportunity to show off. And for the individuals to tell tall stories about the heaviest rain we remember, the thickest fog, and who won the Spud Race, when, and who was tripped up on the last bend, in the fog, and by whom.

All else is meaningless, in this village, if the Show is not a success.

And it always is! We make sure of that!

Today the Show Committee, and their band of volunteers
began fitting out the Show Pavilion for the 2008 Robertson Show.
It will be held on Friday 29 February, and Saturday 1 March 2008.

This coming Friday and Saturday, these Show benches will be laden with Cut Flowers, and the famous Robertson Show Vegetable Competition. The 54 separate window panels of the glass show cases were polished, inside and out. I will have you know that means 108 separate surfaces to clean (guess who did half them?)

These show cases will hold the Cakes, including the "Group 5 Rich Fruit Cake Competition" (from which the winner will proceed to the Zone Final, and in turn the winner of the Zone will proceed to the "Sydney Royal Easter Show"). This is serious stuff, folks. There will also be the Champion Decorated Iced Cake (award and ribbon), the Champion Sponge, and numerous other classifications of cakes, scones, biscuits, pies and home-made chocolates. There are 56 classes in all, just for the Cookery section. No wonder I had to polish the glass in all those windows!

Tapestries, lace-work and needle-work,

knitting and hand-weaving will be displayed here.

I thought I would let you see what the Show Pavilion looked like before the Show got underway. Next weekend you can see what it looked like when the Show is in full swing.


This is the scene from this morning, with cars belonging to the Committee, and volunteers.And in keeping with the tradition of theatrical "dress rehearsals", we even organised the fog to turn up, on cue - in preparation for the real event. Here is the view, in the afternoon, of the gateway to the Robertson Showground, as the fog gathered strength.

And my favourite Fog image:
a giant Radiata Pine, looming out of the fog, this afternoon
in readiness for the 2008 Robertson Show. God Bless the Robertson Show, and the Fog;

and all who participate in them both.

Greenhoods - late summer brings "promise".

The local Greenhood Orchids are starting to flower. Well, I should say that the late summer and autumn-flowering varieties are starting to flower.
The first Greenhood which I found in flower this new season is Diplodium pulchellum, the so-called "Escarpment Greenhood". This particular plant was budding in late January, and was open on 31/1/2008. Others are still developing in another location, not far away. This specimen is not growing in the typical habitat for this species, adjacent to or underneath a waterfall (i.e., within range of the spray drift from a waterfall). This one was growing in a muddy creekbed, alongside some of the Chiloglottis sylvestris plants about which I wrote recently. In this photo above, you can just make out the "labellum" of the flower - held inside the hood. The labellum of Greenhoods is a sensitive organ, and it moves forward or backward in response to movement, or typically, the presence of an insect. This is part of the pollination process of these flowers. When they sense an insect is inside the flower, the labellum snaps back against the column (within the hood) to try and trap an insect where it will brush against the "pollinia". In the case of this particular flower, although I saw it on 3 separate days, I never saw it with its labellum "set" in the forward position.

Close-up of the labellum,
showing its "notched" appearance.

This plant was difficult to photograph because of its location in a Melaleuca thicket (you will have noticed that I was using a flash on all shots, because it is so dark in this area). When you consider that there is a little creek flowing through where these plants are growing, the reality is that one has to get "down and dirty" to take these photos. Oh, and did I mention the Leeches? DJW 1: Leeches 0 on this occasion. I saw the little blood-sucker coming!

In fact this flower was knocked over when the creek level rose, after heavy rain. You could describe it as a mini-victim of a mini-flood.Still, this plant is slightly better off than the Chiloglottis plants nearby which were actually underwater for about 3 days. But then again, all these occurrences are natural, and so presumably these plants (both species) have adapted to these conditions, for they flower in February, in Robertson, which is our normal summer rainy season. So they must expect the occasional inundation.

I shall write more over the next few days about other Greenhood species which are just coming into flower now.

