Glossodia major, commonly known as the Waxlip Orchid is a small terrestrial orchid, found in eastern Australia. This plant first appeared in scientific literature in 1810, in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown.
Reaching 12–32 cm in height, Glossodia major consists of a single herbaceous stem and lanceolate leaf which measures 4 to 15 cm long. One or two flowers appear from August to October. Measuring up to 6 cm across, they are predominantly purple but occasionally white. The labellum is white at the base.
The wagtail nest is a small crucible of fine twigs and strips of bark. The nest sits within an oak fork, tightly bound around the branches with cobwebs. The wagtails monitor the nest, faces bearded with spider webbing, their white lightning eyebrows alert to anything that might disturb their home.
Wagtail Nest
Waratah
Claw from a land yabbie
Jonquils
Spring
Spring reminds us that death stalks all things. That even in a time of life, when the air swarms with windsong and perfumes, flowers turn brittle. Petals become translucent and papery, like the skin of the elderly. That a bird may make that final journey landing somewhere unseen. Insects find themselves attached to puddles, their desperate thrum rippling across the surface in ever decreasing arcs. Time becomes smaller and minutes reach out to full lifetimes as the smallest creatures struggle against a world for whom their time is only an iota, the merest mote upon a strong wind that carries everything along with it, silently bearing everything to an ending.
Bower blue
I’m on the train looking out the window. There is a huge reach of oyster-grey clouds across the sky. The sun is still edging its way from the horizon and I can’t see it for the houses. But it’s catching the clouds at leery angles and the whole morning is a painting of pink and orange brush strokes, yellow ink wash and wiped charcoal. I’m in the grubby outskirts of Melbourne and this is somehow, impossibly, beautiful.
