Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday, 8 May 2016

Sunday Selections #275

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.  Today it is two themes.  Autumnal colour and confusion.


It is definitely Autumn here, and our winter is just around the corner.  The trees are finally changing colour, and losing their leaves to reveal their bare bone elegance.

In my garden things are confused.  I have a ranuncula that has flowered, I have violets in bloom and innumerable spring bulbs are poking their heads above the ground.



 I don't think I have ever had a jonquil in bud before winter...


We have been dry.  Very dry.  Which means that our autumnal colour is not as vibrant as it has been in other years.  The trees which turn yellow have made a half-hearted attempt and the leaves have died and fallen.

Just the same when I went for a wander around my street early one morning this week I smiled.  Rather a lot.




The grevillea is not autumnal, but I do love them.  And I found found and purchased a yellow one (Goldfever) which I hope flowers soon.






I am so grateful to live in a heavily treed area.



A protea about to burst into full flower.  Beautiful things, which I cannot grow.  My green thumb is black where they are concerned (and a few other plants too).



The next two trees couldn't make up their mind.  Green and red, green and gold...





I loved the vivid colours at the top of the tree when the sun hit it  Later those colours will bleed further down.



It is a pretty street - and a pretty time of year.  We have rain forecast (again) for later today.  Cross your fingers for me please.

Next week?  Birds I think.  And more from our garden.



115 comments:

  1. The colour of the flower in that first photo is almost unnatural. So beautiful it is. It goes to show how clever is Mama Nature.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. A Cuban in London: Very, very clever. And an artist with it. I do love the designs she was painted on fish and insects too.

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  2. It looks like a beautiful street and all the colours are amazing. The clear blue skies are what hit me the most!

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    1. LL Cool Joe: We get lots of blue skies. Today is grey and I am hoping the clouds will leak. All day.

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  3. Oh yes, these are beautiful images, so vivid, thanks EC.

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  4. Living in the tropical zone, the thing I miss most is the sharp delineation of seasons.So it's nice to be able to pop in and see your seasons.Thank you.

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    1. dinahmow: I do love our seasons (most of them) even when they are confused.

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  5. Gorous colours of the trees abd beautiful flowers Sue. Hope you have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Margaret Adamson: Thank you. I am really, really hoping for rain.

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  6. Just lovely. I couldn't live without trees and glad you have yours.

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    1. Birdie: I am a big tree hugger, and so very grateful that my suburb/city has lots of them.

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  7. Pleasurable. Thank you for sharing with us.

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  8. I still can't get over the reversal of our season but your lovely photos remind me of mine past and yet to come. I love all the colors of the seasons.

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    1. Linda Starr: Four seasons is a gift - even if I don't like one of them at all.

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  9. Good morning, EC. It is great to live in a treed area. Like you do, so do I up here on the hill. Tamborine Mountain is covered in trees and other lush vegetation. I love the surroundings here. Most of the properties are on large blocks of land (this one is 3 acres) and so many homes are not visible from the streets because of the various foliage.

    Perhaps you will get some rain this coming week. From what I've seen on the weather reports a trough is travelling across the country...so it might bring you some rain...fingers crossed.

    Have a great week...cuddles to Jazz and Jewel. :)

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    1. Lee: We have gentle drizzle at the moment. The cats don't like it, but I do. And with luck the drizzle will become rain.

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  10. what a delightful place you get to live! all the wonderful colors. I wish you the proper amount of rain and not one drop more! ha ha Have a wonderful weekend EC.

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    1. mohave rat: Thank you. We are MUCH more likely to get less than the proper amount of rain than more. I hope you and Mrs Rat have a wonderful weekend.

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  11. Don't you just love those early morning walks? I can almost feel the crisp air you would be feeling at that time before the sun warms things up. And to be rewarded with those colours ~ birds too at that hour?

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    1. carol in cairns: Definitely birds. Lots of them. And a very few people as well. I really should get out into the morning more instead of just admiring it though the window.

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  12. I get such a nice feeling from your photos and words. Glad to say that I now live in a tree rich area like you, and appreciate it very much. I don't think you and I could easily find anything significant to disagree about! Something cool about the fact that I am moving into Spring as you do the opposite step. . . balance or something

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    1. Cloudia: While I love, love, loved my trip to Antarctica I did suffer from tree deprivation. I knew I loved them, but didn't realise how essential to my well being they are. And yes, we do seem to think alike about a lot of things. Which is lovely.
      I really like the opposite nature of our seasons - it means I can enjoy both. All the time.

