The King parrots come to visit us at this time of year, looking for seeds and seed pods. This one is sitting in the native sollya vine. Australian Native blue bell vine. It seems to grow quite well here, so we don’t mind if the parrots come and eat the seeds. After all, they are called King Parrots so Janine has quite an affinity for them. What with them both being regal, it’s like they’re family.

The other picture that she took recently, was in Japan. It is a bit of a weed over there. It grows along the rice paddies and drainage channels. Lycoris radiata. The red spider lily.

In times long gone the sap was used as a poison for stunning wild animals so that they could be caught – or so we were told.

It’s a pretty wild flower in the autumn around about rice harvest time.

Wishing you all a relaxing, peaceful and non-commercial Solstice holiday season.