Now it is WINTER here.

The last Blog showed the colours of Autumn in "our neck of the woods."

All of that glorious Autumn colour has gone, and the starkness of Winter is here.

And this season has its own beauty.

We have many nights of below zero degrees. The following mornings are magic.
Heavy frosts coat the ground, and any low-growing shrubs, with sparkling white.

The frost remains where the sun has not yet reached.

And you can also see frost remnants along the edges of our road.

Low clouds fill our small valley. They often hang around until mid-morning.

Visibility is low on misty mornings. The place seems magical.

The skies can be clear and blue....stunning

....or grey and threatening...but still magnificent.

The deciduous  trees are bare...having lost their Autumn leaves. Their starkness is beautiful to see, against the backdrop of the sky.

But now, half way through winter some of them are already forming buds, ready to put on their Spring greenery at the first hint of warmer temperatures.

Here is one of our Magnolia trees....the buds are forming now, and, as a bonus, the bird's nest is visible, sitting in a fork of some branches.

And a few birds visit the farm over winter. These add colour and interest.

Here is an adult Crimson Rosella, with the lighter coloured juvenile. (Platycerus elegans)

And a group (or is it a "flock"?) of Crimson Rosellas in a tree near the house.

This is a little difficult to see, but it is a Scarlet Robin.(Petroica multicolor)

I love the robins. They only come to this area in the winter months. Apparently this region is the northern most extent of their winter migration.
 Neighbours in the area all keep a look-out for the robins. And we tell one another when and where we have sighted them.   Much excitement over a very small, but beautiful, bird.

And some flowers are frost-tolerant, and grow through Winter, adding splashes of colour.

I shall finish this Blog with the following photos of the few flowers growing here over winter.
Enjoy our winter photo gallery.

Calendulas (G.Calendula) are so hardy, and so bright.

The purple of the Iris is eye-catching in the brownness of the rest of the garden.

Not much luck with our bulbs this year but the Jonquils put on a show for us.

A small growth of Pansies (Viola genus)

The violets have a deep purple colour. (Also Viola genus)

Autumn on the Granite Belt.

Back to "home" for this blog.....but I do have more of Shanghai to write about. 

Future blogs!

One of the joys I have experienced living here is that there are 4 distinct seasons.

Living in Brisbane you don't really see this.

Certainly in Brisbane  it gets "cool" in winter, but not really cold. Autumn colours don't really exist.

But here on the Granite Belt you know which season you are in.

And I love it.

Last year one of my Blogs focused on the colours of Spring.

This one will be on the colours of Autumn.
And what to show you first? Our vineyard, or the neighbour's fence line?

I'll show you both.

When we look out at the vineyard during Autumn, all the vines have lost their Spring and Summer green colour, and turned red or yellow.

And the neighbour's fence line of deciduous trees gives a lot of pleasure to passing traffic. Isn't it beautiful?

These trees are a colourful sight along Sundown Road.

And now some photos of particular plants, in their Autumn "plumage"

Pistacia chinensis   Chinese Pistachio

This Japanese Maple is just starting to change colour.

A close-up of the Japanese Maple leaves, beginning to turn.

Japanese maple.....Acer palmatum.
These leaves are well on the way to their final deep red colour.
Same tree, but  different rates of colour change.

Another Japanese Maple.  All leaves have changed colour. Isn't it a picture?

Fraxinus genus.   The Claret Ash.

The 2nd photo also shows the ground beneath the tree appearing slightly purple because of all the dropped leaves. It looked beautiful, with the purplish hue under the tree.
Then, of course, some days later,  the Westerly winds blew the ground cover away.

An Ornamental grapevine.....Vitis genus.

These are seen in a lot of local homes. Their leaves turn a deep red in Autumn.

And too, the sunsets at this time of the year are magnificent.

Here are a couple of photos.

And so I leave you with some ideas about out Granite Belt in Autumn.

Enjoy.

The streets of "old" Shanghai.

There are many new, wide, anonymous streets in Shanghai, especially in the "upgraded" section,  but I love the lus (pronounced as "loos") or old streets in the former French Concession.

