Sunflower

You'd be hard pressed not to like this flower. It just screams happiness! The sight of a sunflower makes me smile without fail. I grew this one in my garden last year and then used the seeds from it to grow more this year. This one grew to about 3 metres tall whereas the ones I planted this year produced "baby" sunflowers which were barely a metre in height.

The flowers in the center of the head are called disk flowers. These mature into fruit (sunflower "seeds"). The disk flowers are arranged spirally.  Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other; however, in a very large sunflower head there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other. This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds mathematically possible within the flower head.

Wikipedia 

Beach Sunrise

I'm always in my happy place when walking on the beach. The best time of day has to be sunrise; particularly when it looks this good.

Beautiful Butterfly

A pretty Common Crow butterfly just hanging out.

Cemetery

On a recent road trip to Mount Mulligan we stopped off to look at Thornborough Cemetery. I love the intricate design on this old headstone we found there.

Thornborough was an old mining town; which is now abandoned but it used to be known as the capital of Far North Queensland and was home to 1500 people and 22 hotels.

Thornborough is a town and locality in Shire of Mareeba in Queensland, Australia. It rose to prominence in the 1870s as a gold mining town in the Hodgkinson Minerals Area.

Today, there are very few buildings remaining in the town.

Wikipedia

Tranquility

A short drive from home there is a walk through the rainforest, which runs alongside a creek and finishes up at a beautiful waterfall called Tranquility. Its such a nice little part of the world, with some great wildlife. Here's a couple of pics from my last visit.

Sails Up!

 I took this last year on my birthday when hubby and I headed out for a day out sailing on the gorgeous Coral Sea. We hung out on a beautiful little island for a few hours, snorkeled and then headed back to dry land..sparking wine in hand. A fabulous day.

Rainforest Fungi

I know, I know....but seriously fungi is so cool, why wouldn't I want to post more? Here are some of my latest finds.

Fungi are fantastic recycler's. They break down dead plant material and free up the nutrients, making them available to other living organisms in the forest. They are responsible for the release of 85% of the carbon within a forest, while bacteria and animals break down the remaining 15%.  Without the fungi’s excellent recycling service those nutrients would be locked up in ever increasing piles of natural rubbish, soil fertility would steadily decline, and plant growth would be restricted.

 Wet Tropics Management Authority and the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency 

Beach Art

Ask anyone who knows me well and they'll tell you that I love beach-combing. I love the feeling that I get when I step onto a beach, total relaxation and calm. I love wandering for hours looking for shells, bits of driftwood, seeds, stones...anything interesting I can find.

I also love coming across some of the natural art that the ocean and the beach create. Below are some of my favourites.

Millaa Millaa Falls

This stunning waterfall is approximately 18m in height and is listed as a Queensland heritage site. It is now a very popular tourist stop and crowds converge here to swim in the cool pool below the falls. But that has not always been the case. 

The immediate area around the falls was used as a rest stop for the early horse and mule pack teams that travelled along the Palmerston track on their way to and from the Herberton mining field; used as a depot for the first land surveyors working in the area; a camp for workers on the Millaa Millaa railway, and as a quarry for road materials.

Wikipeda 

Natures Window

On a recent trip I spotted this fabulous tree in amongst the dry schlerophyll forest. Not only is it a visually stunning tree but it also provided a small window for me to capture my friend and his son examining termite mounds in the distance. Nature at its best.

Frilled Neck Lizards

This has to be my favourite of all the reptiles.The Frilled Neck Lizard is quite a large lizard and can be spotted with a little patience and a good eye, hanging out on the tree trunks in the tropical savannah in Far North Queensland.

When frightened this lizard spreads out the frill on its neck and opens its mouth to try and scare off predators. It really is quite a display. One of the many reasons I love these dragons so much.

This one we spotted on one of our exploration drives around the area and he is very handsome.

Boyds Forest Dragon

I was lucky enough to go on tour with my hubby the other day. He works as a Tour Guide for a local company and takes visitors from all over the world and introduces them to the fabulous rainforest, wildlife, beaches and history that the area we live in has to offer.

Whilst on tour we spotted this fabulous Boyds Rainforest Dragon, who was a little annoyed at our presence so presented us his dewlap (the loose fold of skin under his chin ) to make his annoyance known.

We didn't bother him for long, but I did manage to get a couple of nice pics.