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. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week, for a variety of reasons has been difficult and confronting, so I am going down the distractions path. Colourful distractions.
Local government has been doing quite a lot of burning off to reduce fire danger next season. The air smells of burning eucalpytus, and the skies are smoky. As is not uncommon I wandered outside as the sun was setting.
Looking west, it was pretty and had promise of drama to come. When I swivelled 45 degrees everything changed... to murky, moody magic.
And I continue to delight in the begonias. Splashes of vibrant joy.
And a reminder that the garden is sadly neglected.
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. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week, for a variety of reasons has been difficult and confronting, so I am going down the distractions path. Colourful distractions.
Local government has been doing quite a lot of burning off to reduce fire danger next season. The air smells of burning eucalpytus, and the skies are smoky. As is not uncommon I wandered outside as the sun was setting.
Looking west, it was pretty and had promise of drama to come. When I swivelled 45 degrees everything changed... to murky, moody magic.
And I continue to delight in the begonias. Splashes of vibrant joy.
The begonias don't look neglected EC 😀
ReplyDeleteWe have had a couple of unusual sunsets that have thrown a pink hue across everything. I have seen a few people capture those sunsets now. Well done.
carol: The begonias aren't neglected. Or not much. The rest of the garden is. And the dandelions are thriving. Which I will rue later.
DeleteA weeding wand will do the trick on your dandelions 😈
DeleteCarol: It probably would. Mind you, dandelions are the least of my problems.
Deletebeutiful pictures, thank you for these treats
ReplyDeleteMartin Kloess: My pleasure.
DeleteBoth the first and the ensuing series look like they could come out of a Disney movie! I could see Maleficent painting her toenails by the thin light of the first.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: Now there is a way I had NEVER considered the sky. Thinking, thinking, thinking...
DeleteThose are some beautiful scenes, and the flowers are very beautiful as well.
ReplyDeleteLon Anderson: There is beauty everywhere. For which I am very grateful.
DeleteAh yes, your murky, moody magic photos bring mystery and beauty to my eyes. What a lovely sunset indeed! Beautiful begonias and other blossoms still holding on! I had to cover my tulips yesterday for fear that our winter blast may take their young life. Happy Sunday to you.
ReplyDeleteKaren S.: We have spring bulbs poking their way through the ground here too. No tulips yet. And, given we have Autumn and winter ahead I am glad. I hope your tulips stay safe.
DeleteMost of my bulbs have greenery eight inches high already. I hope they survive the winter to bloom in spring.
DeleteRiver: That is both of us. Fingers crossed.
DeleteLove your pictures esp ones with smoke influence. The moody shots look like paintings. Here the conditions are dry with wind and ripe for prairie fires. Some have been horrid and burned acres and acres of land. It sounds like yours are controlled burns so that is good.
ReplyDeleteBookie: These are controlled burns. We have them every year and sadly we also have the uncontrolled variety. So much death and destruction.
DeleteAside from the smoke factor, I wonder if there is a best time of the year for sunset and sunrise photos? It seems Autumn is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: Autumn is good, but I do like dawn photos in winter. Particularly when there is a layer of fog as well.
DeleteThe begonias are absolutely gorgeous. And your scenic pictures.....I think if I studied them long enough I'd be writing a story......
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: I hope you do. I do like your stories.
DeleteThank, EC. That makes me smile.
DeleteThe photos are all beautiful, but I think the third from the top is my favorite. The colors are amazing, but it's that long, white strip in the top left hand corner that I find fascinating. It could be imaged as so much.
ReplyDeleteMason Canyon: I think the long white strip is a jet trail. I was intrigued that it didn't take on the colour from the setting sun though.
DeleteWow on that orange red. Pretty flowers, even the neglected ones.
ReplyDeleteThe Happy Whisk: Hopefully in the next week or two I will be able to get back into the garden.
DeleteIt's spring and we have a snowstorm and I miss the garden. Looking forward to returning. Great physical therapy for me.
DeleteHope you get back there too.
The Happy Whisk: Great physical therapy for me too. It was overdoing that therapy which caused the bursitis to flare and keeps me out of the garden. Acute pain is a good warning. Sigh.
