Beautiful but deadly

Here in Geelong we're over 100 km from the bushfires that ravaged Victoria on Firestorm Saturday and continue to burn. But we are getting drifts of smoke to remind us and last night the setting sun was bright red through the smoke haze.

Deceived again

Last week we were wandering a path in the Mitchell River National Park in Gippsland when I spotted a most unusual white and hairy insect egg on a leaf on the ground and photographed it. What could it possibly be?

Then someone showed me a seed case they'd found. Oops. I had my answer. It's the seed case of the Kurrajong tree that grows in this park.