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  13. some nice fall colors there.

    Should I do a rain dance for you? I'll cross my fingers. The knees are aching.

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    1. Author R. Mac Wheeler: Something has worked. The rain is here. Very, very gentle (a drizzle really), but moistness IS falling from the skies.

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  14. I wouldn't like to live where there weren't deciduous trees and a proper autumn. I have seen a couple of confused trees lightly in bloom, but they have now decided they got it wrong. Great selection of photos today.

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    1. Andrew: Quite a lot of our garden is confused. And I can't blame it.
      Autumn and deciduous trees are a treat aren't they?

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  15. Lovely tree colours. Ours seem to be very slow in changing this year - it's been a very warm autumn. I have confused plants too - all of my freesias are up!

    Early morning is the best time fro walking, I think.

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    1. Alexia: Our freesias are up too. No flower spikes yet though. The anenomies are also up. And rather a lot of daffodils. We had a warm autumn too, though it is (finally) cooling down.

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  16. Always love your birds, but I am glad to know you will be back with whatever catches your eye and your fancy. :-)

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    1. DJan: Thank you. I have captured some adolescent crimson rosellas - which is a starting point. Unless my flibbertygibbet mind finds something else.

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  17. Autumn colors are so pretty. It's amazing that trees can go from bare to green to flaming orange. Our spring has begun but it's just starting to get green here. Can't wait to see the birds :)

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    1. mshatch: Autumn is a lovely time of year - not least because the cooler temperatures allow me to sleep better. And the garden is no longer crispified on a daily basis.

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  18. Always feels odd to see you in the opposite season from here! Butlovely pictures...some of your lingering flowers are like ours here now...so feeling of crossover. Flowering trees about done but lovely lush green leaves are thick! Cotton off cottonwood is just beginning to float in the air.

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    1. Bookie: The internet has made the world a whole lot smaller hasn't it? In a lovely way.

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  19. They're all so beautiful; it's impossible to pick a favourite. I love the claret ash leaves. I once planned to have alternating gold and claret ash trees lining a driveway, but we moved.
    I have many spring bulbs above ground, but none with buds yet, thank goodness. Coming winter winds and rains would destroy the delicate blooms of ixias. Only one tiny ranunculus has shown up though and I fear it may be the only one, anemonies too have only about eight.

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    1. River: I am hoping (probably against hope) that most of the bulbs which are poking through don't flower. Or not yet.

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  20. Reminds me of that song, Sunrise, Sunset...for some reason...your season turns to autumn while ours here is in spring mode, to turn soon to summer.

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    1. Strayer: It is a lovely reminder that the world is still turning isn't it? I am however, very glad to see the back of summer.

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  21. -love the changing of the leaves. You have such a robust mix of trees and flowering plants in your area.
    The one thing I'll miss about our current place will be the gorgeous mix of trees in the neighbor's yard. Their leaves make such lovely sounds when the wind blows.

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    1. Bea: I do love trees. In leaf, or bare to the sky. And there are so many shades of green... I hope when you move there are still some trees nearby for you.

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  22. Hi EC - lovely photos and descriptions ... it sounds like your Autumn is now like our Autumn was last year ... very early for Spring - yet then there was a cold patch and things settled ...thankfully nature does adjust.

    Love the colours - all the rouges, ambers, brilliant sharp deep pink - amazing colours ... I hope you get your rain .. and that area is a delight - I can see why you like living there .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary Melton-Butcher: I am more than a little anxious about how the garden will cope when winter comes. As it will. A waiting game.
      I too revel in the colours. And the textures and sounds.

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  23. Beautiful colours. I too have a jonquil that is about to flower, a "Paper White" narcissus that I was hoping to enjoy in spring. It's only about 4 months too early!

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    1. lynners: I assume the jonquils in bud are Paper Whites - always the first, but this is so very early. Weeding the bed which holds most of my bulbs I was surprised at just how many bulbs are shooting. I hope they survive, and I hope for a colourful spring. Later. As you say, four months later.

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  24. Love the protea. I was hoping for rain, forecasted at 100% yesterday, to water my new plantings but that didn't happen.

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    1. Sue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: We did get rain. All day. Very gentle rain. 4mm (0.15 inches). More needed.

