Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 13 January 2013

Sunday Selection #103

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.

Like River I generally run with a theme  As I complained whinged last week I don't do heat well.  It is still too hot.  Towards the end of last week I hired a skip (dumpster) so that I could clear the back yard of the large and unsightly pile of pruning which was also presenting a fire risk.

On Friday morning when it arrived I spent a couple of hours loading it.  I was very soon a soggy, sad mess - so I came inside.  Saturday was also predicted to be hot (and they got it right).  So...  shortly after first light I headed out to start work again, to be met with a bright and beautiful dawn.  So I came inside for the camera before I started work on the steadily diminishing pile.  I have now finished loading the skip and I have some photographs to help me remember the dawn.  Win/win.




92 comments:

  1. 5.25am as I write. Growing light enough now to see without a light on.Cool.Still.Quiet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dinahmow: Still and quiet here as well. Cool? Well not really. The temperatures are not predicted to soar to obscene levels today (I consider anything over 35 obscene) so I will settle for that. Showers are also predicted - but I will believe that when and if I see them.

      Delete
  2. What a beautiful sky! I read that it's been so hot Down Under that the weather people have had to come up with some new colors. Just awfully hot if you ask me. BTW, you always leave such lovely comments on my blog that I find myself struggling to pay you back in kind. I fail often, but I want you to know you are one of my favorites! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DJan: Thank you so much. Your blog is always a delight - I love the walks you take us on, and am frequently jealous of your weather.

      Delete
  3. Certainly was a win/win situation. I see on the news last night that you are surrounded by bushfires hope none of 'em are to close to become a problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Windsmoke: The air is thick with smoke this morning, but I am hoping that none of the nearby fires reach Canberra this time.

      Delete
  4. Fabulous captures EC! That sky looks HOT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen: It was. I had not long ago commented to Laloofah (http://laloofah.blogspot.com.au) that our sunrises tended to be soft pinks and greys. This was a firey exception.

      Delete
  5. Beautiful. Worth the work. My pics shall post at midnight my time... I've done a New Year's tree...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindi Clarke: It was beautiful - but I would have been perfectly happy to admire it without the work. And work it was - I had reached soggy mess again well before I finished.

      Delete
  6. Beautiful dawn photos! Lovely.
    Well done on clearing your property and reducing the fire risk.

    I do like to start very early on hot days. Especially when a lot of shoveling, barrowing, sweating, digging, raking and grunting are involved - I've done my fair share in gardens of old, and it feels so good to start at sunrise before the sun comes up and bites through clothing to the sodden skin beneath - yuck. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vicki: I am an early riser anyway - but don't usually work quite that hard before seven. I finished a little before eight - and the sun already had a bite. My brother and his wife left a birthday party at eleven because it had reached 35 and energies had flagged.

      Delete
  7. Oooh, lovely photos! And how I can relate to being a "sad, soggy mess." You have a wonderful way with words!

    p.s. Jazz and Jewel do look like Squeaky! And I suspect all cats are born with the ability to deliver a baleful look in an instant. "Does my wittly fuzzy wuzzy want a cuddle?" [said while lurching toward cat, who responds with the Pitying and Baleful Look]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ms CrankyPants: Sadly I think all of us in the MS club know about sad and soggy. Really not a good look, and no fun either.
      You are right about cats' ability with baleful looks - but I think the black babies do it best.

      Delete
  8. Extraordinary pictures of an extraordinary dawn. Sometimes it is well worth getting an early start ... even if the job is overwhelming and hot. I know the heat is hard on you and wish I could take some from you so you could bask in moderate temperatures. Or, on the other hand, I could share some of my damp, grey, cold (maybe not so cold ... today it was in the 50's, but tonight it is supposed to snow)yucky, messy, miserable weather. Truly, as a friend I would never do that and I am so sorry you are having to put up with the heat. Maybe tomorrow it will be cooler ... we can always hope:)Hope you are feeling better soon ...

    Andrea @ From The Sol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrea: Thank you - it was a spectacular start to the day. It is marginally cooler today - but not cool enough by my standards. Bring back winter. Please.

