Paying Ready Attention - Photo Gallery

Jet Sky - SkyWatch Friday

2012-02-29T23:31:00.003-08:00

Last Friday there was a gathering at school in the evening; races for the kids, face painting and a BBQ. The evening was very hot – and we were glad when then sun went down. There was a solid blue sky and very little colour - so I had to come up with another sky shot.

This really is a Friday sky!

I can’t help but wonder where this plane was going.

For reasons I dont understand I cant upload this iamge in landscape format - so you can see what it should really look like by clicking here.

You can find more sky shots at FridaySkys.

You can see the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image of the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Terns

2012-02-28T02:03:00.007-08:00

These pictures are a little older than some I have posted – in fact it came as a shock to realize I had only posted one of these before.
Caspian Terns are always great to see, with their huge red beaks they are always a good find.

The Common Tern is not at all common in Australia, so finding one is a treat. In fact these were the first I have found without knowing that the birds were already there.

The Crested Terns are the default tern in my part of the world – and must be one of the more obliging birds to photograph. Although in this case I was distracted by the other birds.

These images were taken over a year ago on a day when we managed to band a good number of Bar-Tailed Godwits at Barwon Heads. You can read about that day here if you are interested.

You can find more birds at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Wet Stones

2012-02-27T01:23:00.002-08:00

After a weekend of hot weather it was great to have a change for the start of the week. Not quite as wonderful as normal as we swapped hot for humid – but it’s a step in the right direction.

What I like about rain is the way that it brings out the colour in the stone work in you back garden – it’s worth getting a little bit damp just to go and have a look.

These may not be the most spectacular shots I’ll ever take – but it would be hard to get anything closer to being just my world!

You can find more shots from around the world at Our World Wednesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking in the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Blue Skimmer

2012-02-25T23:31:00.001-08:00

Another very hot day today – so took a morning walk around one of our local lakes. Still hotter than was comfortable, and the presence of two energetic kids does not always help the stalking of wildlife!

This dragonfly is a Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) which is common in these parts of the world. The pale blue sections of the ‘tail’ (abdomen) fade off over summer, so exposure is a bit of a nightmare (as you can see) in bright sunshine.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the close ups.

Karate Corner - SkyWatch Friday

2012-02-23T02:19:00.002-08:00

Went to pick up H from Karate today and found this corner and sky.

The skies have been pretty cloud free for the last few days, but pretty none the less.

I like the graphic nature of this – I also like the positive message!

You can find more skies at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention button on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Let sleeping ducks lie.

2012-02-21T01:41:00.002-08:00

I took this image of a Pacific Black Duck a while ago – I thought how peaceful it looked at the time. Its beady little eye watched me with the kind of open disinterest one often sees in ducks who are confident that you neither going to feed them or shoot at them either.

Like many of our native species this one has a bit of a cloud on the horizon – it comes in the form of the humble Mallard. The species can interbreed and in some places this mixing of genes is a threat to the PBD.

I’m rather fond of ducks – who could be un-cheered by a raft of them approaching your boat or bank side? - but I’d rather see them where they evolved instead of where we have taken them.

You can find more birds at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Wilsons Prom (again!)

2012-02-20T01:19:00.000-08:00

Some more shots from one of my favourite places – Wilsons Promontory. These pictures were taken very near the end of January, just before the smalls went back to school.

This is (I’m reasonably confident) a Spotted Galaxias. This is a small native fish that has suffered through the introduction of trout into our streams. This little chap seems to have plenty of friends and is about 4 inches long

It was a hot and sticky day and we were pleased to be able to stand on a bridge in the shade and watch some fish. Compared to getting images of fish, birds are a cake walk! This is about as good as I could manage!

The bridge we stood on was also a fine location to play Pooh Sticks – its on the Lilly Pilly Nature walk for those of you able to visit.

The second picture is am image of classic re-growth after fire at the base of a gum tree – this is a quintessentially Australian image!

