Camellia williamsii hybrid Jamie

I bought my plant from Camellia Grove Nursery when they were in Mona Vale, or on Mona Vale Road, somewhere in northern Sydney. I fear the continuity of that fine nursery has been lost.

However, I still an happily growing this beautiful hybrid.
It was a chance seedling, raised by Professor E.G. Waterhouse, at his garden in Gordon. He named it after a grandson, I believe, from memory of what I was told on one of the Open Days at "Eryldene".

Here is a link to one from a New Zealand Nursery

Unusually for one of the many "williamsii hybrids" bred by Prof. Waterhouse, it is a brilliant scarlet red colour. Most of the other Waterhouse X williamsii hybrids are "fuchsine pink"

Soft sunset over Robertson

Soft Sunset reflected in Bird Bath

Looking west, first shot

Looking south to general glowing sky.

Light changes, and as it does, one adjusts the camera

Sunsets are beautiful, but transient.

My last shot of sunset tonight.

Some photos from Robertson - the Cemetery, and my garden

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152906545494829.1073741934.809229828&type=1&l=0342bf219c

This is a link to an open album. You do not have to be a member of Facebook to see the images, and read the notes beside each image.

I forgot to compress those images, but Facebook does  seem to compress images automatically.

Images are of Pittosporum multiflorum (formerly Citriobatus multiflorus)
and mauve colours developing on the Camellia Dona Herzilia de Freitas Magalhaes 
This colour will only develop in Acid soil. It starts a deep dusty pink, then changes over about a week.
Photo of a Lepiota fungus, not the much larger Macrolepiota.

Fuchsine Pink is my favourite colour in Camellias

Fuchsine Pink is my favourite colour in Camellias.

"In France, Francois-Emmanuel Verguin, the director of the chemical factory of Louis Rafard near Lyon, tried many different formulae before finally in late 1858 or early 1859, mixing aniline with carbon tetrachloride, producing a reddish-purple dye which he called "fuchsine", after the color of the flower of the fuchsia plant. He quit the Rafard factory and took his color to a firm of paint manufacturers, Francisque and Joseph Renard, who began to manufacture the dye in 1859." Wikipedia

The story of this colour continues: "In the same year, two British chemists, Chambers Nicolson and Georges Maule, working at the laboratory of the paint manufacturer George Simpson, located in Walworth, south of London, made another aniline dye with a similar red-purple color, which they began to manufacture in 1860 under the name "roseine". In 1860 they changed the name of the color to "magenta", in honor of the battle fought between the French and Austrians at Magenta, Italy the year before. Before printer's magenta was invented in the 1890s for CMYK printing, and electric magenta was invented in the 1980s for computer displays, these two artificially engineered colors were preceded by the color displayed (below), which is the color originally called "fuchsine" made from coal tar dyes in the year 1859. The name of the color was soon changed to "magenta", being named after the Battle of Magenta fought at Magenta, Lombardy-Venetia." Wikipedia


So there you go: Industrial espionage (or theft) and Imperial politics combined in search of a colour.

A freshly opened Camellia Drama Girl

A Carrion Beetle comes to my front light, and more moths

I have never had this species of Beetle at my front porch light before. I have only ever seen them on carcasses of Wombats and Kangaroos, as road kill. They are called the "Carrion Beetle". Unpleasant habit, but they are interesting for they demonstrate that just about all "ecological niche" can have a specific insect to "do its job".
Here is a link to my post about these Beetles feeding on the legs of a dead Kangaroo, Not pretty, but, it is an important task (in nature).

Carrion Beetle on my screen door.

Carrion Beetle on my screen door.

 The other things which came to my front light tonight were small and medium sized moths.
One looks to me like a Bogong Moth. 

Bogong Moth

This one might also be Bogong Moth

It is clearly a male, with very fine antennae.

Whatever it is, it is very definitely severely worn in the wings. 

Possibly another Bogong Moth
Wings are damaged.
Very good set of antennae - presumably a male

EDIT: My friend Dave Britton from the Australian Museum has come to my rescue. He advised: "This one is a different Agrotis, Agrotis porphyricollis (it has much bigger pectinations in the antenna." Dave.
See Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrotis_porphyricollis

a medium-sized long thin Moth,
with few distinguishing features.

a medium-sized long thin Moth,
with few distinguishing features.

An unusual medium moth with very stiff wings.
it has a fine pattern on its wings.

Knights Hill wet Eucalypt forest

I have posted a few photos from today, of Fungi and a few other "Bits and Pieces" found at my friend Rose's place.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152892648629829.1073741930.809229828&type=1&l=fafc1af466
I would appreciate any assistance with ID on these fungi. peonyden (at) gmail (dot) com

That is a Facebook album, but it is accessible to all - no signing up for anything.

A good Goat.

Probably Gymnopilus junionis

Soft white fungus I cannot identify

Very fine gills of the soft white fungus (above)

medium sized brown fungi living on rotten branch

This gill shot (same fungus as above)
reveals interesting gill structure.
Incomplete gills, very dense near rim of cap,
partial as you move in,
and slight sign of ribbing on top of stem.

I would appreciate any assistance with ID on these fungi. peonyden (at) gmail (dot) com