      Delete
  9. That is gorgeous! Are these the sunrise photos you mentioned on my post? They're a lot more colorful than I'd imagined - they look just like our Rocky Mountain sunrises!

    I imagine with your horrible heat, the early hours are the time to be doing outdoor chores. Congratulations on finishing your yard cleanup - I think the Universe sent you this sunrise as a reward for your efforts! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laloofah: As I replied to Karen's comment, this sunrise was very unusual for us. They are usually soooo much softer and more sombre. It may have been the impact of nearby fires and smoke which produced the dramatic colouring.
      The early hours were the only way I could do it. When I finished I came inside and didn't go out again all day.

      Delete
  10. Well it's 29 degrees (F) here, so you're welcome to come visit ;) Gorgeous pics!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Riot Kitty: It is gently drizzling (yay) and I think it is probably about 29 degrees (C). A huge improvement on earlier in the week, but your temperatures sound much, much better.

      Delete
  11. Beautiful sunrise there. Remember the old rhyme, red sky at dawn, sailors mourn. We have rain here today, although it seems to have stopped now, so hopefully some of the wet will reach you tomorrow and help with putting out some fires. It's beautifully cool here too today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. River: I grew up with 'red in the morning, shepherds take warning, red at night, shepherds delight'. Similar sentiment - only the names have changed. It is a little cooler here (bliss) and we are getting some drizzle. Rain would be nice though.

      Delete
  12. I'm also much more of a cold person than a hot person. It's winter in my part of the U.S., a blend of slush and ice that makes the roads around here utter heck, but there's a pleasant fog over the canopies. You're welcome to join!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Another cold weather person here. And reading River's rhyme, I recall it as we learned it: Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Pretty much the same meaning, though - watch out for the red dawn! It does make a beautiful picture, however.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jenny_o: As I said to River, it was shepherds who were threatened by red mornings in the version I learnt. We didn't get bad weather as such yesterday - certainly no rain, but it was very windy and obscenely hot. Excellent bushfire weather. Which is why when I woke this morning there was no sky to be seen through the shroud of smoke.

      Delete
  14. Wow - that is a beautiful way to start the day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ladyfi: It was a much, much more vivid dawn that we usually see here.

      Delete
  15. OMG amazing, you took my breath away, I am also very much in love with the sunrise. Such amazing colors :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. unikorna: Thank you - it was a really spectacular start to the day.

      Delete
  16. It's 26 degrees here where I live. I saw a photo of a dust storm near Perth yesterday I think it was. Are you having an abnormally hot summer down under? Your photos are gorgeous as usual. I love the colors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Strayer: Oh yes, it is abnormally, obscenely hot here this year. Some places have reached 50 degrees Centigrade and there are fires everywhere. Awful.

      Delete
  17. How wonderful to see a sky like this again - even if in reproduction. It seems (is!) ages since I saw such a sky for real. All we have had of late have been blankets of dark grey... having said which, this morning blue sky and streaky white, but still nothing to touch this. Thanks so much for the reminder - and the implied hope.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Just wonderful. I often think that if a painter depicted the sky exactly as depicted, we'd say, "Oh no, they've got that wrong," but photos really do show the variations and the beauty, don't they?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kath Lockett: I was thinking that myself. In a painting we would say - 'no, those colours don't happen together, he/she is exaggerating.' And yet, there it was...

      Delete
  19. That's a win/win situation for sure. Lovely sky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lynn: It was an amazing sky. Our dawns are usually much more subtle affairs.

      Delete
  20. Best time of day when it’s hot. With the added bonus of a beautiful sunrise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Friko: It is often the best time of day any way. I do love the early morning, and often ramble through the garden then.

      Delete
  21. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful photos. Sunrise and sunset, give them to me anytime. With or without sun, I enjoy them all. :-)

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A Cuban in London: Thank you. I think I prefer dawn - but they are often both stunning.

      Delete
  22. Lovely photos, EC. It is unbearably hot still here, as well. I hate it! I'm flying under the radar until it abates; I refuse to go anywhere! Thank goodness for the tennis!! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lee: We had some rain last night (bliss) and today is cooler. It is not going to last though - by the end of the week we will be back in the obscene range.

