Magnificent Water Dragon

Australian water dragons have long powerful limbs and claws for climbing, a long muscular laterally-compressed tail for swimming, and prominent nuchal and vertebral crests.^[1] (A nuchal crest is a central row of spikes at the base of the head. These spikes continue down the spine, getting smaller as they reach the base of the tail.)^[2]

Including their tails, which comprise about two-thirds of their total length, adult females grow to about 60 cm (2 feet) long, and adult males can grow slightly longer than one metre (3 feet) and weigh about 1 kg. Males show bolder colouration and have larger heads than females.^[3][4] Colour is less distinct in juveniles.^[5]

Australian water dragons are extremely shy in the wild, but readily adapt to continual human presence in suburban parks and gardens. They are fast runners and strong climbers. When faced with a potential predator, they seek cover in thick vegetation, or drop from an overhanging branch into water. They are able to swim totally submerged, and rest on the bottom of shallow creeks or lakes for up to 90 minutes,^[2] to avoid detection.

Both males and females display typical agamid behaviour such as basking, arm-waving and head-bobbing. Fast arm-waving signals dominance, while slow arm-waving signals submission. Males are territorial,^[1] and in areas of higher population density, males exhibit displays of aggression toward other males including posturing and chasing.

Thanks to Wikipedia free encyclopedia the Photo is belongs to Brian L Art

Beautiful StIves

St Ives (Cornish: Porth Ia, meaning St Ia's cove) is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial emphasis and the town is now primarily a popular holiday resort, notably achieving the award 'Best UK Seaside Town' from the British Travel Awards in both 2010 and 2011. St Ives was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1639. St Ives has become renowned for its number of artists. It was named best seaside town of 2007 by the Guardian newspaper. For local information for visitors, holiday makers and local residents, St Ives Town Council opened the St Ives Visitor & Information Centre in June 2011.

Early History

The origin of St Ives is attributed in legend to the arrival of the Irish Saint Ia of Cornwall, in the 5th century. The parish church in bears her name, and St Ives derives from it.^[2][3]

The Sloop Inn, which lies on the wharf was a fisherman's pub for many centuries and is dated to "circa 1312", making it one of the oldest inns in Cornwall. The town was the site of a particularly notable atrocity during the Prayer Book rebellion of 1549. The English Provost Marshal (Anthony Kingston) came to St Ives and invited the portreeve, John Payne, to lunch at an inn. He asked the portreeve to have the gallows erected during the course of the lunch. Afterwards the portreeve and the Provost Marshal walked down to the gallows; the Provost Marshal then ordered the portreeve to mount the gallows. The portreeve was then hanged for being a "busy rebel".

The seal of St Ives was Arg. an ivy branch overspreading the whole field Vert, with the legend "Sigillum Burgi St. Ives in Com. Cornub. 1690".^[4]

Fishing

From medieval times fishing was important at St Ives; it was the most important fishing port on the north coast. The pier was built by John Smeaton in 1767-70 but has been lengthened at a later date. The octagonal lookout with a cupola belongs to Smeaton's design.^[5]

In the decade 1747–1756 the total number of pilchards dispatched from the four principal Cornish ports of Falmouth, Fowey, Penzance and St Ives averaged 30,000 hogsheads annually (making a total of 900 million fish). Much greater catches were achieved in 1790 and 1796. In 1847 the exports of pilchards from Cornwall amounted to 40,883 hogsheads or 122 million fish while the greatest number ever taken in one seine was 5,600 hogsheads at St Ives in 1868.^[6]

Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin describes how the St Ives fisherman strictly observed Sunday as a day of rest. St Ives was a very busy fishing port and seining was the usual method of fishing. Seining was carried out by a set of three boats of different sizes, the largest two carrying seine nets of different sizes. The total number of crew was 17 or 18. However this came to an end in 1924. The bulk of the catch was exported to Italy: for example in 1830 6,400 hogsheads were sent to Mediterranean ports. From 1829 to 1838 the yearly average for this trade was 9,000 hogsheads.^[7]

Thanks to Wikipedia encyclopedia. My Photo

Pale-headed Roselle

The Pale-headed Rosella is 33 cm (13 in) long, which includes the 15 cm length of its tail. Its underparts are pale blue, and upper breast and head are pale cream-yellow, the tail which is blue-black and green and the vent which is blood red. The feathers of the nape, scapulars and back are black edged with bright yellow, giving rise to a scalloped appearance. In these margins of the northern race, the yellow is paler with a pale blue tinge. The cheeks are wholly white in the southern subspecies, and partly flushed with blue in the lowerparts in the northern subspecies. The bill is pale blue-white and the legs dark grey. The eyes are yellow-brown. The sexes are similar in appearance, although the female is slightly smaller and duller.^[5]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The nominate subspecies adscitus is found from the Cape York Peninsula south through to Cardwell in central-northern Queensland. There is a broad range of intermediate forms, while the southern subspecies palliceps extends from Townsville and points inland south into northeastern New South Wales to the vicinity of the Clarence River.^[5] It is common throughout its range. Its preferred habitat is open forest, but has adapted well to human modification of the rural landscape and may even become a pest to orchards and cereal crops. Watering troughs help the species in the dryer western limits of its range.^[6]