Unusual creatures of the bush

We all know there are spiders in the bush. In the tall Eucalypt forest in East Kangaloon the webs of the leaf-curling spiders, and other spiders really do dominate the bush, as one tries to walk between the shrubbery of the area. The Leaf-curling Spiders form strong webs, in which they include a dried Eucalypt leaf, curled around to make a protective sheath. I seldom photograph these, as there is no chance of getting a good photo of the spider inside, and I figure everyone who knows the Aussie bush is familiar with these things. But the way they dominate the bush in high summer is something new to me. You can hardly walk any distance without having to break through webs, in this part of the tall Eucalypt forests of East Kangaloon.

Anyway, there was one striking Spider which I did manage to photograph the other day. This Spider had a near perfect web - in general terms, its overall shape is circular (known as an "orb"), with each panel adjusted at an appropriate angle, as it intersects each radiating line coming out from close to the centre. At the real centre of the web, where the spider waits, there is a small gap, with few of the fine "arc" lines (the web lines which make up the circular pattern of the main section of the web). Remarkably I managed to find an identity for it. It is Cyrtophora moluccensis, which tells me that this Spider's range extends to the Moluccas islands, in Indonesia, from where the "type specimen" was collected. In fact they range from India, to Japan and Australia.
Apparently the Spider may use a web for several weeks, repairing it as necessary, until she rebuilds it completely. This spider is very colourful. Web photos of this species show great variation between individuals, but the image linked here shows one with very similar markings to my specimen. The back of that specimen is nearly black, but the patterns on the side are virtually identical. Another internet site refers to these Spiders having a rusty red mark on the back of the abdomen - which fits my specimen nicely.

Here is a wonderfully bizarre Stick Insect. 

• I had thought that it was the Tesselated Stick Insect  Ctenomorphodes tessulatus.
• EDIT 13 Feb 2012: I have been contacted by Paul Brock, from the Natural History Museum of London, an internationally recognised expert on Phasmids. He has advised that the correct name for this insect is in fact Podacanthus wilkinsoni. Many thanks for that Paul; I always welcome getting good advice on correct names. 

I was thrilled to find this specimen, as I have not seen one of these creatures, for many many years. It was about 12 centimetres (more than 6 inches) long. Its main feature is its wonderful camouflage. It has a habit of rocking back and forth slowly, seemingly to resemble a leaf, blowing in the wind.

This specimen had been damaged (lost its second and third leg on the left hand side), presumably as a result of an encounter with a predator. Similar injuries are reported in the discussion of the life cycle of these insects, on the Chew Family's wonderful website "Brisbane Insects and Spiders Home Page". The apparent ability to "lose a leg" is speculated on as a survival tactic, as a way of dealing with predator attacks.This insect had very large "leaf-like" appendages on its rear. These are called "cerci", and apparently are tactile, sense organs. I had assumed that they were "claspers" as in Dragonflies, but apparently not. Indeed, you can see in this close-up photo, they do not have any clasping mechanisms, but look almost like flat "paddles".Stick Insects are generally creatures of the tree tops, and so we seldom see them. But apparently females descend to lower levels, presumably to lay their eggs. This one was clinging to the rough bark of a Eucalypt tree, at about one metre from the ground.
This is a top-down view of the head of the Stick Insect. You can clearly see its eyes. Its mouth is apparently designed for leaf-eating (it is not a carnivore). The antennae are not particularly long (compared to the large size of this insect). Male Stick Insects apparently have relatively long antennae, presumably to help them find mates. (Paul Brock says mine is a male.)

Chiloglottis Orchids are out in force, now.

This is very satisfying to report. Three different species of Chiloglottis Orchids in a single day's outing. I went out with Chris, a fellow member of the Illawarra branch of the Australasian Native Orchid Society. Chris is an expert photographer, and he has an excellent website, which you may visit here. I have also linked to Chris's Orchid gallery, via my Aussie Orchid sites links on the right.