      Delete
  23. oh that sky....how it speaks.
    wishing you cooling breezes,
    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jennifer Richardson: Today we have just that - cool breezes and a much more pleasant day. Yay.

      Delete
  24. what a beautiful sky!!! glad you got the skip loaded up... what a project!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sherri: I must have been insane. It was way too much for me - but the sky was a bonus.

      Delete
  25. Ah, there's nothing like capturing the essence, the gentle ambience of early dawn. And you have done that very well.

    And here in England, it's gone two in the morning and snowflakes are floating to the ground.

    Peace and goodwill to you, my friend.

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. klahanie: Thank you. I do envy you your snow though. I hope you and Penny are well.

      Delete
  26. Sue, how magical to have the dawn greet you in such a way. The thought of a skip excites me to my fingertips and beyond! Hows the weather treating you now darl? xx gemma

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gemma @ My Big Nutshell: It was quite a sight wasn't it? Today the weather is treating me kindly. Last week (and sadly later this week) it abused me. Bring back winter. And if I say it often enough winter will be here.

      Delete
  27. Replies
    1. Cathy Oliffe-Webster: Thank you - but why the sigh? You have lovely, lovely cool (cold) weather at the moment.

      Delete
  28. Gosh they're gorgeous! Do hope you are away from those awful fires I've been hearing about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DeniseinVA: This time the fires are not very close. The smoke is. The skinny one drove past some on his way home from his sister's place and said that it looked like a volcano - and then we learnt that the smoke from that fire had risen 14 kilometres in the air. Very frightening.

      Delete
  29. Gorgeous photos.

    how are you, S? how are little panthers?

    Love. Xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Inner Chick: Thank you. I am fine(ish) and the cats are bad - and happy to be so.

      Delete
  30. Beautiful sky! Our sunset tonight was awesome. We could use a little summer weather here in Texas, but it will come soon enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carol Kilgore: It was beautiful, though you can keep the heat.

      Delete
  31. It's one of the strange things about smoky air--something so terrible can be so beautiful. I'm assuming that's why this was such a striking dawn. When we've had wildfires off in the hills to the east of us, it has also brought some amazing sunsets and such. Beautiful pictures.

    Rather disturbing to hear that your day began with hard labor at dawn! AGH!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): I think you are right and it was smoke particles which resulted in the stunning display. And yes, hard labour it was. Very hard.

      Delete
  32. Stunning, Soosie. I hope the heat is better now and that the fires are away, far away from you. Thinking of you lots xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. farawayinthesunshine: Thank you. Today and yesterday are cooler which I am v thankful for. Sadly after that the temperatures are expected to rise again. On the plus side, there are no fires near us at the moment.

      Delete
  33. Those are goreous pictures. Sometimes I'm so disappointed with the vibrancy of colors not coming through on my camera but yours are perfect.
    Not much fun doing all that work - hot or cold - but at least it's done now. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Eno: Thank you. I think I have another dawn stint before the skip is picked up - obsessional gardening again.

      Delete
  34. Hmm...should have been "gorgeous". *snort*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Eno: I am always pleased when I see that other people suffer from finger dyslexia.

      Delete
  35. MS does not like heat...but you have some pretty pics here to look at til it cools down

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim @ Stuff could...: I think the problem is that MS does like the heat, and thrives on it, leaving its carriers feeling like chewed string.

      Delete
  36. Outstanding colors! What a vibrant dawn. It certainly was good that you went to get your camera so we could enjoy it too. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vagabonde: It was breath-taking, and very unusual. Our dawns are usually much softer, still beautiful, but much more subtle in colouration.