You can find more pictures from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Figure of 8 Knot

2012-02-19T00:56:00.000-08:00

A weekend of that most suburban of tasks, gardening, reminded me of these pictures I took a few years ago.

While trimming the excess growth from a wisteria I found this knot. It had probably been formed by the plants responding to stimulus of light and gravity.

This process had formed a figure of eight knot – beloved of climbers. I think it was the first new knot I learned when I started to climb.

So, here we have an example of apparent design without either purpose or intelligence. It was a good thing to find. This weekend of snipping and clipping yielded no such interest! But the mid afternoon tea and cake tasted mighty fine!

You can find more macros at Macro Monday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups.

SkyWatch Friday - Not all promises are kept.

2012-02-16T01:45:00.001-08:00

We have had some strange skies here this week – many looked like they may give up some much needed rain, but we had to wait until tonight before we had any rain. Then some people got a little too much rain.

The pictures are taken from my house – so some have had a little hair cut to remove unwanted TV aerials and such like.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

2012-02-14T03:04:00.000-08:00

Back into the world of today for this post.

This rather dapper looking wader is a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. I’ve had more than I few of these in the hand and they are not sharp at all!

This bird came to check us out as we were waiting to fire the nets on a recent banding trip. Somebody asked me ‘how do you know it’s a sharpie’ – and it made me think about all the little bits of data which birders (and to call me a ‘birder’ really is a bit of a stretch) carry about in their heads. Leg colour?, beak length?, habitat?, eye brow stripe? and such like. How come I can do this, but I forget to buy the milk on the way home?

So, here we have a great little bird that I few years ago would have just been a ‘wader’ of some sort, but has now entered that remarkable product of human evolution – my brain!
I remain is awe of some of the people I know – people who can pick out single birds from flocks of many and name them with the same kind of confidence with which I spell my own name.

So, here is a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

You can find more birds – and probably less nonsense - at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find less birds and more of this kind of nonsense at my other blog – click the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Mannerim 1994

2012-02-13T01:59:00.000-08:00

This is another blast from the pre-digital age.

I took this image on one of the first evenings I ever went for a walk in Australia. It’s just down the road from my in-laws house. As my MIL is getting much better I felt this was a good image to post.

I came from the West of England to Australia – the change in color was, to say the least eye opening. I was struck (and remain struck) by the size of the sky.

This is definitely my world now, but I don’t think to does any harm to remind myself of a time when it was all brand new.

You can find more pictures from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the pictures

Macro Monday - Herb Robert (29-05-1981)

2012-02-11T23:43:00.001-08:00

This is a single flower of a plant called (at least by me as a kid) Herb Robert – I also think it is called Stinking Bob.

The original of this picture was taken on the 29th of May 1981, in the back yard of my house in Somerset. That’s a long time ago and a long way away. Clearly the scan is much more modern.

I decided to post this image after some conversations at work last Friday – we had a kind of show and tell for anybody with a creative streak. I showed some of my photographs. People seemed to like them, and many asked me about the camera I used. It made me think that photography has become linked to cameras, not photographers.

So, here is a image taken with a second hand East German camera – a Practica that went out of production in 1975 – and flash guns held away from the camera on strips of Meccano! From the look of the slide mount it was taken on 100ASA Agfachrome. I still rather like it.

What I like about many of the posts that are made on these collective memes is the general lack of technical ‘one-upmanship’. People take pictures and put them up, and other people get to see them. The emphasis is on the picture – not the technology. If you like the picture you can say so – although I still don’t really know what to do when I don’t like the image!

So, here is a blast from the past, given a modern scan.

You can find more macro shots at Lisas Chaos.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the close ups!

Phone Sky - SkyWatch Friday

2012-02-09T00:37:00.001-08:00

With a bit of luck this may be the end of the very short posts –my wife’s mum was taken into hospital at very short notice, and for while things did not look good. The situation seems better now, but you never can tell.