DeleteSorry that you over did it. I don't know anything about bursitis. Does it heal?
DeleteThe Happy Whisk: It will get better, but having happened with happen again. Which it has.
DeleteIt bursitis a inflammatory thing?
DeleteThe Happy Whisk: Yup. A painful inflammatory thing. With referred pain down to my knee.
DeleteWow, what spectacular smoky orange sunset photos. Dramatic and beautiful. I like the begonias that are white with the red edging. So pretty. After doing the fence, I've been neglecting everything else, still worn out.
ReplyDeleteStrayer: Not surprised you are worn out. That was a big (and exhausting) project.
DeleteGreat sky pictures, what a change.
ReplyDeletePretty colour flowers.
Merle................
Merlesworld: I was blown away that both colours existed at the same time. Just a swivel of the body, and the view was completely different.
DeleteDandelions in Oz. I didn't know. The carrot-like root supposedly makes a good tea. Beautiful skies. I still can't wrap my head around that it's tomorrow there or yesterday here?
ReplyDeletedonna baker: We have LOTS of dandelions. Some gardens (mine) more than others. I have heard that it makes good tea but haven't tested it. Sunday afternoon here now.
DeleteAs I read (or should I say, looked through) your post, I was thinking the dandelions could be useful. The root makes tea and the leaf is a highly nutritious vegetable
DeleteWe often get beautiful sunsets here when you poor Aussies have bad bushfires burning - the smoke drifts across the Tasman and colours the sky gorgeously. Not that I want to wish bushfires on you! I'm glad these were controlled ones.
ReplyDeleteI hope no-one ever asks you what your favourite begonia is, EC - it would surely be impossible to pick from so much beauty.
Alexia: Smoke does make for a stunning sunset doesn't it? For some reason the smoke affected sunrises look 'dirty'. My favourite plant changes with the wind. Fickle I am.
DeleteBegonias are lovely...as are sunsets and sun rises. I did a quick trip to the supermarket earlier on this morning and fog was drifting up across the road from the valley below in one spot along the way. And then suddenly I drove into bright morning sunshine.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week ahead, EC...cuddles to Jazz and Jewel. Take care. :)
Lee: I like the mystery of fog. Which is just as well because over the next few months we will get a few.
DeleteA great week to you, to Remy and to Sharma.
Those awesome skies are the agony of a saint. Then the flowers gentle and heal my soul!
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Now that it a way of looking at the sky I had never considered. The garden (flowering or not) heals my soul too. Mostly.
DeleteSuch beautiful pictures, even the dandelions of neglect. :)
ReplyDeleteSandi: Welcome and thank you. The dandelions of neglect is a wonderful phrase - and I have a soft spot for them.
DeleteI like dandelion clocks.And I don't consider you halt to gardening as neglect.It was an enforced halt, not a wilful abandonment.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm rather glad the bursitis didn't affect the shutter finger :)
dinahmow: I like dandelion clocks too. And hope to get back into the garden soonish. A bit. The heat of summer had meant that I DID neglect it.
DeleteThose orange sunsets are rare--& magnificent!!
ReplyDeletefishducky: The sky is yet another of my obsessions.
DeleteHow I love those skies, EC - and they barely look like they are from the same planet, much less the same coordinates on the planet. Your camera purchase is paying off well, looking at these shots today.
ReplyDeleteI hope next week goes better for you.
jenny_o: The camera is still smarter than I am, but I am learning. Always a good thing. Sometimes a painful thing. Often a humbling thing.
DeleteWow I can't decide which I like better, the beautiful flowers or the awesome, moody sunsets. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteT. Powell Coltrin: Fortunately we don't have to choose. Both are a gift. And a joy.
DeleteI love all of the pictures and the color but I think the second one is my favorite. Something edgy about it and a little bit of suffering about it. And that probably doesn't make sense at all to a sane person. ;)
ReplyDeleteSonya Ann: Not a lot of sanity here. So yes, it does make sense. I liked the moodiness myself.
DeleteOh those skies, and the brilliant begonias! All so beautiful and mysterious. You've outdone yourself here. :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: Thank you. I hope your knee is improving.
