Australian sunrise

Australian sunrise, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

After watching the presidential debate last night, I need an image to bring me back to a sense of calm. What I found most disturbing was the ease with which Mitt Romney lies to the American public. It worries me that people will swallow his pitch hook, line and sinker.

Please, readers, take the time to read through all the fact check analyses. Romney does not offer us a solution to unemployment, medical insurance, medicare, foreign policy. He won't share with us his real plans because the only thing he supports is the Reaganomics that failed us over the past 30 years. Deregulation is not our collective friend. Having corporations decide public policy is not to our benefit. Continuing the economic inequality policies that have squeezed the middle class and sidetracked the American Dream is not the way forward.

Alpine flower

Alpine flower, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

aka a DYC (damned yellow composite) from the alpine zone of Mount Kocsiuzko in Australia. It reminds me of an everlasting, but I've no idea what the genus is.

Lake Cootapatamba

Lake Cootapatamba, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

This small alpine lake is at the base of Mount Kosciuszko, and has the distinction of being the highest lake on the continent of Australia. The color of the water changes by the minute with the different reflections of a volatile sky in the alpine zone of the Snowy Mountains. I want to go back there.....

Euphrasia

Euphrasia, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

This lovely plant is a parasitic one - part of the Orobanchaceae I've studied for so many years. The alpine zone of eastern Australia is a hotspot for this group, and I was thrilled to see three different species while Steve and I hiked up to Mount Kosciuszko last March.

ICM: Eucalyptus grove

ICM: Eucalyptus grove, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Another photo impressionism composition using intentional camera movement. This was taken in a Eucalyptus grove that Steve and I found as we were driving from the Snowy Mountains over to Merimbula.

I wanted to find a grove with a lot of straight trunks of large trees, but the forest we traveled through was much younger in composition. Given the conditions of the setting, the time of day, etc., I think this composition turned out pretty well.

Alpine of Australia

Alpine of Australia, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Steve and I climbed Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain in Australia on March 28, 2012. Given that the altitude of the peak is only around 7300 feet, that doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment - especially after having climbed Kala Patthar at 18,500 feet in 2009.

However, the alpine zone of the Snowy Mountains of Australia is absolutely charming. The day we climbed Kosciuszko was rainy and cold, but that was good on several fronts: 1) there weren't as many people up there, 2) the lighting was awesome, 3) I had the fun of falling on my butt several times because the steel mesh walkway was more slippery than snot and my boots were definitely not the right ones for that track. I ended up throwing away those crappy boots. They're the ones I wore in Nepal that gave my feet such grief, too, so good riddance.

I was really thrilled to be able to see and photograph Euphrasia - one of the parasitic plants in Orobanchaceae I've studied. It's common in this alpine zone, and I would love to do fieldwork sometime to really have a chance to study it, but, alas - not likely to happen.

Kangaroo

Kangaroo, a photo by andiwolfe (I'm back!) on Flickr.

One of the most enjoyable things to photograph in Australia are the kangaroos and wallabies. They are often very reclusive, but in areas where they are used to people not bothering them, they are alert, but inquisitive. This one was encountered in a national park along the Sapphire coast.

ICM: Mangroves

ICM: Mangroves, a photo by andiwolfe (I'm back!) on Flickr.

Back to Australia and some intentional camera movement technique for today's post. This was done along the boardwalk of Merimbula lake. The streaks are bits of light peeking through the leaves. It reminds me of rain for some reason.

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

This is one of the many honeyeaters native to Australia. It's such a treat to see an avifauna that is so different than the one in North America. I'm sure Aussie birders say the same thing when they come to North America to do some birding.

Honeyeaters have a niche similar to sunbirds, sugarbirds, and hummingbirds - pollinating flowers. They are after the nectar, of course, but the floral morphology is such that the bills or heads of the birds are dusted in pollen as they slurp up the nectar. Subsequent flowers visited receive a load of pollen to the stigmas.

Plants are pretty tricky in how they manipulate animals to perform this important service.

Australian sunrise

Australian sunrise, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Gold Coast of Australia -one of the mornings at Turnfest 2012.

White-faced heron

White-faced heron, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Back to Australia for today's picture. This one was from Lake Merimbula during the early morning. There is a lot of wildlife that hangs out around the shores of this huge lagoon, and it was a real treat to see the white-faced heron fishing for breakfast.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

One of my favorite birds from the eastern coast of Australia is the rainbow lorikeet. Not only are they beautiful, but they are fun to watch as they forage for seeds by hanging upside down in the trees.

Australia landscape

Australia landscape, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

March 27, 2012 - near sunset, between Cooma and Jindabyne, New South Wales.

King Parrot

King Parrot, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

One of the things I enjoyed most about my recent trip to Australia was the diversity of birds there. It's so cool to be out on a trail, watching a variety of parrots in the wild. Birds that we see only in cages or zoos here in the North America are native to Australia, and they are loud, raucous, and fun to watch.

Australian Pelican

Australian Pelican, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Most pelicans are kind of homely, but the Australian pelican is rather cute, in my humble opinion. This one was walking the tidal flats along the Sapphire Coast of Australia.

Australian sunrise

Australian sunrise, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

I sure wish the sunrises in Ohio were as interesting as the ones along the east coast of Australia. There will be an interesting event in the sky Saturday night - around 11:30 pm, or so. The perigee moon is rising - another Super Moon photo op...

Australian sunrise panorama

Australian sunrise, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Sometimes the scale of nature is hard to capture with a camera. For this particular sunrise, a panoramic shot is the only way to really take it all in.

Solitude

Solitude, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Walking the beach at dawn is restful to the soul.

Sunrise and sunbeams

Sunrise and sunbeams, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Sunrise on the Gold Coast of Australia: 25 March 2012. The sunrise on this particular morning of Turnfest wasn't especially spectacular until the sunbeams burst through the clouds. Such a nice way to cap off the series of sunrise walks on the beach.

ICM: Eucalyptus grove

ICM: Eucalyptus grove, a photo by andiwolfe (Jet-lagged) on Flickr.

Intentional camera movement in a Eucalyptus Grove in Australia.