Things That Usually Happen Only In Nightmares

A number of people have emailed me about the recent flooding in the state of Queensland here.

And I've been thanking them for taking the time to ask and feeding back a bit about the disaster.

The worst inundation has been about 500 miles north of Sydney and, while the loss of life and the damage to property is obviously horrific, the full and tangible impact of the catastrophe only became apprent to me today, looking at a set of photographs taken on a farm at Heidon as the Lockyer Creek ran it's banks.

As you can see from the time on each image, the surrounding countryside was submerged in just 22 minutes - 3.16pm to 3.38pm.

Like in a nightmare where legs turn to lead and you can't escape trains bearing down on you, or approaching thugs intent on robbery ... I can too easily imagine the feeling of helplessness in the face of such rapidly on-coming waters.

Some of the footage of people telling of loved ones lost and lifetimes' work swept away has been truly heart-breaking.

And I reflected on how easy it is to watch the litany of tragedies around the world on the evening news with chilling detachment. Pause for thought.

A Bromic Of Bromeliads?

Not so sure of my group words this morning - well, at the 3am part of it.

As you'll notice, we've kept the pink and the fragrance thing going from the last post ...

Continuity is everything in my view.

At the moment, the garden is everywhere burgeoning with seductively luscious yet spiky pink blooms ...

So the challenge will now be going indoors ...

... without cutting a very large bunch for that ever voracious vase ... slying crouching in wait on the dining room table!

Kinda of Warm and Fuzzy

By now you've probably got the idea I'm pretty (read 'very') addicted to images of (non-human) animals.

And so when Alan down there in Florida put some my way this morning, I just couldn't resist ...





And three I hope not too saccharine sweet images ...




... to finish off.

I don't know about you, but I've got the serious warm and fuzzies!

Flora, Fauna and Landscape Posts

Wanna start a new series of posts - single images of flora, fauna or landscape.

To start off, a few seriously attention-seeking 'friends' ...

... in Manila.n

Just Too Tempted

As you well know, this type of cutesy post is not what I usually do ('de trop' as Bette Midler put it in 'The Divine Miss M') ... but today the temptation was just too great ...




I think it was the way he seemed to eye me off as he hurriedly gobbled down bits of my scone ... like some child who kinda knows s/he is doing something naughty but thinks a bold face might just disguise this or distract me!

Anthropomorphising gone wild!

There was also something comic in this little creature getting the evidence of his 'crime' all over his beak!

Unexpected Natural Beauty In Your Own Back Garden

Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, Sydney

After all the Easter things have been played out, there's usually still plenty of time to account for over the four day break.

And today we soaked up an afternoon with a drive into the The Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west out of Sydney.



Cultural and other kinds of cringes are almost a natural sport here but sometimes it's just not possible to indulge in our favourite past-time - cynicism today was alchemically transmuted to wonder by the extraordinary natural beauty of the Wentworth Falls.

Equally unexpected were the absolute hoards of locals and tourists, marching all about, also looking for something to do at this time of national shut down.

The weather was perfect - warm and sunny, and slightly undercut with a cool breeze. Autumn with a hint of the coming winter.

Even the local fauna were out to please, including a rather deadly brown snake, if my herpetological knowledge is at all working. A reptile which I seriously did not manage to capture on film ...


... unless I've missed something in this image.

Sadly, it was only on the return journey that someone rather belatedly mentioned that there was a walking track down to the misty bottom of the falls ...


Next time!

Don't Pandas Manage To Do Cute ... VERY VERY Well!

This is the post where I'm obviously feeling ever so slightly less hairy-chested than usual ...








... though I suspect the feeling will have dissipated by the next post!

Just a Few of the Greens of a Garden

I was looking for flowers in the garden today and suddenly realised I'd missed the potential point of a garden at this time of year - the myriad of greens ...





... that give a sense of delicious cool on stiffling hot summer days.

My Reluctant Garden

The garden was a bit reluctant to yield up any treasures today - just a couple of bromeliads ...



... which are so FAB, I should be grateful!

My calm and delight were however momentarily spoiled ... when I went into orgies of smugness over the arty light and shadow effects I achieved in the first image!

Oh, alright, it was just a lucky shot!

A Day and a Night in the Country

Well, I'm at it again, but (:<) not quite as successfully as I'd hoped.


At the end of last week, I spent a day and a night at a friend's week-ender - in the countryside about three hours out of Sydney.


After a good night's sleep and in an exceptionally optimistic mood, I headed into the sun-drenched garden, camera at the ready.


The shoot seemed to go well and I dashed back inside to my puter - to download the images ... and gloat. Suspect I had that particular smug look, just all over my face!


But I tell you, absolutely no gloating took place - at all at all.


Back outside to reprise.


No luck, again - :<.


I'd lost IT. Completely. And with no notion of how to get it back - :< :< :< !!!


I could have just ditched the entire 'collection' ...


... but I obviously didn't and so I'm officially ducking ... to avoid the volley of brick bats!