Tuesday 10 August 2010

Winter colour

Is it still winter? Have we moved into spring yet? I haven't been paying attention.

Anyway, what do the subtleties of the temperate zone mean in the tropics where the seasons alternate between six months of hot and wet weather and six months of cool and dry? (Or, because this is the Atherton Tablelands, nine months of rain and three months of drizzle.)

At this time of year — loosely described as the dry season — the azaleas are in flower. When I bought this place, I had planned to cut them out, but they seem to be non-invasive, do well and the wildlife like them. In a garden where the brightest colours come from birds and butterflies, they hold their own.

Male Victoria's riflebird

Lewin's honeyeater