Jervis Bay

Bleached bloodwood at low tide, near Hole in the Wall.

Mike's last hurrah

Mike has left Oz for America and is now working for Luis Von Ahn at CMU as a research programmer. This photo was taken on his last geo-caching trip (I think). Here is the youtube link for geocache enthusiasts....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyUm2xIquXE

Port Philip Bay 17th September 06

Port Philip Bay, Melbourne. Vandals perhaps required the barricade to this scupture. Little girl unknown passerby. Barely visible to right of sculpture is a drunk face down on the sand. This is near the St. Kilda pier where Louise and Milan took us for early coffee at the rebuilt cafe at end (old one was burnt down). Golli and Gus showed up all the other dogs and behaved perfectly (unless you count Gus using the pier as a loo - but then he knows that Milan will sweep up after him....)

Gananoque likes Blue

Not the prettiest buildings perhaps but in the fading light I loved the blue tints which though seemingly pale were very intense. Liz C took these shots for me. The sheds were near the river on the quiet side of town.

A bad photo? Artistic impression of Newtown!

Photo by Mike's phone while we waited for Short and Sweet at Newtown Theatre in March.

April surf at Governor's Head, Jervis Bay

Never seen it this big before! Bowen Island is nearly hidden. Where seals often laze around, the surf boiled.

Pelicans on the Shoalhaven

Just downstream from the bridge over the Shoalhaven River at Nowra there is a tiny outcrop which at high tide almost disappears. Every time we come into Nowra I look at this rocky stage in the river and judge from the number of birds how high is the tide. We took this shot from the boat on a morning when it might have been too windy in open water. But we ploughed through so many jellyfish we gave up and returned via the pelicans where we found another boat with engine failure. We towed them up the tiny Bomaderry Creek and went home feeling we'd done well.

Tawny Frogmouth - Parramatta

Three open-eyed and open-mouthed tawny frogmouths were highly visible (for tawny frogmouths anyway) on this hot summer day in our neighbour's willow tree. Their plumage can resemble rough bark when they freeze into position in a eucalypt, but against the light green willow leaves they were soon picked out. We found two of these great birds dead in our back yards last year but a new nesting pair (with giant toddler in tow) have apparently moved in.

Eastern Water Dragon

We spotted this water dragon at Audley on the Port Hacking river - or rather he spotted us.

Bread is ignored but orange poppy seed cake is pursued. A rival hangs back and gets a few crumbs. Our new friend poses to give us all the marking necessary for id.

Sorry mate - no more cake - besides it's probably illegal to share it with you. How about apple? That's his tongue in the middle there, not our finger.

Creek Colours

Bushwalking with friends we were fascinated by the patterns of colour in this shallow creek a few metres from the beach. D. Meulman's was the best shot.

Fishing Cormorant

This cormorant checked us out several times while we fished in Jervis Bay. When he gave up on our luck, he'd fly off to another boat. Not the best photo to capture the marvellous detail of his bronze-tipped feathers.

Jacaranda over Parramatta River

Taken from the bridge near Riverside Theatres - I'm glad I took this photo when I did because a fortnight later it was forlorn again, most of the petals drifting downstream.

Lilly Pilly At Booderee Botanical Gardens

I like the Spring pink and yellow tips on this lillypilly which is a particularly pretty specimen in the Botanical Gardens in Booderee National Park. There is always a Satin Bower Bird carrying on near this tree to add to the entertainment.

Sydney Blue Gum - Batemans's Bay Oct '05

These are the leaves, nuts and buds of a Eucalyptus Salinga which is easily confused with a flooded gum (Eucalyptus Grandis). The best test is supposed to be that the slightly protuding valves curve outwards in the Blue Gum and inwards in the Flooded Gum which is a bit hard to see in this sized photo. Anyway the forest we saw on our way back from Eden was lovely, though a little worn by humans on the edges. It ran back from an overgrown picnic area between Bateman's Bay and Uladulla where we had lunch.

Newnes - Industrial ruins site - Sept 2005

I love the carefully bricked archways which are prominent in these ruins - windows and doorways built to last. The site is well sign-posted and worth a visit even if you don't like ruins but love a stroll in the bush. Excellent for twitchers also. Lyrebirds in easy view for the quiet walker. Newnes near Lithgow, NSW.

Garden - Leigh and Denise Issell

Early spring at the Issell's small farm near Shepparton, Victoria. Not content with a beatiful front and back garden, this garden greets you on the right hand side of the driveway. (Leigh is a horticulturist and his wife loves gardens.) This shot was taken in 2004

Kookaburra and the worm

This kookaburra sat above our picnic table waiting for scraps when he spotted the real thing. He was the picture of concentration, bracing against his worm, his tail as support. He reeled in like a fisherman with a big game fish. He'd let the worm go back a bit then when the worm relaxed, he'd haul out the next few inches and snatch the worm closer to his middle. It took up to five minutes.Nearly there! All of a sudden his last haul brought the worm out of the hole. He was a quarter way through eating when his mate flew in front of the camera and took more than half!

Angophora Floribunda

Hard to believe that this twisted forest marvel (near Mudgee) is the same species of angophora that grows in our garden at Sanctuary Point. At SP the specimens are much smaller and scrappy although the youngest of them lives up to its name and produces many flowers.
Proof that I actually took this photo myself is that Bruce is in the picture.

Wattle spring 2005 near Newnes

On the road out of Newnes, this is not the best shot of the mountains but I wanted one of the road and the wattle and Bruce pulled over to take the above. Australians love wattle but it has a mind of its own and doesn't always appear when/where you expect (especially after fire). However in this area near Lithgow, over the Blue Mountains, wattle was everywhere, paddocks of it, dressing up the soberer blues and greens of the eucalypts and sheoaks.

Eucalyptus Vinimalis

A ribbon or manna gum - I think. But without a botanist around or a local species list, I'm always ready to be corrected. This was a common tree around Newnes and very splendid in some instances with dark trailing bark strips and white undercoat.