Thanks to all the people who asked about the ‘life not going as planned’.

So, this is another in the series of simple skies. It’s also taken with a phone. Simple lunch time sky from Camberwell, just outside my office.

You can find more skies at SkyWatch Friday.

The latest post to other blog can be found by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies and I hope that normal service will be resumed soon.

World Bird Wednesday - Magpie Lark

2012-02-07T01:53:00.000-08:00

Another short post today – life is not entirely going to plan at present.

This is a Magpie Lark – which if you have read many of my posts you will not be surprised to learn is neither a Magpie nor a Lark. They have a strange grating call and wild staring eyes – this one was chasing the tiny flies you can just see in the picture.

They are reasonably common, but it’s taken me a while to get a half decent picture of one.

You can find more birds from around the world at the sensibly named World Bird Wednesday.

You can find my most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Through a glass brightly

2012-02-06T00:15:00.000-08:00

A recent trip to Geelong Botanic gardens brought me face to face with these rather formal, but still conical, pair. The lady protects her complexion with a sunshade; the gentleman offers a rather spiky salad.

If you look closely you can see that the end of the sunshade is a crystal ball, through which you can see the world in reverse.

So, I give you an image of Australia day, through a glass brightly.
You can find more images from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Painted Grasshawk

2012-02-04T23:20:00.001-08:00

Bit of a rapid post this week for Macro Monday.

Archive Mining here – this is (yet another) picture from our Magnetic Island trip. Don’t know much about this dragonfly except that it’s a Painted Grasshawk.

You can find other macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can find the latest post to my other post by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups.

Mont Albert Storm - SkyWatch Friday

2012-02-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

One of the joys of living in Melbourne is its changeable weather. Under normal conditions we rarely get more than a week of settled weather. Then something changes in the wind and the temperature can soar or fall and the heavens can open.

There is a song called Four Seasons in One Day about Melbourne and this title contains both an exaggeration and more than a grain of truth.
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After a few hot days this weather front pasted over our house. Weather dominated by central Australia was replaced with weather born in Antarctica. The temperatures fell and we had rain. Within a few hours the front had passed and we had clear skies by morning.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Australian Gannets

2012-01-31T01:38:00.000-08:00

During our Christmas holidays (in a land with dodgy internet access!) we all went out on a ‘Marine Biology Cruise’ run by the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre at Queenscliff. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to an Australian Gannet colony on an artificial rock platform called the Popes Eye. The birds were thick on the ground (well rocks) and we could get close to them on the boat.

You can see that the birds have chicks - and as far as I remember, this is the only place in the world where gannets nest on a man made structure.

These are well studied birds – you can see metal bands on their legs, and some have a patch of green dye on them which may be a mark of some kind.

Getting this close to birds this big is great, although when we were down wind it was a bit smelly – although not as smelly as the seals!

If you ever get the chance you should drop in at the Discovery Centre and go out on some of their trips.

You can find more birds at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen. This post is about waders, so it may be of interest to birding types.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Wilsons Prom

2012-01-30T00:57:00.000-08:00

Was away this weekend on my annual trip to Wilsons Prom with the kids. The weather was unkindly hot, and the March Flies persistent. For those of you not blessed with March Flies they are large biting flies with fearsome mouth parts and a tendency to drill into unprotected flesh. Luckily for us, and deeply unluckily for the flies, they are slow flying, clumsy and rather easy to swat.

The Prom has had a bit of a rough trot in the last few years with natural disasters – fire and floods mainly. And I could make a case for the March Flies being considered a plague! For all of this you could almost hear the place growing.
The rock slides are still bare, but even the upturned trees knocked near the sides of the slides are alive, if not completely well. Australian plants are well adapted to fire, and leaves were growing from burnt stumps and frazzled branches.
If you have never been there you need to jump on a plane / boat / bus and pay the place a visit.

You can find more great places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Liverwort.

