That heading is apropos of nothing at all except to say you can dress up any outing to make it enjoyable, a bit special.
We set off quite a few days to explore back roads only to be thwarted by closures or very bad road conditions - but we always found something, a sun orchid or other treasure to make it worthwhile.
Glorious blue sun orchid. I love the shadows this flower casts; you get a tiny perspective of the 3D structure of its working parts.
We have also taken a number of walks not far from where we have been based; it’s amazing what you find in a country village and surrounds. It is simply a matter of seeing through new eyes or looking at the detail of what sometimes stares you in the face.
Look into the heart of a rose or other flower - it’s like entering a different world.
This little guy parked long enough for me to get close up (the next day a Bogong moth settled in the same spot - outside the ablutions block).The dragonfly has inhabited the earth for almost 300 million years; there are currently more than 5000 known species.
Look at that face!
A common little flower but look at its simple amazing structure. All enhanced by the wee insect and raindrop.
Look closely at plants and see insects at work. Inhale the scent of fragrant herbs. Read the interpretative signs and story boards and so much opens up to you. For instance a river-side board told me that in Autumn the local aboriginal people of the Lower Snowy once notched the trunks of Black wattles. The resultant balls of gum that formed were eaten or dissolved in water with flower nectar to make a sweet drink.
The Black Wattle trees weighed down with fragrant blossoms crowded the river bank.
The river was covered in fallen blossoms
Our path was strewn with wee fluffy balls of powdery spent blossoms and the air was heavy with the delicate perfume of the Black Wattle.
While we’re on the subject of nature’s wonders, did you know that although you rarely see them, our cute little echidnas occupy a greater range of habitats than perhaps any other Australian mammal. They are one of the oldest surviving mammalian species on earth (they evolved 20-50 million years ago).
On a walk alongside the Snowy towards Marlo we learnt that the riparian (riverside) temperate rainforest zone of the lower Snowy was all but destroyed by clearing. It is now being restored by local communities.
Imagine designing this. It’s quite breathtaking. .
All exotics but all very beautiful.
A couple of blocks from the Main Street of Orbost we discovered a delightful garden planted with all manner of plants designed specifically to offer a sensory experience - fragrance, texture, taste, colour to delight the senses and attract birds and insects. We harvested some herbs and a little chard for our table. Quite delightful.
The garden was dedictaed to Grace Jennings Carmichael once a resident of east Gippsland. She was Victoria’s first aboriginal poet to publish a book of verse. She was considered a forerunner of the true poets of Australia.
These plants, xanthorrhea, are commonly known as grass trees. They are ancient and believed to be one of the first flowering plants to have evolved. Taste the sweet droplets nectar of their strange wee flowers (seen in this pic); the birds and insects love it. It was once used as a sweetener by the aboriginal people.
The silky soft bark of the paperbark tree was once used to wrap babies in.
The stamen of the Thelionema caespitosum - tufted blue lily, wave enticing flags to passing insects but it’s the colour which first heralds a feed.
These are grass stamen. See the similarities? People often claim that grasses do not flower. Wrong! They lack pretty coloured petals because they do not need to attract insects, they are wind pollinated.
Narrow duckweed, Wolffia angusta, on the billabong near the caravan park in Orbost. Incidentally ‘billabong’ is an aboriginal word meaning ‘dead river’. This rare plant is the world’s smallest flowering plant; its upper surface is less than 1mm. It floats on the water surface and has no roots. It has been found at only 2 other sites in Victoria: Newmerella just a few Km away and Camperdown in western Victoria.
It’s an amazing world we live in. Open your eyes and drink it in. Please.
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