DeleteOh! That gorgeous frilly begonia under the yellow one!
ReplyDeleteSmoky skies do make for wonderful sunsets and better burning off than bushfires. I wish our councils would see the same sense. They leave it up to the landowners in the hills, most of whom don't wish to be burning parts of their bushland, or don't realise the danger. I think there are fines now for not burning off/cutting back, but what good is a fine when a fire is raging and endangering lives and properties?
River: After the disastrous fire which took out over 500 houses and human and animal life burning off DOES happen. As it should. We are still at risk each year though. I love that begonia too.
DeleteThe sky is amazingly beautiful. Just love those photos.
ReplyDeleteYour begonias are to die for.
Margaret-whiteangel: The begonias are very happy on the front veranda - and I add to them each year.
DeleteHi EC - those skies are amazing - gosh what wonderful shots .. and then the begonias - always colourful ... have a good week ... at least you can tell the time with your dandelion puff balls ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHilary Melton-Butcher: What's the time Mr Wolf? One o'clock, two o'clock... DINNER time.
DeleteVery pretty sunsets and begonias. Hope whatever made this week difficult is going away or at least fading.
ReplyDeleteSue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: Thank you. Still difficult, but ok.
DeleteAmazing collection of pictures. My eyes became active by seeing the beauty of the flowers and the colors of the sky...
ReplyDeleteWeekend-Windup: There is a lot of beauty in the world isn't there. Which is wonderful.
Deleteohhhhhhhh. Twilight rocks
ReplyDeleteAuthor R. Mac Wheeler: So does dawn. I was out playing mad woman with camera in the early light a few hours ago.
DeleteSunset pics are among my favorite. And your bloody begonias are bloody amazing!
ReplyDeletemshatch: Thank you. Snickering at your final sentence.
DeleteI haven't read all the comments and answers like I enjoy doing, but along with the dandelion roots and leaves, we have been told NOT to dig them out of our yards because the bees like the yellow flower. Now, it we could just find a good use (besides children blowing them) for the seeds, we'd be in business. Just yesterday, I set out on the windowsill a couple pots of wintered-over-inside begonias, but the blooms are small on long stems.
ReplyDeletePatricia A. Laster: There are quite a lot of other bee friendly plants here so I will (probably) remove the dandelions. Or some of them. My inner child likes the clocks. I have one cast in perspex which I love. And someday I will find out how it was done.
DeleteBeautiful flowers....they can manage on their own for a while my friend....those skies are stunning.
ReplyDeleteDonna@LivingFromHappiness: It is just as well that the garden can manage on its own. The heat of summer meant I avoided it, and infirmity is slowing me down at the moment. Soon. Soonish I will be back.
DeleteDear EC
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. The begonias look incredible. Don't worry too much about neglecting the garden - it will all wait for your health to improve! In the meantime, keep celebrating the beauty.
Best wishes
Ellie
Ellie Foster: I have a nasty habit of looking at the garden and seeing what NEEDS to be done, rather than what is there. And since the garden is always a work in progress there is always a lot to be done. The camera does help me focus on the beauty though.
DeleteI do love the first 5 pictures, they are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: I am a sky addict.
DeleteYou live in best place.
DeleteBob Bushell: You see some things which I can only dream of...
DeleteThe eucalpytus trees grow high in my country. Sometimes the eucalyptus has been known to heal respiratiory ailments
ReplyDeleteSpacerguy: Eucalyptus oil has a range of uses, medicinal and otherwise. And it smells of home to me. I am always sad to see the forests burn - and ache for the homes and lives destroyed.
DeleteMake a wish on those dandelions. (Just do it in the direction of your neighbours yard! :-P
ReplyDeleteBirdie: I direct the snails his way too...
DeleteBeautiful skies, flowers and little fluffy reminders. I have a few reminders in my garden too :)
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: My father once told me if it grows well it is a weed. He had a point.
DeleteI love the sunset and your pictures make me feel like I'm there in yours. The flowers are beautiful. I hope this coming week is nicer to you.
ReplyDeleteMyrna R.: Thank you. This morning I did a very little in the garden for the first time in two weeks. I am hurting so I have stopped, but it is a step in the right direction.