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  25. Dear EC
    Despite the lack of rain, there are some beautiful colours to enjoy in your neighbourhood. Thank you for sharing. We have had a cold Spring so far but a few days of bright and warm sunshine has started to bring things on now.
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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    1. Ellie Foster: Our autumn has been the hottest on record. It is (finally) starting to cool down. And we got a smidge of rain yesterday with more promised today.

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  26. You did manage to find some color even if it has been so dry. We've had a ton of rain - wish I could send you some.

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    1. Alex J. Cavanaugh: Some world-wide weather moderation would be very nice. Instead we seem to be locked into feast/famine mode.

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  27. What beautiful colours EC! Reminded me of the quote autumn is when every leaf is a flower. Forget whose it is. Wilde? Whitman?

    I live in tree-deprived and autumn-deprived lands...I used to feel grumpy about that till I realised the planet is beautiful everywhere..look forward to the birds.

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    1. Nilanjana Bose: That is a quote I didn't know - so I explored. Albert Camus! Unexpected, and so very true.
      The planet is indeed beautiful. I am grateful for trees and autumn though.

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  28. Do you think it was just coincidence that I started sneezing frantically while looking at your pictures?

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  29. I love all the colors. It's fun to see your flowers as you're about to go into winter as we are about to go into summer here in Alabama. Have a wonderful Sunday and Happy Mother's Day.

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    1. Mason Canyon: Thank you. And a happy Mothers' Day to you too.

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  30. Your fall colors are beautiful to look at, from afar. :-)

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    1. Joanne Noragon: I am glad. I have anenomies up too, which always makes me think of you.

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  31. Oh how beautiful. I am so grateful that you appreciate the beauty that surrounds you and that you share it. Each week I look forward to seeing your pictures. They are such a delight.

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    1. Myrna R.: You say the very nicest things. Thank you. I am a beauty addict. And greedy with it.

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  32. the red spike-like leaves: are they sumac? Are the yellow leaves similar a walnut tree? Privet is blooming here as is honeysuckle--the trees have turned from the early-spring myriad shades of green to the mature (I guess) uni-shade of green. Flowers--roses, zinnias (newly planted) and barberry provide the color, along with an old deutzia. I have 2 quotes taped to my desk lamp: "Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old" (Kafka) and "Beauty is not caused. It is." (E. Dickinson) Hope you received some rain.

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    1. Patricia A. Laster: I don't think the spike leaves are sumac, but they are in someone else's garden. The yellow are possibly a golden ash. I am a firm believer that there is beauty everywhere if I keep my eyes, heart and mind open - and have not been disappointed yet. If Kafka is right (and I believe he is) I will always be young. And the lovely Emily is right too.
      We did get some rain. Very gentle, but very welcome. And it is drizzling today too.

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  33. I stared in absolute confusion at all of the Autumn pictures, asking "Why did she wait so long to post these." Then I remembered you're on the other side of the world and have seasons at different times.

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    1. Robert Bennett: So my sub-theme of confusion got an extra dimension. Autumn it is. About bloody time too.

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  34. EC, lovely photos, full of colour and beauty - thank you so much. I especially like the grevillea and the protea - both of them are unfamiliar to me and they are beautiful. I'm glad to hear you have gotten some steady drizzle. Hope you get more. Looking forward to birds and naked trees!

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    1. jenny_o: I have lots and lots of different grevilleas and am really looking forward to my new yellow one flowering in the fullness of time. And some day I WILL grow a protea. Birds coming up, and naked trees a little later.

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  35. that's odd that its an autumn look there, but regardless, your photos show such beauty!!

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    1. Tammy Theriault: Not odd at all. It is autumn on this side of the world. A beautiful autumn.

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  36. The autumn colours are really brilliant.
    I have roses in bloom that just came out last week!

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    1. Margaret-whiteangel: We had a rose burst into bloom (for the first time) the week before. Global weather weirding.

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  37. I would have gladly sent our rains of last week your way...Lovely colors all around you. I look forward to more and hope you're doing well.

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    1. e: Thank you. Some rain yesterday and today. Some very welcome rain. And more colour to come. I am ok, and hope you are thriving.

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  38. My comment is a huge sigh of appreciation. I loved seeing the flowers and trees you get to enjoy this spring.

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    1. cleemckenzie: What a lovely comment. Your spring, our autumn. With luck we will get frosts soon too. And I can perfect my obsession with freezing bubbles.

