There's Gold in that Feedback

 Scrolling through Instagram recently, I found myself comparing my images against those shared by more experienced photographers.

 I know, I know, I shouldn't compare my photos against theirs, but I did.

 Several weeks ago a kind and generous photographer friend said next time I should use a tripod and lower the shutter speed to improve image quality, while another said, "keep those horizons straight!"
 
 As you can see from the image below, a tripod would have helped keep the horizon straight and saved this photo from having to be cropped.

I could say I was following Earth's orbit ...

Mango Madness at the Drive-Thru

 I adore fruit bats. Really, I do. These mammals with their cute little faces and gorgeous brown eyes are nature's little gardeners who spread their seeds far and wide and help pollinate more than 100 species of native trees.

Flying-foxes spread the pollen of valuable plants as they feed, so they play an important role in our environment. Some plants even rely on flying-foxes to pollinate their species.

~ Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld

 We need these noisy, furry, flying gardeners to help our environment flourish and although grey-headed flying foxes are listed as vulnerable, and I'm optimistic we can help get their numbers back up.

Grey-headed flying fox colony, Lowood Queensland

 Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) shown above, are also known as fruit bats or megabats and are a warm-blooded mammal native to Australia. They're also our largest bats.

 The bat image was taken mid-afternoon and the colony quiet, except for the occasional squabble, screech, scream, and yoga wing stretch.

 Speaking of yoga wing stretch, it was interesting to watch them stretch their wings (around 1 metre or 3.3 feet across), then wrap themselves up again. For some reason, this reminded me of stuffed cabbage leaves.

 But, they're not always at their roost 😉