DeleteMurky, moody magic is a wonderful description and full of sinister possibilities. Something could be lurking just beyond perception. :)
ReplyDeleteHugs to you for a difficult week.
River Fairchild: You will be unsurprised to hear that I enjoyed the murky moody skies. And sinister possibilities are everywhere.
DeleteALl those sky shots are gorgeous. I love the many colours you have in your Begonias. Have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Adamson: There are other colours too. We do love our begonias.
Delete..."murky, moody, magic".. just the description I was looking for when I saw those shots!
ReplyDeleteGrannie Annie: Oh it was. Anything could have been loitering/lurking in that sky.
DeleteOmg, what splendid captures! I am so happy I discovered your blog. Will be back soon!
ReplyDelete@KalaRavi16 from
Relax-N-Rave
Kala Ravi: Welcome and thank you.
DeleteKala Ravi: PS: Sorry, cannot comment on your post. I will try again later.
DeleteGood morning! I especially like the red and white begonias. But they're all vibrant and lush.
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: I like them all. Including the white and the orange ones. No colour prejudice here.
DeleteIt looks lively for a neglected garden.
ReplyDeleteMore than lively, I'd say.
Have a peaceful week, EC.
Rawknrobyn: Part of it (the weedy parts) ARE lively. A good week to you too.
DeleteI kind of like dandelions - for some reason. We just to like to blow on them when we were kids, and make them scatter. I guess I didn't have allergies back then. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the begonias, too. And that orange sky IS magical!
Lynn: I like them too. They have a delicate beauty. And (fortunately) are not one of the things I am sensitive to.
DeleteBeautiful sky and begonias!!
ReplyDeleteCountry Mum: Thank you.
DeleteI love the begonias and those wishing joys left unattended. You really have a great eye for photography.
ReplyDeleteGinger Dawn Harman: I am a beauty addict. And there is a LOT of it about.
DeleteBeautiful shots of nature. So lovely to look at.
ReplyDeleteLux G.: Thank you.
DeleteSuch pretty skies!
ReplyDeleteladyfi: They were. I hope you are having a wonderful time in New York.
DeleteYou take the most beautiful pictures. Have you ever entered a competition?
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: Never. I am essentially a happy snapper rather than a photographer.
DeleteFires do make pretty sunrises/ sunsets. Last Friday, I was using the self-clean mode on my oven. Of course the house became smoky and I opened the windows. Hours after the smoke should have cleared, I finally realized the house was getting more acrid instead of less. I walked outside, and realized I could no longer see our mountains for the haze. A big controlled burn was underway, and the smoke was coming in my house instead of out!
ReplyDeleteSusan F.: And the smell from fires (controlled or otherwise) lingers doesn't it. And lingers.
DeleteI embiggened the pics and ran though them one by one. Those beautiful skies and then those fabulous flowers....all so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAm I right in remembering those seed heads as 'four o'clocks' or something similar. We would blow them and count (I think that was it).
I saw on the weather forecast tonight that Canberra would be smokey tomorrow. Hope the smoke doesn't upset either of you too much.
Sorry your week has not been wonderful and hoping for a better one this week. Hugs.
Mimsie: Dandelion heads. And we too blew them and counted. It is early here, but cloudy (though no rain is predicted) and smokey. It doesn't bother either of us too badly, but there are lots of people who are not so lucky.
DeleteJust stopped by to say hey. Have a good one:)
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: And to you.
DeleteAbsolutely stunning sunsets EC, wow, I kept looking and re-looking. Particularly interesting to see the difference from one angle to the next.
ReplyDeleteYour beautiful begonias brought back a funny memory. The tall one and I had just set up our first home. I'd planted a small garden, including a begonia. I came home one day to find the tall one had done some 'weeding'. He was thrilled to have pulled up a dock, and was so stunned by its tap root that he'd cut it in half to study it more closely! It's a testimony to begonias that it survived being replanted.
Kim: Ouch on the weeding. I am so glad it survived. In my experience the more precious the plant is to me, the more delicate it becomes.