2012-01-29T02:26:00.000-08:00

These little umbrellas are part of a mat of liverworts I found at Wilsons Promontory this weekend. I’ve never seen so many of these in one place before. Although considered a simple plant, the exact nature of their reproductive cycle is more complex than would be expected. However, this is neither the time nor place for a biology lesson!

I think (and there’s a pretty emphasis on ‘think’ here) that the species is Marchantia berteroana – given their lowly status they don’t get common names!

But the name ‘liverwort’ is interesting in itself. Many plants named in English contain ‘wort’ in their common name. It normally identifies that the plant was considered to have medicinal properties. The first part of the name of the plant was based on the ‘target’ organ or illness. So, liverwort is good for the liver. Another aspect of this is the belief that the structure of the plant could be used to identify its healing properties. Some species of liverwort have shapes on their surface that look like the sections of a liver – so, clearly it must be good for that! I have no idea if liverworts are any good for the liver, but it’s a good story whatever the truth of its medical properties!

You can find more macro images – and less guff about the origins of plant names – at Macro Monday.

You can find the latest post from my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups.

With just a hint - SkyWatch Friday

2012-01-26T01:34:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know I am involved with a bird banding group. One of the things I like most about banding is the opportunity to seem common birds very close up. In almost all cases a beauty is revealed that exceeds the bird’s mundane reputation (keep going this does have something to do with the sky).

I’ve been thinking about the sky over the last few weeks – I’ve not been at work, so such things are possible, even encouraged during such times. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I may have missed the beauty in the more common, everyday skies that surround us. So, with this in mind I took this picture. The blue is an Australian sky to a tee, and the hint of cloud is there to remind us that the sky is full of water as well as light.

I still love the big showy skies of dusk and dawn, the drama of thunder clouds and sword rays of light. But where would we be without simple sky blue skies like this?

You can find more (and probably more spectacular) skies at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - A walk on the beach

2012-01-24T02:54:00.001-08:00

During the holiday I took a walk on the beach in that magic hour when the day is just about over, but the evening has not yet taken hold.

None of the birds I saw were really unexpected, but none the less they were very welcome. They become my constant companions during my time away.

So, with no more fuss or fanfare here they are – Silver Gull, Pacific Gull and Pied Oystercatcher.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Point Lonsdale Rookpools

2012-01-23T03:32:00.001-08:00

After being dumped around like a sock in the washer last time it was great to be able to do some snorkelling without wind, waves and the threat of hypothermia!

These wonderful rock pools are at one of my regular haunts, Point Lonsdale. Some of you may recognise the pier and lighthouse.

These pools were surprisingly deep in places, but at times I did feel (and probably looked) like a beached whale. They were also teeming with life.

If you ever get a chance to explore them you should! All you need to do is visit this place at low tide and it you go!

You can find more great places at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Red Spotted Jazabel.

2012-01-21T16:43:00.001-08:00

I found this Red Spotted Jezebel (Delias aganippe) on a recent walk. I had seen this species before – but only at long range! This one was far more cooperative and actually landed for short periods of time. I was a windy day – which has been a bit of a theme for the last week, so was glad of the near limitless photo opportunities that digital brings.

One of the interesting things about this butterfly is that the lower surface of the wings are far more colourful than the upper surface. The upper surface is largely black and white, but as you can see the underwings are far more attractive.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday at: http://lisaschaos.com/

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the close ups.

Skywatch Friday - Big Skies at Mannerim

2012-01-19T02:09:00.001-08:00

Noticed this sky when I was (of all things) waiting to be allowed through some road works today. I thought it was a great “big sky” kind of image. I parked the car just down the road and walked back up to take the picture. I got as close to the ground as I could in an attempt to make the sky look as big as I could.

The people working on the road must have thought I was crazy. See – I’m willing to suffer for my art!

The sky is on the Bellarine Peninsula near Mannerim for those who need to know that sort of thing.