These little Orchids are known in general terms as "Wasp Orchids" (a reference to their main pollinating insects). Previously they were known as "Ant Orchids", or even "Bird Orchids" as the first species described held their flower open to the sky, and supposedly resembled the mouth of a young bird, begging for food. Under new taxonomic revisions, both those names are now reserved for separate groups of related plants.
This first species is new for me. Chiloglottis sylvestris. I first found these plants this time last year, just after the last flower had been pollinated. However, I could not conclusively identify it then. These flowers close over, once they have been successfully pollinated, making photography of the distinguishing features impossible. The labellum (the lip, with the insect-shaped gland on it) rises up to close over the "column", protecting it from further disturbance or interference from insects.

In case you are wondering: "How does the plant know it has been pollinated?" The answer is that hormonal signals are sent from the ovary of the plant, causing the plant to enter a different stage of its development. That fact is a timely reminder that plants are indeed sentient organisms. That simple sentence would have been regarded as heretical in earlier centuries - and might have had me burnt at the stake. But I stand by that statement.

Incidentally, that argument is further supported by the amazingly complex relationship between these plants and male insects (mostly wasps) which pollinate them by pseudo-copulation. That topic has been discussed before, here, and back in 2005, here.

This flower has been photographed from over the top of the flower, to show the positioning of the "clubs" (the lateral sepals). Also, it shows the main gland as not being divided, (as a distinguishing characteristic from the other two species discussed below). The slight "V" shape of the labellum is an optical illusion, because of the angle of this photo. The upper photograph shows the true shape of the labellum.Anyway, last year I worked out what this plant might be, but I could not be sure, at the time - for the reasons stated. The first distinguishing feature is the habitat where these plants are growing. It is entirely different from the habitats where I have seen related species growing. I have been able to confirm the identity from the reddish colour of the flowers, the shape of the "pseudo-insect" (with an undivided "head"), and also the lack of reflexing of the "clubs". The short height of the stems (little more than two inches (50mm) and small size of the flowers is also a "fit" for this species. These are really tiny "Wasp Orchids" (and the other ones are not large).

These plants are growing in heavy shade, under dense cover of Tea Trees and Melaleuca scrub, in a muddy creek bed. The area is wet most of the year, and especially at flowering season (now - when it is raining constantly outside, as I write this post). These plants may well be under-water today. These plants are in the general Belmore Falls area, about 5Km south of Robertson. This plant is known to be at its southern limit of its distribution at Robertson.

The next species is a plant which I identified last year - the appallingly named "Turtle Orchid" (because an early botanist thought that the tiny "glands" on the labellum looked vaguely like a turtle, with its long neck protruding). The name Chiloglottis seminuda, is a reference to the labellum having a bare area at the lower end. (Other species share that feature, but it was named to distinguish it from others which have a larger area of the labellum covered with glands). This second species was growing in heavy black soil, derived from Wianamatta shale, over a sandstone rock base. The forest cover is tall Eucalypt forest, with mixed Proteaceous shrubbery - Waratah country.

Here are new photographs of Chiloglottis reflexa, which I reported on two weeks ago - it was a new species (for me) at the time. These specimens are probably more diagnostic. Here you can see the divided "head" of the pseudo-insect (gland). It looks almost heart shaped. The lateral sepals, (the "clubs") spread widely, and then curve right down and under the flower and almost curl back up again. In profile, you can see how "reflexed" those clubs really are - almost touching back up to the top. That feature is how this species earns its name. The fairly large bare area of the labellum of this particular plant is not typical. Others in the same cluster of plants had much larger areas of cover of glands over the labellum. But the reflexed "clubs" are diagnostic. These just happened to be the clearest photographs I was able to get yesterday. The first flower in the previous posting (click here) has better gland development. It is the same species, growing in the same colony of plants as these plants shown today. This third species was growing in sandier soil than the second one, and less than one kilometre away from the location of the second species. While the forest cover in both places is similar, it is slightly more open, and the soil is definitely drier and sandier, as the ground is raised, being over a small sandstone outcrop. Species two and three are growing in East Kangaloon, about 5 Km north of Robertson.