ReplyDeleteStunning sunsets, EC. Love that burn offs are happening. Since Queensland started burn offs again some years ago, we have avoided major bushfires while seeing our southern cousins going up in smoke.
ReplyDeleteLove begonias. find them easy to grow. And they never disappoint. :-)
Denise Covey: We have burn offs every year. And most years fires too. Sad and bad. You get more of the wonderful wet stuff than we do.
DeleteI love Begonias. I don't have a garden now, but it would be nice!! And that sky was magical when you did your pivot. :)
ReplyDeletemail4rosey: My garden keeps me sane(ish). When it isn't sending me in the other direction.
DeleteI'm still fascinated by that sky......
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: I have taken some dramatic ones this week too. Dawn and dusk.
DeleteI look forward to seeing them.
DeleteWhat beautiful sky views! Love the colors. The orange-ish colors go perfectly with the begonias (flowers I am very partial to). ;) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Jess
DMS ~ Jess: Thank you. I am a fan too - of sky and of begonias.
DeleteWow, what a stunning array of colours! From the sunsets to the begonias...all vibrant and full of the joys of life and wonderful distractions, thank you.
ReplyDeleteJane: Sometimes distractions are an essential.
DeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteYes, I know, it's a rarity to see a comment from me, as of late.
The begonias are a radiance of colourful beauty. I so miss having a garden, but not the work involved.
A rather glowing sunset, captured nicely.
Gary
klahanie: Dear Gary, it is lovely to see you. I hear you about the work in a garden. I am failing. Badly.
DeleteI hope you are doing better.
Beautiful sunset, indeed. And your flowers are lovely.
ReplyDeleteHugs
orvokki: Thank you. I loved your trip to Spain.
DeleteHugs and thanks for sharing your lovely garden...
ReplyDeletee: Thank you. I hope your world is treating you gently.
DeleteI spent a couple of hours in mine yesterday, and sorely neglected is an understatement. I always enjoy my time there, but getting there these days is a challenge. Thanks for the beautiful images today.
ReplyDeletecleemckenzie: My hip has gone back on me, so the garden will remain neglected for a while longer. Sigh.
DeleteAren't sunrises (and sunsets) like that amazing and captivating? It is as if time stands still.
ReplyDeleteOptimistic Existentialist: Each and every time. Magic at its best.
Deletebeen years since I grew any begonias and those dandelions are nutritious for the bees and us if we dare eat the greens, I never have perhaps you ?
ReplyDeleteLinda Starr: I haven't eaten the leaves. Some day...
DeleteGood Friday, EC. Do you feed your flowers coffee grounds?
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: I have not one but four compost bins, and coffee grounds and tea leaves and vegetable peelings and cat hair and rather a lot of other things go into them.
DeleteYour splashes of vibrant joy are stunners, and I do love those skies.
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: The sky is a daily addiction, and yes, I love them too.
DeleteThese pictures are beautiful.
ReplyDeletehttps://ficklemillennial.wordpress.com
Gina Gao: Thank you. I will be off to visit you shortly.
DeleteYour pictures are fab, as always. But what a garden you must have. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteYolanda Renee: A work in progress. And not enough work or progress at the moment.
DeleteSkies are brilliant- and I love the colors in your garden. I've just been outside making a list of to-dos...everything around here needs some work. :(
ReplyDeleteTerri @ Coloring Outside the Lines: Here too. Lots of work. Lots and lots of work.
DeleteRemind me again, why don't I live with you?! It's all so beautiful! I think there's a song about that actually. I love your skies, and the rainbow of colours from the gorgeous flowers too. x
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming: What we need to do is home share - except that we would like each other's climates at opposite times of the year. Sigh. And hugs.
DeleteHappy weekend, EC. May it be wondrous.
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: It is not too bad at all. I hope yours is great too.
DeleteI have to laugh at your neglected garden photo, to me it's really a pretty photo! As are the rest, those skies are incredible. I can imagine the scents with all those burn outs too! Enjoy your week in everything you do!
ReplyDeleteKaren S.: At the time the garden WAS neglected. It had been (and still was) hot. I finally got into it, and can show more of the garden now (but not all of it).
Delete