You can find more skies at SkyWatch Friday at: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the skies

World Bird Wednesday - Eastern Rosella

2012-01-17T01:32:00.000-08:00

I’ve been wanting to get some pictures of this bird for a while. This is an Eastern Rosella – or as it is called in our house a Tomato Sauce Rosella because of brand of sauce we have here.

This bird was one of a group that were much more cooperative than normal – in other words they did not just dash off into the distance as soon as humans approach.

This is not exactly a perfect example of this bird – the males on full plumage are a sight to see, but it’s still a good bird. The group of rosellas did not hang around for very long – I have not seen them for a few days, so they may have just been passing though.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday - at (http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/)

You can find the latest post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Ocean Grove

2012-01-16T02:28:00.000-08:00

Agreed to me some friends for a quiet morning stroll on the beach at Ocean Grove. The fact that it took us almost 20 minutes to find a park in the normally spacious car park alerted me to the fact that this may have been a bad plan.

It turns out that there was a surf carnival being held on the beach that day.

There were hundreds of people on the beach, some to watch, some to compete and some organise the hundreds of fit and near naked teenagers milling around.

These are a few of the pictures I took. I had intended to spend the morning looking for gifts from the sea. In the end that did not happen, but the alternative was not too bad at all.

You can see more pictures here at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the latest post on my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Tail Feather.

2012-01-15T00:03:00.001-08:00

This is a feather from (I think) the tail of a Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo. They have splendid yellow panel in their tail and I assume this is one of the feathers that make up that panel. Its not as yellow as it could be, and its got spots, so I think its from a young bird.

You can find more close ups as Lisaschaos (http://lisaschaos.com/)

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready

Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups.

Queenscliff - SkyWatch Friday

2012-01-12T00:40:00.000-08:00

We have has some wild and woolly weather in Victoria. High winds, rain and (believe it or not) snow on the high peaks. Ah, summer under the influence of Antarctica, what a treat!

Anyway – these two pictures are taken from exactly the same spot on the beach at Queenscliff.

One is looking into the weather that is passing, and the second is looking towards the weather that was yet to come. Thankfully the blue sky image is the ‘weather yet to come’ image!

With a bit of luck the weather my become more settled from now on – but that does limit the scope for sky pictures!

You can find more skies from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

Our World Tuesday / World Bird Wednesday - Red-Headed Avocets

2012-01-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

I don’t normally combine posts for different memes (or put the posts up this early!), but this seems to make sense here.

I was lucky enough to be involved in the banded (that’s ‘ringing’ in some parts of the world) of a large flock of Red-Headed Avocets a week or so ago. We trapped 174, which is the largest number ever caught in Australia. The birds were wonderful in the hand. The bills were incredibly delicate – the ends are much, much thinner than a grain of sand!

These birds are opportunist breeders – Australia does not always have the most reliable of seasons, so these birds can breed whenever the conditions are favourable. As a result there were all ages of birds in the flock, which lead to a bit of head scratching by the banders.

As you can see the birds are quiet relaxed in the hand – and in case you are wondering, the bird in the yellow tube is being weighed!

We place the standard metal rings on the birds, but also engraved leg ‘flags’ that can be read with a ‘scope. These birds are not easy to catch so with a bit of luck the flags will increase the amount of reported sightings of these birds.

Although the day was very hot, it was really rather remarkable.

You can see more sights from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

And you can see more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Macro Monday - an early bee

2012-01-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

The sunflowers on our raised beds are doing well and are starting to have regualr visits from bees and butterflies. This picture was taken early in the morning in a rather nice light.

You can find more close up and macro shots at Lisas Chaos.

You can find the most recent post from my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

Sunflower Sky - SkyWatch Friday

2012-01-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

During another hot day I found this field of sunflowers. I’ve not seen them growing here before. I was not really able to get close enough to them or high enough above them to do a classic looking shot. But this is another picture with a crystal clear Australian summer sky.

You can find skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies!

