Truly there are bees (look harder), but my photography is a bit challenged.
A couple of mornings ago, I was making our pre-getting up pot of tea, when my husband called out ‘look out of the window!’. I did, tied my dressing gown, then grabbed a camera and went out of the back door for this shot – facing East.
Then, devoutly hoping the paper boy would not appear at that moment, I went out of the front door for this gentler western one.
Today I saw that the iris stylosa (or unguicularis), are going for broke. Winter?
Green Writing Room 
The weather there is weird. The weather here is weird. In Western Australia and Soputh Australia there have been devastating bush fires as early as October and fires are usually ony arounf in January and February. Two weeks ago in Ballarat it got up to 15C (40F) on one day and two days ago it got up to 38C (100F).
By the heating of the sun,
Something wicked this way comes. (apologies to Will)
Yes, it is very unsettling… not that I am begging for cold weather. In the north of England they have had once-in-a-hundred-year floods. These were worse than the previous once-in-a-hundred-year floods from nine years ago and they crashed through all the new flood defences.
My goodness, that is a startlingly beautiful sunrise. Paperboy bedamned – I’m glad you got that photo! No snow here in Ottawa and today and yesterday we reached 7 degrees Celsius. I can still stick a shovel in the ground.
I stood there really quite amazed. Yes, the extra mildness is OK for us, but it must be grim closer to the equator.
I saw the bees! Beautiful sunrise…
I’m glad you spotted them. There were lots more, but chasing bees with a simple camera gets a bit silly after a while.
Bees are notoriously unhelpful when it comes to being photographed. We saw some impressive bumble bees in Nepal but I don’t have a single shot of one.
I love that first sunrise shot – it’s like the sky is on fire.
Indeed, they were so busy and determined not to leave any blossoms out, they led me a fine dance.
Gorgeous shots. We’re still holding onto autumn too, and I’m loving it. The longer I can go without a winter coat, the better. 🙂
I keep having to back track on heating and coats, so I was hot today in a coat I would consider ‘mild autumnal’.
Your shots ot sunrise are not typical….I love them! And what do we say, nowadays, when there are still blossoms in december, in the northern hemisphere? The elephant in the room: climate change. I refuse to get involved with the politics of all that, simply because I believe the climate has probably always changed and will continue to do so. It’s a question of our being amazed about it…wondering what’s coming, and if in truth we really had anything to do with it…..
That sunrise really was a special experience.
Hmm, I agree that any one fluctuation (or even a series of) in the weather or seasonal abnormality could simply be our our planet varying, as it has always done, over millennia. However, I do not have a scintilla of doubt that human activity has affected our atmosphere and that we are now in a dangerous positive feedback loop, such that if we do not change our behaviour, the consequences for parts of the planet and for swathes of humanity will be dire. We wait to see if human ingenuity will kill or cure. The planet will survive and recover homeostasis even if we don’t.
Wow. In December.
Even here, we’ve had a bit of snow, but it is generally green and we still have the occasional mild days. Hmmm….
I see the bees! And the pretty flowers. I hope your house-robe is not as awful as mine.
I’m laughing. I keep swearing to myself that I will throw out that house-robe… but waste not, want not.
You should see mine. Oh, dear….
And the sunrise is stupendous! Great shot.
A very lucky moment.
Your pre getting up cup of tea suggests a market niche – like hot water bottles which double as flasks. But someone will have thought of that already.
They have. Have you never come across the Teasmaid? My father had a succession of them. We still go downstairs, whichever of us wakes first, and make a pot of tea on a tray, plus the sports page for my husband – very old fashioned.
Sunset, sunrise… you seem as busy as the bees you photographed happily cavorting among the beautiful flowers that really should be thinking of winter. Good photos, Hilary. –Curt
Thanks, I am never quite sure which task to tackle next these days, so cavorting is more or less all I get done.
Cavorting is good… 🙂
Lovely pictures, well done for catching that sunrise and those bees. Speaking selfishly, I’m delighted by the mild weather, although we haven’t had it as warm up here as you have down there. My heart goes out to the poor souls who’ve been flooded out of their homes though, that must be truly horrendous.
Indeed, floods are a nightmare, particularly around Christmas. We had one once (burst pipes) in January while we were abroad. The after effect continued for years. And the unfortunate people of Cumbria are only just recovering from the last once-in-a-hundred-years event.
That sounds awful, and a horrible thing to come back to after a holiday. Centuries must pass more quickly in Cumbria, I daresay it’s some curious result of all those mountains being squashed in together in a small area.
Your sunrise would make a lovely book cover, it’s like a fire in the sky. You mentioned the flooding I only just made the last train out of London on Friday at 1830, every train following that was cancelled as the West Coast Mainline was out of action, I must have had someone looking over me as my audition recall was late 1730 and I had to jog to get to the station on time.
I’m so glad you made it to the train. Audition recall sounds good!
What a spectacle of a sunrise! Thank you for being so impetuous 🙂
Gosh, it’s rare the my impetuosity comes in for praise – only harm some wet bedsocks!
Great pictures. It looks like we have a El Niño winter. It’s way too warm here too.
Well I hope El Niño treats you kindly. I’m still waiting to see. The Gulf Stream could swing north or south in January and February and give us something different.