A Short Walk around our Streets

Each and every day, Sir Steve dog and I set off for a short walk around our streets.  Sir Steve is an elderly statesman now, a rescued Labrador about 9years old (that's 63 in dog years) who is happy trundling along, slower than many of the young "pups" we meet along the way but content all the same to amble along at his own pace. While we walk, he stops to sniffle and snuffle at anything and everything he finds of interest along the way. I don't hurry him and he, in turn, is very patient with me if I stop to take photos. Unless he spots a brush turkey that is ... then he forget his years and attempts to give chase! Here's what we found on one of our walks recently:

Trundling along a local path.

Lots of ducks in the park.

Bright red bottlebrush in bloom. 

Clusters of pretty pink flowers. 

 Tiny and delicate purple flowers.

Silvery grey foliage on dark grey concrete. 

Spiky leaves of hardy roadside plantings.

 Possum scratches on local trees.

 A white picket fence.

Citrus blossoms on an old lemon tree.

New red-tipped growth on shrubs. 

Back home again!

As we walk through the familiar gates of home,  Sir Steve gets a bit of an extra spring in his step. He trots into the back yard, does a few four-legged pirouettes then flops promptly down on the grass ... exhausted! He really is a most endearing fellow and the best walking companion there is!

What would you find if you went for a short walk around your streets?

Meg

A Saturday Stroll

Saturday often begins with a long, slow stroll along neighbourhood paths. I love setting out to explore with the warm sun on my shoulders, bright blue sky overhead and our Sir Steve dog by my side. Occasionally, I take the camera too and photograph some of the beauty we spy along the way...

 Vibrant Golden Penda 'pompom'.

 A jewel-coloured Hibiscus Beetle.

Seedpods decorate the leopard trees.

The scent from these blossoms perfumes the air.

Autumn yellow tree leaves.

Blossoms and blue sky.

 Zingy limes overhang a neighbour's fence.

 Gorgeous Gordonia or "Fried Egg" plant.

My beautiful walking companion.

Steve dog and I are just about to set out for another walk together. After waking to gentle rain early this morning, the sky is now its Autumn blue and outside beckons. Perhaps you'll have time for your own Saturday stroll sometime today.

Have a lovely weekend.

Meg

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Fragrant flowers, that fade from an intense violet to a softer lavender blue and then to white, are such a sweet  feature of the old-fashioned shrub that I know as the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow (Brunfelsia) bush. It is the way in which its flowers change colour from day to day that give this shrub its common name.

From violet ...

... to lavender blue ...

 ... & then to white.

The young Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow bush growing in my garden was covered in masses of these blooms after the recent soaking rains we had. It is slower growing and it does need water, especially in the drier months of the year. After flowering, it's important to give it a light prune to encourage new growth and to keep the shrub bushy.

Flowers and raindrops.

My Grandmother grew this shrub in her garden, my Mother grows it still and now I do too. The fragrance of its little flowers brings back memories of the gardens I played in when I was young. It's amazing how fragrance can do that in an instant:

"Smell is a potent wizard 

that transports you across a thousand miles

and all the years you have lived."

                                                                                              ~ Helen Keller

Do you grow fragrant plants in your garden and do they take you back in time too?

Meg

p.s. You need to be aware, if you choose to grow this shrub, that parts of it are poisonous to dogs.