World Bird Wednesday - Australian Spotted Crake

2012-01-03T04:23:00.000-08:00

Between Christmas and New Year I normally go banding at Werribee Sewage works – it’s nowhere as bad as it sounds! In fact it can even become rather picturesque.

While waiting for the waders we were hoping to band to arrive in the catching area this rather brave Australian Spotted Crake was showing very well. Normally a bird that you only see dashing from one dark corner of a weed bed to another, today they put on a real show. They were everywhere! I think I must have seen at least six different birds – and at times we could see two feeding in the same pool. It certainly passed the times as we waited for the waders.

You can find more birds here at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also find my most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Hot

2012-01-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

Today was the first 40 degree day in our part of the world. Anything over about 38 is 100 degrees in the old money. So, if you are sitting in your house looking out at snow and frost, your are very lucky. I’m sitting in my house watching the pavement melt!

This morning (when it was a bit cooler!) I was out banding birds, and I took this image while we were waiting. The colours are pure Australian summer.

I was back in the car on the way home by about 11.00 am – and the temperature at already reached the 36 mark! Enjoy the snow if you have any!

You can find more pictures from around the world at Our World Tuesday .

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Buried Treasure.

2011-12-31T22:32:00.000-08:00

I took this picture on the afternoon of Christmas day – I was drawn to the range of textures in the scene. It’s rough, smooth, hard, shiny and soft all at the same time.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups and welcome to 2012.

28th December 2011 - SkyWatch Friday

2011-12-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

This is my last sky for 2011.

As you can see it’s an example of what I think is called crepuscular rays. I was up early yesterday and the picture is taken just after 6.30 am. There were other very nice skies all around me as I drove, but it’s next to impossible (and deeply unsafe!) to take pictures while driving on a freeway on your own.

When I finally stopped to be able to take a picture I could not believe my luck. There was interest in the fore ground and the sky behind. Also I like the way that there is light and dark on the horizon, and an open gate. This seems like both an invitation and a statement of reality for the New Year. There may be patches of darkness, but they lie through the same gate as the light. You really cant have one without the other.

If you don’t wish to spoil the romance of the picture I suggest you stop reading now and leave a comment, visit my other web page, but don’t read the next paragraph.

This picture was taken at Werribee Sewage Works. It’s a grassland area that was once used to process all of the waste (you know what I mean) from the eastern side of Melbourne. It’s now a fantastic (if a little smelly) place to bird watch. The sewage is still treated here, but no longer by flooding grassland with “waste water”.

I’ve had a great year and I like the irony of posting an image at the end of it which is basically a pile of sh*t!

You can be able to find other skies at Skywatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the “Paying Ready Attention” link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies, enjoy the weekend and see you in 2012

World Bird Wednesday - Royal Spoonbills

2011-12-26T22:53:00.001-08:00

A walk by the Barwon River on Christmas afternoon yielded these Royal Spoonbills. These birds are about 75 cm tall and the remarkable black bill is a giveaway as to which of your two species you are looking at.

Had I not been wearing semi-smart sandals (you can tell I live in Australia – I have dress sandals!) I may have got involved in a bit more wading and mud hopping to get closer to the birds. But, as it was Christmas day I decided that discretion was the better part of valour!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Barwon Heads

2011-12-26T00:53:00.001-08:00

In the middle of Christmas morning we headed for the coast. This is the first year in many that we did not have people to our house for lunch – so the stress was exported to someone else!
With met up with other members of the family at Barwon Heads – which is about 2 hours west of us – in what can only be described as a rather impressive house. Lunch followed.

Late in the afternoon we took a walk along The Barwon river – the skies were an intense blue grey. Although we did not know it at the time huge storms were dumping 50mm + of rain and

golf ball sized hail stones on parts of Melbourne. Ah, summer!

Turns out there was no damage to our house or car, but some people got a rather unpleasant Christmas present from the weather.

