illustrated

Crape myrtles are chiefly known for their colorful and long-lasting flowers, which occur in summer. Most species of Lagerstroemia have sinewy, fluted stems and branches with a mottled appearance that arises from having bark that sheds throughout the year. Flowers are borne in summer and autumn in panicles of crinkled flowers with a crêpe-like texture. Colors vary from deep purple to red to white, with almost every shade in between. Although no blue-flowered varieties exist, the flowers trend toward the blue end of the spectrum with no orange or yellow except in stamens and pistils. The fruit is a capsule, green and succulent at first, then ripening to dark brown or black dryness. It splits along six or seven lines, producing teeth much like those of the calyx, and releases numerous, small, winged seeds. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagerstroemia

" Summertime and living is easy".

Coalstoun Lakes National Park Rising 200m above a broad cultivated valley, Mt Le Brun contains two large craters which occasionally fill with shallow lakes. The crater lakes are protected in Coalstoun Lakes National Park. Formed more than 600,000 years ago, the mountain is one of the youngest volcanic formations in Australia. Melaleucas and blue gums fringe the lakes which are sometimes completely dry and covered in sedgelands. The vine scrub covering the crater sides is one of the few dry rainforest remnants in this area. Bottle trees, crows ash, leopard ash, and other trees tower over the dense vine scrub The lakes were named after Coalstoun in Scotland by Wade Brun, manager of nearby Ban Ban Station. Source: driveinland.com.au/biggenden/