There's A...

There's a sweet shop on Great Eastern Highway just before you arrive at Mundaring at the Market Village Perth Hills Caravan Park.

I recently called in to find since my last visit, they had installed this dream-like tree. 

Speaking with the shop assistant, I was told the owner wanted to create a Willy Wonka kind of vibe.

The shop is tiny, and it is really colourful and I am sure small children will find it a magical kind of scene.

They used the branch of a real tree as the main trunk, it's secured to the countertop with screws. 

Curiously, several weeks after this was created, the tree began sprouting new growth. 

The leaves are all towards the top of the branch, and it made me sad.

Theres no way for the tree to survive without being in ground, yet for some peculiar reason the atmosphere inside the shop prompted it to sprout. 

I assumed that this might have been because it was cut down and used pretty much straight away. 

I might call back in a few weeks and see whether it continued sprouting...

 

Bells Rapids Lookout...

Bells Rapids Lookout has recently opened offering spectacular views, located in Brigadoon overlooking the Swan River. 

The easterly wind was howling with such an intensity that I kept getting blown backwards as I was trying to take photographs. 

When I am out in extremely windy weather I always get the giggles. I find it so exhilarating and freeing being out in extremely windy weather.

 Also, when the easterly winds begin to howl westward it indicates the summer months are on their way. 

Getting back to the newly finished $800,000 project, I was impressed that for once there's a plague about the sculpture in the gardens. The sculpture is a meaningful piece which is part of the Wooroloo Bushfire Art Trail.

Gazing down to the rapids as it snakes off into the distance, the railway track follows it's route slightly higher up the hillside.

I've walked the various tracks alongside the river as well as up on the hill on the other side of the river so many times. I know the area we'll.  Perhaps I might go for a hike before the danger of bush fire season makes bushwalking something to put aside until next year.

There's lots of granite outcrops and boulders which add an ancient component to the bushland here. 

It was comforting to see how the landscape has recovered since a dreadful fire in 2021 devastated the area. So many animals perished it was horrific.

This would be a good spot to watch the annual white water race the Avon Descent if you had a good pair of binoculars, or fancied a hike down to the river.

It also gives good views west across the flats of suburbia heading towards the Indian Ocean.

I found it a peaceful spot, even with the strong wind, a place of peace, especially when there's just me and the elements...

 

And Finally...

And finally as I was just about to leave the small country town of York,  but I was stopped by this masterpiece.

The car was parked, camera grabbed.

Across the road I ambled, slowly.

To say this mural is stunning is somewhat of an understatement.

Having just embarked on my own art journey, dabbling in watercolor painting, seeing impressive creations like this truly does blow my mind.

Each panel was so true to life.

I was speechless.

I did wonder if the inside of the walls were equally impressive.

If I could create such a masterpiece, I would most certainly surround my home with such visions of wonderfulness that would fill the view from every window...

 

The Next Place...

The next place I went to see on my visit to York more than a month ago was to go to the York Bushland Garden. 

The Bushland Garden was created by local wildflower enthusiasts in 2004. 

There are over 300 native Western Australian wildflowers planted here, and I was looking forward for a marvellous show. 

Sadly though, because of the lack of rain this winter many of the plants looked far from happy. Other plants had perished, and more still looked on their way to joining their wilted companions.

It was a little disappointing, as the last time I came here, in 2016 if I remember correctly, the garden was absolutely thriving.

Despite the garden looking a little untended, I was still able to find an array of colour to dazzle my eyes.

The carpet of pink and white everlastings broke up the parched earth in various sections around the garden.

Western Australian wildflowers are some of the most otherworldly spectacular blooms I've ever seen. What often leaves me speechless, is how delicate some are. This is especially inspiring when one realises the harsh conditions they thrive in. 

Hakeas, bottlebrushes and grevillea all have many variations in the stunning flowers that each species produces. As well as that, the yellow flowers of the acacia that also vary. 

Western Australia has more than 12,000 species of wildflowers, and 60% of them are found nowhere else on the planet. 

This also means that there's birds and insects that also only existence because of these amazing plants, and some off these are limited to a very small area of the state.

Isolation and climate, also play a part in why this has happened.

Even though there's been a serious lack of water, I still found myself charmed by all these beautiful flowers as they swayed slowly in the warm afternoon breeze.

There was a pair of white-brown babblers foraging for insects, I kept my distance as to not intrude or disturb. Although getting a cracking photograph is amazing, often I just like capturing the mundane normal moments.

Directly across from this scene was a new holland honeyeater perched, feeding on a hakea flower, which was a rather stunning view.

I thought this was my last stop before heading home, but I saw something as I was heading out of town, which I will share tomorrow...