Hope you had a good day!

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.
Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Number 37

2011-12-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

This fine beast is known as ‘Number 37’ – for most of the year he lives in storage upstairs, but during December he comes out to play.

He is one of the charterers on our Advent Calendar. Each year I make up a story based around the characters on the calendar – for reasons which are lost in the mists of time this reindeer was called Number 37 in one of the stories and the name has stuck. You may be able to tell that the stories are rather daft as one of the other characters is a multi-lingual bear called Bearski – who may or may not be Polish!

You may find more close ups at Macro Monday – but given the time of year you may not!

Have a great Christmas.

Carols Sky - SkyWatch Friday

2011-12-22T01:30:00.000-08:00

Another school event, another school sky.

In the middle of the week we had the school carol service – outside at the ending of the day. It was surprisingly chilly, but a glass of wine helped.

The kids sang in their classes and I was “asked” up on stage by the Principal!

The sky was grey for most of the night, but as the Sun was just on the horizon the sky blazed with colour. There was even a little patch of pink cloud in the sky.

The excitement of the coming weekend seemed to distract the kids and their parents from the sky – well that’s the charitable analysis anyway.

You may be able to find other festive skies at Skywatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the “Paying Ready Attention” link on the RHS of the screen.
Enjoy the skies, enjoy the weekend and see you other the other side!

World Bird Wednesday - Osprey

2011-12-20T03:05:00.000-08:00

I took these images on the first day of our trip to Magnetic Island. It was only when I took a look at the images later on that I realised that the Osprey had a fish in its talons – from the fishes long nose I think it’s a garfish. The ospreys were our nearly constant companions on this trip – and if you could not see one you did not have to wait too long.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - The Age - Melbourne

2011-12-18T23:18:00.000-08:00

The Age is the broadsheet newspaper for Melbourne - I read it every day!

The weekends events were a bit of a wash out for me and I was struggling to find a recent image for today. Then I looked at the online version of the paper. Remember, I'm in Australia (ie the summer) and its almost Christmas!

So I have outlined the headlines for you - we have floods, a man was bitten on the foot by a snake he found under his own front door mat and we have a plague of spiders!

Welcome to Marvelous Melbourne!

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Rose Chafer

2011-12-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

I found this rather splendid Rose Chafer (Eupoecila australasiae) beetle spinning around on its back on one of our window sills this week. I have never seen one before. I popped it down on some of the slates outside the window and took these pictures. I suppose I should have put it on a flower or a bush really! After a couple of minutes it seemed to recover and flew off with a loud and impressive buzzing.

About 25% of all known animals are beetle – so if we ever get the chance to send a representative to an intergalactic conference, an argument could be made for sending this chap (or chapess) rather than one of the naked apes.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

Sky Glass - SkyWatch Friday

2011-12-15T01:51:00.000-08:00

A number of years ago while traveling in the US we met a rather over enthusiastic fellow traveler. We had spent the day near the coast and so had our new companion. We had seen some good birds, some great views and generally had a good time. She had found some beach glass and did not seem to understand how we could have overlooked such a thing.

It turns out that I don’t really remember her or the location of the beach, but I do remember the fragments of glass she held in her hand. They were frosted with age and sand and rounded where they should have been sharp. It was as if the sea had made them change.

Something about that idea – of a sea changed object – lies in this picture. Although here I tried to get a sky changed object - sky glass maybe?

The glass covers of the two lights in this image seem to have taken on a clearness and crystal quality that I had not seen before. The connection may be vague, but somewhere in the random wiring of my neurons a connection occurred.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies

World Bird Wednesday - Bush Stone Curlew

2011-12-13T01:34:00.000-08:00

Yet more archive mining. For some reason I did not post these images when I came back from Magnetic Island. While I was doing some “spring cleaning” of my folders I found them again!

These are Bush Stone Curlews and they are a rather strange bird! Firstly look at the way they bend their legs to sit on the ground. Secondly they make some of the strangest noises that I have hear a bird make. You can hear them on these two clips. (These are not mine clips – just links).