Here are three images together in an attempt to give you the comparative features of the structures of the glands of these 3 species. The identification of these species does not hinge solely on the gland structures, but it is a good place to start. Unfortunately, at this level of cropping there is a great distortion of detail introduced into the image. But it is worth doing, for educational purposes, if somewhat disappointing, artistically. Click on this triple image to blow it up to a larger size, to allow a better look at the structures of these glands.

Storm which hit Sydney started at Macquarie Pass.

I watched an amazing storm developing this afternoon. I drove out to the edge of Robertson, overlooking Macquarie Pass, to get a good look at it, before it really burst. Here is a link to the views from this same position, early in the evening, and at dawn. The views are amazingly different from tonight's storm.

Mt Macquarie, overlooking the Macquarie Pass, looks very imposing with a tiny patch of sunlight showing up the forest just underneath the cliff face. The white cloud was being whipped up and over the escarpment face. There were strong lightning bursts, every 3 or 4 minutes.
On the way back into Robbo, I listened to reports of water over the Princes Highway at Albion Park, then heavy downpours at Bellambi (northern Wollongong), and then it moved north, towards Sydney, 100 kilometres away. It took a little over an hour to get there.

This image shows a wall of water being dumped out of this thunderhead, over Albion Park and Dapto, just south of Wollongong. This was the peak intensity of the storm, from what I could see.
According to the Weather Bureau's website, tonight, Huntley Colliery (the other side of that bluff, at Mt Macquarie) reported 35 mm tonight, and Bellambi scored 46 mm of rain. Both from this single storm. Tonight the news reports are carrying stories of 100 Km per hour winds at Holdsworthy (southern edge of Sydney) and then it went to Blacktown, where people are still waiting to have their roofs repaired after the last big storm, in early December.

This is a panoramic image. Click to enlarge it, to see the "full picture" of this storm - it spans from Albion Park (under the clouds, far right) back to Mt Murray at the very far left of the picture. Wollongong is under the storm, in the middle of this image.
And this is what the local birds thought of it all. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) flew up out of the forests below the escarpment, heading north and west, away from the storm. Like the "Harpies" from a Greek tragedy, these birds were giving their full, drawn-out wailing cry. Very atmospheric.No sooner has these 3 birds flown past than a full flock (of 27 birds) flew up out from the valley below, also putting a lot of distance between themselves and the storm.

If you have ever seen these birds, you can possibly image how loud and ominous their combined 27 calls were. You can listen to the call by clicking here! Thanks to the "Birds in Backyards" website - from the Australian Museum (Sydney). The main site to the BiBY Bird Finder is permanently linked from the side bar of my blog.A very impressive ending to a very impressive storm.

POST-SCRIPT: The Illawarra Mercury has reported that the storm which I have witnessed here was caused by 3 separate storm cells merging.

• A merger of three storm cells south-west of Wollongong led to the extreme weather conditions across the Illawarra on Thursday afternoon.
• Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Chris Webb said that at 3pm on Thursday separate storm cells were recorded north of Nowra, south-west of Robertson and over Kiama.
• About 4pm the three cells came together around the Dapto area, resulting in strong winds, heavy rain and hail as the storm made its way north.

So there it is. You now know why this particular storm was so powerful. You can read the full report here.

The tiny "Wasp Orchids" have started to flower.

Yesterday I found the first of the "Wasp Orchids" in flower. These were found growing in the tall Eucalypt forests on sandstone, in East Kangaloon. These are the first of the summer and autumn flowering species of a large group of tiny Ground Orchids. This one is apparently Chiloglottis reflexa the "Short-clubbed Wasp Orchid". Don't blame me for the awkward name. This is the first time I have been able to correctly identify this species, although I thought that I had found it last year. I had to correct that report, with the help of some other experts, including Gaye from the Hunter.