It was also introduced to Hawaii in 1877, but had died out there by the late 1920s.^[7]

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

 

It has a total length of 45–55 cm (18–22 in), with the Australian subspecies larger than subspecies from New Guinea and nearby islands. The plumage is overall white, while the underwing and -tail are tinged yellow. The expressive crest is yellow. The bill is black, the legs are grey, and the eye-ring is whitish. Males typically have almost black eyes, whereas the females have a more red or brown eye, but this require optimum viewing conditions to be seen. The differences between the subspecies are subtle. C. g. fitzroyi is similar to the nominate race but lacks the yellow on the ear tufts and slightly blueish skin around the eye. C. g. eleonora is similar to C. g. fitzroyi but is smaller and has broader feathers in the crest, and C. g. triton is similar to C. g. eleonora except it has a smaller bill.^[1]
It is similar in appearance to the three species of corellas found in Australia. However, corellas are smaller, lack the prominent yellow crest and have pale bills. In captivity, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is easily confused with the smaller Yellow-crested Cockatoo or the Blue-eyed Cockatoo with a differently shaped crest and a darker blue eye-ring.

The Three Sisters Legend

Long ago in the Blue Mountains, three aboriginal sisters named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, lived with their witch doctor father,Tyawan. They lived happily in the mountains but they shared one fear-the bunyip that lived in a deep hole nearby. So to protect his daughters when he was a way, Tyawan would leave them high on a cliff behind a rock wall.

One day, after waving goodbye to his daughters, Tyawan descended into the valley. However, when a large centipede appeared on the cliff top sanctuary,it so frightened Meehni that she threw a stone at it. But the stone rolled over the cliff. Suddenly, all the animals were silent and the rock behind the three sisters split open, leaving them isolated on the thin edge. There was a rumble below and all the creatures began to flee yelling `quick, here comes the bunyip!, Horrified, the three sisters huddled together. The angry bunyip, which had emerged from his sleep, looked up to see what had rudely awakened him.When he spotted the sisters, perched on the thin ledge,he lurched furiously towards them. In the valley, Tyawan heard the commotion and looked up to see that the bunyip had almost reached his daughters. Frantic, the witch doctor pointed his magic bone at his daughters and turned them into stone. It would keep them safe there until the bunyip had gone, after which Tyawan would return them to their former selves.The bunyip became even more enraged when he saw what had happened. He turned on Tyawan and chased him, While fleeing. Tyawan became trapped by a rock which he could neither climb nor circle, so he changed himself into a lyrebird and disappeared into a small cave. But alas, although everyone was safe, Tyawan had lost his magic bone! After the bunyip returned home, Tyawan crept out of the cave to search for his magic bone. And he is still looking for it to this day. Meanwhile, the Three sisters stand watching silently watching from their mountain ledge, hoping he will one day find the magic bone to bring them back to life.

Beautiful Town of Inverel

Town Hall & Art Gallery

Inverell Court House built in 1886

Inverell is a beautiful country town in NSW, on the western slopes of the northern tablelands, situated on the Macintyre river, if you are a fisherman you could not find a better spot to stay it has a big dam (Copeton dam), and if you like history this town has a lot for you to look at, the sapphire's that they mine here are really beautiful, if you are traveling in the northern tablelands you must visit Inverell here are a few facts from Wikipedia encyclopedia.

History

In 1848 Alexander Campbell held the 50,000-acre (200 km²) Inverell Station on the Macintyre River. The name derives from the name of Mr. MacIntyre's estate. The word is of Gaelic origin, and signifies "meeting place of the swans"; from "Inver a meeting place, and "Ell", a swan.^[3] The MacIntyre River and Swanbrook Creek join here. The area was also known as "Green Swamp" in the 1850s. Wheat growers, Colin and Rosanna Ross established a store there in 1853,^[4] when he asked that a town be surveyed. In 1858 this was done and in the following years the plan was approved and the first land sale was held. The municipality was proclaimed in 1872. Diamonds were discovered at Copes Creek in 1875 and were mined at Copeton from 1883-1922. Commercial sapphire mining was commenced in 1919 at Frazers Creek near Inverell. Rich alluvial deposits in streams were worked initially by hand miners but there was little recorded production up until approximately 1960.^[5] The population was 7514 (1954 census) and 8209 (1961 census). At the 2006 census, the population of Inverell was 9,749.^[1]

[edit] Industry

The Inverell district is in a fertile agricultural region which produces a wide range of crops, including wheat, barley, oats, sorghum, wine grapes and maize. There are also some mining activities with tin, sapphires, zircons and diamonds (mainly industrial) being found.^[5] Inverell is known as the ‘Sapphire City’ because of the sapphires that found throughout the local district. The area is recognised for its sapphires, contributing to a major part of Australia's sapphire production.^[6]
Copeton Dam, the district's main water supply, holds three times the capacity of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), and is so large that when it is below 3% of its capacity during drought, it still has enough water to supply the town for up to ten years without water restrictions.^{[citation needed]} The Inland Fishing Festival is held there every year.

All my photos and my art is for sale to raise funds for Cancer Research



Kangaroo Eastern grey

This old boy was just over the road from my house as you can see he had spotted me on the lawn but he stayed still for me to take this photo hope you all like it.