Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Spring is on the way

Early this morning I snapped this photo of almond blossom on the tree in the backyard. Fresh and sweet it is when it first appears, before the winds blow it all away. Spring tends to be very windy here in Melbourne which detracts from days when we can expect a little warmth and sunshine.

I've been having fun checking out the capabilities of my new camera. All the photos shown here were taken with it.

Another sign of impending Spring are the irises starting to bloom...

...and the jonquils.


I was pleased with this shot of a knot in the fig tree - I love the texture.


Another good sign of Spring is the build up to the Spring Racing Carnival.

Last weekend two of my favorite horses competed against each other in the Bletchingly Stakes. Apache Cat proved too speedy for Haradasun and won by a good margin. It was a short race -1200m, which suited the Cat. Haradasun will improve, I'm sure, over longer distances.

Next weekend the racing build up continues with several interesting races on the cards. Another horse in my Super Stable, El Segundo, will be running.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous flower pictures. It's strange spring is coming in Australia - I always thought spring was equivalent to our Autumn but it is clearly not so. The leaves are turning colour just a little over here, but really it is still high summer (such that it is)and a month to go, I'd say. It's very interesting , this blogging. You find out such odd things.

I've just given you a thoughtful blogger award by the way.

Anne S said...

Clare: The TX3 does excel in flower pictures, though I'm disappointed with its performance in other applications. August in Melbourne is a funny in between month - sometimes cold sometimes quite balmy. The almond tree always flowers in August, the first fruit tree to blossom. I am constantly amazed these days that you can get Spring flowers in Florists in early winter, though they seem to emerge in the garden earlier these days than before.

It was a great winter for violets. I've never seen them flower in such profusion before. I've been able to pick great bunches of them this year, every week, as they don't last long in a vase. Their delicate perfume wafts out into a room when you least expect it.