Last year, I found another species, (Chiloglottis seminuda) which carries the even more awkward name of Turtle Orchid, because of an apparent resemblance of the glands to the shape of the "neck" of a tortoise. While on the subject of related plants, this link will take you to a post which shows two of the related Spring flowering species (now classified as being in the Myrmechila genus). Those plants are now called "Ant Orchids". They have slight differences in the way the lateral sepals are held flatter and wider spread, not curved down under the flower, as in these summer-flowering genus. There are slight differences in the calli (glands) as well - some have a double tip on the "head" (resembling "bug eyes" of an ant). I kid you not.
As you can see, these little Orchids have paired leaves (often slightly crinkled on the edges) which lie almost flat on the ground, in the natural leaf litter. The flowers are on a stem approximately 4 inches (approx. 1o cm) high. Their colours are reddish on a green background. Their camouflage against the red-brown leaves is nearly perfect. The leaves are easy enough to see, but often there will be a large colony of plants, growing together, but relatively few might actually bear flowers in any season. So, even when surrounded by lots of these little plants, you have to really look hard to find the flowers. When you do, the details of these tiny flowers makes the effort well worthwhile.
I find these tiny Orchids terribly hard to distinguish - one from the other. I appreciate the opportunity to consult with Alan Stephenson of the Australasian Native Orchid Society.

These Wasp Orchid flowers consist of a large almost flat tongue ("Labellum") which lies underneath the upright column, which is supported (or protected) by the "dorsal sepal". The large yellow blob (on the tip of the column) is where the pollen (pollinia) and the female organ are both located. In the photo above, note that the glands (or calli) extend down over nearly all of the labellum. That, and the overall shape of the labellum, and the length of the lateral sepals, distinguish this species from C. seminuda.

As indicated by their name (Wasp Orchids), these Orchids are pollinated by small male wasps (Thynnine Wasps) of the Neozeleboria genus) in a process known as "pseudo-copulation". This term describes what happens when the male wasp is seduced by the odour emitted by the plant, and apparently believes the plant to be a female wasp, and it attempts to copulate with the flower (as if it were a real female wasp). (Photos are available on this linked site - scroll down till you come to photos of Chiloglottis trapeziformis - a closely related species to this one - being pollinated by male wasps).The mystery of this process is being worked on by advanced studies in molecular biology, isolating the chemicals the plants use to produce a scent resembling the pheromone produced by the female wasps. I have slightly "lightened" the background to this photo so (if you click on the image to enlarge it) you can make out the heart-shaped gland (callus) of the main scent organ on the labellum of this Orchid. These structures (in total) are referred to these days as a "pseudo-insect" - which is fair enough if you think about it.

What a complex and bizarre world we live in. And we humans delude ourselves that we are running the place. We have only just worked out what is going on here - but how far are we away from being able to make such wonderful "constructs" as false insects, which not only resemble, but smell like, female insects? But between themselves, plants and insects have collaborated to do just that (or is it a battle by the Orchids to outsmart the wasps?). Either way, how many millions of years might that have taken?

A summer morning (that's all we got)

Yesterday, summer came and went - it seems to be all over. Today was grey, windy, wet and cold (as the previous 3 weeks have been).

When the sun shone, and a warm southerly breeze blew (yes, warm and southerly - seems incredible) everything seemed to stir.

The first I knew of this was looking out my bathroom window in the morning, and seeing a female Grey Goshawk circling above the house. Of course, by the time I grabbed the camera, and rushed outside, she had gone. But I noticed the warm breeze (unfamiliar in cold old Robbo). I also noticed the Butterflies on the breeze. They were flitting everywhere. Then I looked towards a large Buddleja bush growing beside my driveway. There were butterflies galore, flitting from flower to flower. These plants lived up to their name of "Butterfly Bush".