      Delete
  37. Beautiful colors here - and I guess at that time the temperatures are still bearable. Your post reminds me of last summer, when I started to get rid of our lawn right when a heat wave struck. After 9:30 in the morning it was not possible to do any more outside physical work, so I tried to get as much done between 6 and 9:30am.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hey, Sue. What a worker bee you are!!! There are many mornings I've gotten up and tried to get such a photo, but it rarely turns out as beautiful as this.
    It's so nice to get the yard clean and tidied. You're at the end of summer, yes? I thought of you yesterday while looking out the window at our gloom. Send some Spring our way, please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lutheranladiescircle: We are slap bang in the middle of one of the nasties summers I have endured in a loooong time. You are more than welcome to as much of our current sunshine and temperatures as you like. I did like the sunrise (coloured by fires in the area I think) but would happily do without in exchange for cool bliss. Whinge and whine over. For the moment.

      Delete
  39. A gorgeous way to start your day. That's natures gift for rising early and venturing out to complete your yard chores.
    Sorry the heat hasn't lessened. I hear on the news how awful the fires are. I hope they are far, far away from you.

    Say hi to SP (i pray he is well) and have a delightful day, S (i pray your pain lessens and fads away) ~:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pam:): Thank you. It was simply stunning. I was out early this morning - continueing to find things to stuff in the skip, and it was beautiful again. Thank you for your good wishes for both the skinny one and myself.

      Delete
  40. the sky is wonderful, red sky at night sailors delight, red sky at morning sailor warning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda Starr: That was the version I grew up with as well - the shepherds didn't get a look in. It was beautiful, and given the heat of the day it preceded, everyone should have taken warning.

      Delete
  41. Crikey, you get a lot of comments!

    Spectacular photos. Nothing like a brand new day :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy aka Quillfeather: I do get a lot of comments - and I love them. The warmth and generosity of the blogosphere is a delight. And yes, a brand new day is always good.

      Delete
  42. Your heat has been making the news here in the States. I heard that they added a new color to the weather map to distinguish god-awful heat from even worse god-awful heat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Snowbrush: They did indeed add an additional colour, though it really doesn't make a great deal of difference. We are currently about 12 degrees or so below that new colour - and it is still obscenely hot. Bring back winter.

      Delete
  43. Cor blimey, beautiful, such rich shades, I can almsot feel the warmth from over there. We expect to be snow-tastic here tomorrow morning. Joy. I know, you'd like it. I wish I could send you some. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All Consuming: Snow would be absolute bliss. It is not far from the 100 mark (Farenheit) and there is a hot wind blowing. I have hunkered down inside, and will not be going out again anytime soon.

      Delete
  44. Very cool blog. Interesting posts. ;)
    Nice atmosphere guests with you here on the blog. ;]
    Yours. Have a nice day. !

    Follow me on facebook fanpage and blog
    I'm very concerned about this, please. :)
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-another-light/413836138693856

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Patrycja Photography: Thank you. Sorry, I don't play facebook.

      Delete
  45. Thankfully, you are commenting on my posts or I would be worried about you ... no posts for 6 days. Everything okay?

    You, my fellow mortal, have no idea how much I admire and respect you. What you deal with on a day to day basis makes anything I do pale in comparison. My art is fun and I love that you appreciate it, but it is easy ... it is not painful and it is not work. You on the other hand are creative while at the same time dealing with pain and with the stresses of SP problems and, as I recall, there is more of that to come, yes? I hope that in some way I am able to support you and lift your spirits with some of what I do. You deserve so much more ... Be well, my friend, and thank you for your many thoughtful and kind comments.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrea: Thank you so much for your concern. Things are heading towards medical mayhem fast, and we have had computer problems as well. I am going to be largely absent from the blogosphere within the next week or so - but I will be thinking of all the friends I have made here.

      Delete
  46. The light and colors under those clouds are simply wonderful!

    My best wishes and hopes that the "medical mayhem" turns out well in the end...

    ReplyDelete
  47. Ron Dudley: Thank you - on both counts. It was an astonishing sight. Mostly our sunrises are softer and more subtle. I suspect it was debris from the fires which produced these colours...

    ReplyDelete
  48. such fantastic skies!

    it's strange how we often long for what we don't have, like right now (with degrees around -18C) heat and sun sounds very tempting, but i know i'm not a great fan of high temperatures when it comes down to it.

    there have been lots of news coverage here about the fires in australia, heartbreaking on so many levels. especially for all the innocent animals. sigh. humankind.

    ReplyDelete