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  39. What beautiful trees! You are very lucky to be surrounded by such gorgeous color. I do hope you've gotten some rain by now. Jezebel has been brewing a special rain potion for you. ;)

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    1. River Fairchild: Thank Jezebel for me, and offer her some anchovies. We did get (a little) rain. And blissfully cool days.

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  40. Hey EC, Maybe the flowers think they're in the states and that it's really spring;)

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    1. Sandra Cox: So long as they don't get any ideas about bringing back summer. We have only just kicked the sweaty season to the curb.

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  41. PS I noticed Ghost For Sale on your reading list. Thanks for your support. I still owe you a book.

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    1. Sandra Cox: I romped through Ghost for Sale. And the thank you should come from my side.

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  42. Lovely pictures. Enjoyed the colorful tour.

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  43. Wonderful photos! I like how we are in different seasons!

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    1. Ginger Dawn Harman: I do too. I can experience and marvel at two at once.

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  44. Wow! Loved all these photos!

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  45. Beautiful trees and flowers. Autumn is always a lovely time of the year.

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  46. Dear EC, I am looking for something else to read when my latest library book is finished...any thoughts? Thanks!

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    1. e: Fiction or non-fiction? Any particular genre? Any no-go areas? I am an eclectic (greedy is more accurate) reader and guzzle fiction and non-fiction across genres. There are some gems in my reading list, and some I will never read again.
      My email address is in my profile if that helps you.

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  47. Wonderful autumnal colours and lovely flowers in your garden!

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    1. Lady Fi: I wish the protea WAS in my garden. I love it thriving in the street though.

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  48. You have there very lovely and colorful trees, autumn has arrived there. Autumn is always wonderful time, so beautiful.
    Here in northern hemisphere we are now able to see how the nature is waking up for summer (now the spring is the most beautiful, we have very warm weather, has been already about a week (+ 20...+23 C, and its's in Mai heat for us in North).
    Your photos are really lovely, and I can image how you'll enjoy walking there just now time.

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    1. orvokki: I do love autumn - but spring is wonderful too. I hope yours is lovely. 20-23 is quite warm enough by my standards. I am happier when it is cooler.

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  49. Jonquils are so naughty. We should call them impatiens. :) Love your photos!!!

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    1. T Powell Coltrin: Thank you. Chuckling at the jonquil by another name.

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  50. I do envy you your autumn colours as we see so little of them in Perth although most of the older suburbs are tree filled. Seems the new suburbs where the blocks are so small have no room for trees and mostly grey roofs are so boring to look at.
    I am sure both yours and our summers have extended so far into the year that it has played havoc with the garden and plants are flowering out of season. Over here frangipani usually stop flowering in March but many still have inflos which are showing buds and are still opening. Nobody is complaining as frangipanis are an addiction with many folk here.
    Thanks for once again showing us such beauty.

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    1. Mimsie: Frangipani going on longer than expected is something I wouldn't complain about. It gets too cold for them here, but they are beautiful things. A four month jump start on Spring is worrying me though. I do hope it doesn't mean that Spring (and Summer) will be early this year.

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  51. Fall in dry California is more like "what will that cactus do this year" Some have exquisite blooms, though.

    Your photos are so marvelous!

    How I miss Illinois in the fall. Summer and winter, I will avoid heading to Illinois.

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    1. Susan Kane: You are so right about cactus blooms. Our most spectacular is a warm weather flowerer though.

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  52. Such pretty pictures! A few of the plants seem to be confused of what hemisphere they're in, though.

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    1. Cherie Reich: Confusion reigns. In the garden and in my head.

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  53. Stunning colors.
    I can smell the flowers all the way over here! xx

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    1. My Inner Chick: I am glad. It is bright and beautiful here today too - but on the cool side.

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  54. Maybe winter doesn't want to arrive. I hope it will be a mild one and your spring will pop up earlier than usual.

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    1. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: I do hope winter does come - and am happy for it to be chilly. I am not a fan of the sweaty season.

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  55. Amazing to think it's autumn there - everything is still so beautiful.

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  56. Autumn is my favorite season. It's six months away here, but Spring is so mild it almost feels like we're back there. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of the foliage with us abroad.

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    1. John Wiswell: I am a fan of autumn too. Indeed of all the seasons - except summer.

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  57. Brrr it's suddenly become crazily cold and with no beautiful autumn colours around me it's been a delight to enjoy your autumn images

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    1. Kim: It has been chilly here too for the last few days (which I love) but warmer (a bit) weather is returning for the weekend.

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