The fat-bodied Macleay's Swallow-tailed Butterflies were all over this bush. This species of Butterfly seems to be hyperactive. They rest, just for a moment on a flower, and head off to the next one. Worse, while on the flower, they flutter their wings (while held high, and nearly closed). This makes them almost impossible to photograph (with autofocus engaged on your camera). Apologies for the relatively poor quality of these photos, but when will I get another Butterfly event like this - again? Certainly it did not happen today. So, it is a case of publish what I have - for educational purposes - and hope to improve on these photos later in the season. Maybe.The poor quality image below is shown just to demonstrate the upperwing wing patterns of the Macleay's Swallowtail (centre) (mostly white, with black marks concentrated towards the tip of the wings).
This photo also shows the intensity of Butterfly activity - for just this brief few moments of summer in Robertson. Three butterflies of two species on the one flower head.

This is the the Australian Admiral (or Yellow Admiral) (Vanessa itea) This image shows both the dull under-wing patterns (right) and on the left, the brighter upper wings (visible when the wings are open). That reverses the patterns if colouration visible on the Macleay's Swallowtail, which is brighter on its underside (visible when wings are closed - when held upright).
I am grateful to the work of Don Herbison-Evans and the Macleay Museum for their very authoritative website - on Australian Caterpillars - the larvae of both Moths and Butterflies.
The Butterflies and Moths of Sydney page from the Museum of Australia is also useful - but much less extensive.

This next Butterfly is the so called "Common Jezabel" (Delias negrina). There is a dark bee feeding on the same flowerhead of the Buddleja.This colourful butterfly is apparently linked to various Mistletoe plants for the food of its caterpillars. But obviously the adults are happy to stray to other plants for their sources of nectar. If you look back to the second photo in this post, you will see on the right, another member of this species, and you can see both the colourful lower (outer) wing side, and the nearly pure white upper wing (inside the wings when nearly closed).

And now for this poor specimen of a brown Butterfly.I can only hazard a guess that it might be a Meadow Argus (Nymph) Butterfly. But it might also be a "Common Brown Butterfly" - another of the Nymph group of Butterflies.

With such badly worn wings, it is presumably nearing the end of its short life. If so, it was at least enjoying this brief moment of summery warmth, feasting on the prolific nectar apparently produced by the Buddleja davidii. Go well, little friend.

The colours of summer - red, brown and orange.

Having shown many blue and purple wildflowers flowers in recent weeks, today I seemed to find many flowers (and butterflies) in browns and orange. The stand-out butterfly is this one, below. With bright orange-yellow patches of colour on its wings, you would think this Butterfly is in need of camouflage, but when it flies, all one tends to see are two bright patches of colour, making the creature itself appear to be two separate objects (as it flies). The dark brown wings and body seem to disappear, as the coloured patches dominate the appearance. When settled, it has lovely "eye" markings, with blue centres, inside dark rings, and the lower two are inside a bright orange ring, which stands out against the brown wing. A lovely design. These bold "eye" markings are seemingly a protective marking to confuse possible predators.
The Sword-grass Brown Butterfly (Tisiphone abeona) is a feature of the sandstone heathlands, over the summer season. I remember this butterfly from my (very much) younger days, in Springwood, in the Blue Mountains. Most recently I saw it at Manning's Lookout (on the top of the escarpment, above Kangaroo Valley). Today I saw a number of these large butterflies at the Carrington Falls area. As this photo shows, this one was hanging out amongst Coral Fern and Sword-grass (Gahnia). Both these plants are typical of moist areas on sandstone, in the Southern Highlands. As indicated by the name, this Butterfly's caterpillar feeds on Sword-grass (Gahnia sp.) Sword-grasses are very fibrous, with sharp edges, so it is remarkable that these butterflies have adopted them as their food plant.In an open area of this reserve, I found numerous Christmas Bells (Blandfordia nobilis). Some, such as this plant, were growing in the middle of a little-used track (a fire trail). As with one flower stem I found last week, further out on the Budderoo Plateau, this stem of flowers had achieved pollination. This particular stem had a truly remarkable rate of success. Eight of these flowers have started to form seed pods, and only two appear not to have been successfully pollinated. One is standing upright (as they do as the flowers mature) and it might also have been pollinated. Two are still fresh (pendant) flowers. In the local area, this number of "bells" on a single stem is unusual. But to achieve pollination on so many on a single stem is extraordinary.

