With the latest (free) Apple update Apple Mac operators are AT LAST able to view my book 'The Enchanted Orchid' right on the DESKTOP. Apologies for going a bit commercial and sorry that the download from iTunes will cost you about 10 bucks but it IS a good read and the photography reproduction is devastatingly good. Even if you are not into orchids it could be a great way of solving Christmas gift giving if you have orchid mates with a Mac.

maxful's photostream

maxful's photostream on Flickr.

catchup on the orchid front

Red Wattlebird in West Australian flowering eucalypt

Can't imagine that the Wattlebird is after nectar in the pink flowering Gum Tree. Maybe he is chasing down small insects. This is the 82nd in my Birds-n-Bush portfolio.

Indian orchid, Australian hoya

Indian orchid – Australian hoya

Worked right through the night on this one. Wanted to catch it while the bloom was still on the plant. Back to bed. Oh well, there goes Tuesday. Not sure if it's missing something. Probably a bird or two. Shall find out when I take it over to the printers later this week to see the final, in hand – adjustment is a breeze on the Mac. Set against a golden cane palm, the orchid is Dendrobium pierardii and the hoya (Hoya nicholsoniae) is from northern parts of Queensland, Paupa New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

Sunbird, Dendroium densiflorum

Sunbird, Dendroium densiflorum, originally uploaded by maxful.

Via Flickr:
Tiny nectar eating Sunbirds and cadium coloured Dendrobium orchids share like climates. The Olive-backed Sunbird found in northern parts of Australia is a small nectar-eating member of an enormous and even more colourful family that reaches into South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and right across Africa. The orchid (Dendrobium densiflorum) universally described as 'one of the Indian Dendrobiums' flourishes in temperate to sub-and-tropical zones worldwide. The idea of illustrating them together began way back in 2010 in stops and starts, when I grew 'Indian' orchids in profusion in the Noosa hinterland. Yesterday, in a rush of hours and well into the evening the subject s finally came together. A sunshine thought to welcome spring.