My Second Stop....

My second stop was at a park I visit quite frequently in the cooler weather, today though the stream was bone dry. I was really saddened to see that part of one of my favourite trees here had been snapped. Perhaps the lack of water and extreme heat was the cause as it has been a dreadfully intense summer, many plants in the bushlands have perished this year. I felt sadness for this grand grandmother tree seeing her broken.

I was lucky enough to discover a rather spectacular beetle, a red and black beauty that was scurrying down a tree trunk. I have no idea what species the beetle is, but a bit of research ought to sort the mystery out. 

There was also a wild grapevine rambling round a few trees, it's leaves beginning to turn as the days slowly grow cooler. There are not many deciduous trees here, so the autumn isn't as spectacular as in the northern hemisphere with the changing of the leaves. Instead though, everything begins to come out of a kind of slumbering, plants conserve energy trying to survive in the summer months. Then come autumn plants begin to wake once again and the cycle of life begins once more.

Another little beetle was spotted as I meandered along, at first I thought it a crusader beetle, but the markings are wrong. So another subject to research it seems.....