On the track back to the car, I found this relatively large-flowered "eggs and bacon" flower. It was just a small plant, about 600 mm high - so it did not stand above the dense growth of rushes and grasses of the sandstone heathland. It is Pultanea tuberculata (synonym P. elliptica). Many of the Eggs and Bacon flowers ("Pea flowers") are quite small, but this one had small leaves, about 5mm long, and the flowers were approximately 1cm long. Bright orange inside the "standard", and red outside on the standard and keel. A lovely bright flower. The effect of the flowers is increased by the way the flowers are clustered near the tip of the growing stem.

New Year's Eve - sunset and evening sky

The sun has just started to move back from its southern most point, but on this New Year's Eve sunset, it is still close to its furthest most southerly point in the sky (at the Summer Solstice, 10 days ago).

Do I make myself clear? In winter, the sun does not pass anywhere close to this wonderful old tree, but sets well around to the right (further north). But tonight it was setting, just on the south-western side of the wonderful old Blackwood tree (when viewed from my back deck).
The sky had been clear during the day, but an afternoon sea-mist rolled in and formed a light cloud cover, enough to diffuse the sunset. The clouds sat above the horizon, so as the sun set, it came out more clearly than it had been shining, giving this golden light wash. The presence of the tree in silhouette makes the picture more dramatic.

To understand a bit more about my affection for this tree, you need to understand that I deliberately positioned my house, with this tree in mind. In fact it is blocking out a particularly large and ugly "mansion" which to my eyes is totally unsuited to the Southern Highlands. But in addition to using this old tree as a screen, I love its shape, and in this case, the way it filters the afternoon light from the setting sun.

Just a few minutes later, the sun had sunk into thicker cloud, and while there was still light, the sky changed to this blue and pink picture, just for a few moments. Then the colour faded. I love the way the soft light allows you to see the folds in the valley below, looking over Belmore Falls, towards the Shoalhaven Valley. The tall trees highlighted by the pink sky are along Myra Vale Road, towards Fitzroy Falls (from Robertson).

This image is a compound image, a "panorama". The "stitching" together of the three images is far from perfect, but if you click to enlarge the image, you will get a fair idea of the wider view out over Kangaroo Valley and the far distant Shoalhaven Valley.
The "Blackwood" in the first image is the open-crowned tree in the centre-right of this picture. The "solid" or darker trees (with pointed profiles) on the right hand side of the image, and just to the right of the Blackwood, are Sassafras trees. They grow very densely, and give a solid profile, unlike the Blackwood which grows into a more open crowned tree, as it matures.

Today I celebrated New Year's Eve with a luncheon meal for David and Petra (a visitor from Germany) and Captain Jim (who took me flying yesterday). Good honest plain food, with a roast leg of lamb, baked very slowly on the hooded gas BBQ, baked potatoes (fresh from Kim's vegie garden) and a salad courtesy of the new Fruit Shop in Robertson. (I haven't told you about this, but it is turning out to be a great asset to the village). Today, while I was in there buying the greens and stuff for the salad, and a lady came in and said to the shop owner: "Thank you so much for opening this shop". She speaks for many of us.

I might even start eating more vegetables from now on. If that passes for a New Year's Resolution (and I never make them) then so be it.

Happy New Year, everyone. Especially to Kevin Rudd and the new Australian Government, and hence to all the people of Australia (plus Leo in Nova Scotia, Canada). And to my loyal blogger colleagues, especially Miss Eagle, and Gaye from the Hunter, and David. And nice to meet you, Petra. And a special Happy New Year to George, and Lucy and her kids (George, Meg and Charlotte), Steve and Celeste and Jasper, Judy B. and Greg, Mike and the rest of the people of Robertson.