People use them for anything and everything.
You can understand why.
Their homes are usually very small, and often shared with many other people, so the streets serve as an outdoor area.

Sales are conducted on the streets.

China-ware is often seen, ready for sale.

Belts, underwear, T-shirts etc etc all displayed along the footpath of this street.


Washing is dried, and aired, on the streets.
As soon as a sunny day is observed, the doonas, and washing, appears to dry, or to air. And no-one interferes with anyone else's property as far as I could tell, even though the clothes and bedding were strung out on lines along public streets or lanes.

Doonas being aired, on lines strung up between power poles.

It seems as if nothing is stolen.

Bedding out to air, and undies out to dry.

Repairs are carried out on the streets. 

This is a bicycle repair corner. Also note that washing is in the background. It's a fine day!

Although the gentleman in the foreground is blocking much of the activity (my fault, as the photographer) the man in the background, in the dark blue shirt, is repairing shoes.

Food is made and sold and consumed on the streets.

On my last day in Shanghai, on my last trip (March 2012), our family went to a favourite outdoor eating place. These are some photos of us setting up the table and small chairs (they're all small in China), and enjoying our chosen dishes, washed down with the easy-to drink light Chinese beer.

The food is freshly cooked, and so delicious. An experience not to be missed.

Hair is cut on the streets.

People beg on the streets...although I did not see many beggars.

Wedding photos are taken on the streets.

The following three photos were all taken within 300 metres, on the one street.
It was a sunny day, so there were wedding photos galore!
The couples would have been married in a typical Chinese manner weeks, or even months, before.
But then they choose to have photos taken in western wedding gear. (It is a huge industry in the cities....shops where you go and choose your outfit for the "photo day")

I snapped this poor girl in the middle of a facial contortion!

And of course, social gatherings occur on the streets.

Again, after days of cold, when the sun comes out, so do the people.
These ladies had brought their own chairs, to sit in the sun outside a shop. Lots of conversations were underway.

And Mah Jong is played a lot.
In the streets, usually.
These two games were almost adjacent.
And as well as the players, there are always many observers.

Here in Australia, with our large houses, and shops, activities become private and personal. I think that we have a colourless life in these aspects, compared with many other countries, where the streets and squares are places of social interaction.

I love wandering the streets of the "old" Shanghai.

The growing poultry population here on the farm.

Do you remember the tales of our chickens?
Last year our mother hen hatched one egg, and raised one chicken. (It is now a rooster!)
This year, in late February, she hatched and raised 11 chickens. (See blog in late February for photos of the chicks at one day old, and at 14 days old)


 Here are three photos of the chickens at 6 weeks.

"Mum" is in the foreground. The chickens are developing their black neck feathers.

With her brood foraging around the dam. (not all 11 are in the frame, obviously)

The next two photos were taken at dusk, inside the chook pen. 
The White Sussex bantams prefer to roost in a tree, not in the roost built by us. (The Isa Browns roost there...no tree-climbing for them!)


When the mother hen introduced her brood to the chook pen, the chickens were only 5 weeks old. They had great difficulty trying to climb up into the tree, like their mother.
My husband added this "ladder" which the chickens use to access the lower branches. ...as you can see.
Once in the tree, they can easily move among the branches and find a roost.

Using the ladder to gain access to the lower branches.

Up high with mum....at last.

Only last week we lost a chicken.


We have no idea what happened to the missing chicken. Was it eaten by a fox or a quoll? Was it bitten by a snake? The last is probably not a reality because it is Autumn here on the Granite Belt, and the nights especially are cold. Most self-respecting reptiles are probably asleep for the winter by now.
No....a fox we think, because there are foxes about. We have seen them. In broad daylight. Not just at dusk. (We saw a fox kill a rabbit only last week)
So the mother hen has done well to raise 10 of the 11 to this stage. 

And here are a couple of photos of the chickens at 11 weeks of age.
We can't tell yet whether they'll be hens or roosters.
But you can see how much they're growing.

Coming out of the hen house...."mum" with one of her brood.

Early morning, and out of the hen house to eat seed.

..and then out to hunt for food in the grass.

 Isn't the mother a beautiful looking hen?