The third thing that makes these birds strange is that they have a behavior that is a “stick” mimic! When under threat they will stretch out flat and rely on camouflage – or to put it in a very unscientific way, the pretend to be a stick!

They were common on Magnetic Island and not that hard to approach – but their calls at night still sounded strange.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Silverband Falls, The Grampians

2011-12-12T02:52:00.001-08:00

More archive mining today.

This is the end point on one of my favourite (very) short walks in the Grampians – Silverband Falls. The last time I was there it was shut because of flooding!

This brings a number of questions to mind, most of which are stupid – but they do have the same feel as the classic old joke : “How does the man who drives the snow plough manage to get to work?”

Would have liked to have seen the waterfall in flood. So these shot were taken about a year ago!
I like the way the water just disappears into the rocks at the foot of the falls. The water reappears a little way down the valley. I was wonderfully cool and damp, and we had hot chocolate and biscuits!

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

PS: How are the pictures Tex?

Macro Monday - Swamp Tiger

2011-12-10T23:01:00.000-08:00

Busy week here in changeable Melbourne – so have resorted to archive mining!

This rather magnificent butterfly is a Swamp Tiger (Danaus affinus). It was common in of all places a swamp (!) on Magnetic Island. For all their commonness, it did take a while to get a half decent image. It can be found in a thin strip up the Queensland coast and a few places in the Northern Territory.

For anybody wanting a relaxed and low key holiday which is free from Theme Parks and such like I would highly recommend this island.

You can find more macro shots here at Macro Monday.

Enjoy the close ups!

School Sky 2 - Skywatch Friday

2011-12-08T02:20:00.000-08:00

Another school event, another evening sky. There was only the thinnest line of colour in sky when we came out of the musical evening.

But the texture in the clouds more than made up for the lack of colour.

I get the feeling anybody who says that dark clouds are grey needs to take a second look!

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Australasian Grebe (2)

2011-12-06T02:10:00.001-08:00

On my recent trip to Perth I only really managed to get out and about once (or maybe twice!)

On the last afternoon I managed a bit of a walk around some small lake behind the convention centre – they looked like they may have been part of the Swan River once – but I could be wrong.

As you can see the pond was very green – but not green in a sticky, unhealthy sort of way. Green in a vibrant sort of way. I got the feeling that the place was making coal!

I found this Australasian Grebe fishing around the edges of the bank. Like last week’s Night Heron I think it may have been a little less scared of people than usual. If fished for a while – but did not catch anything that I saw, but them it had a really good shake to dry its feathers. I rather like this sequence. I also like the way you can see the flanged feet these birds have to help them swim. (And I know that there are people out there that notice this kind of thing!)

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Castlemaine

2011-12-05T02:02:00.000-08:00

I’ve wanted to post these images for a while, so here I go!
These pictures were taken at Castlemaine in Victoria. It’s a great weekend getaway if you live in Melbourne. It owes its existence to gold – and for a town of its size it has some impressive buildings – even if they are now used as bike shops.

These shots were taken late in the afternoon on an early winters day. The sun was setting and the heavens were about to open.

We spent most of the weekend looking at art – and ending up spending more money than was prudent on pictures. But every time I see the huge owl over our fire place I know it was the right thing to do.

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Mushrooms

2011-12-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

Although it is now officially summer in Australia the weather does not seem to know about it! Having said that it’s hardly cold either!

During the early part of spring we had some raised vegetable beds built in the garden – they are now proudly full of tomatoes, lettuce, basil, cucumbers and strawberries. There are also some sunflowers for purely ornamental reasons. We did plant so carrots, but as yet they are refusing to even germinate!

The wet spring did produce a fine ‘crop’ of small mushrooms. They would appear overnight through the straw mulch and be gone within the day. I took these pictures early in the morning, but you can see some of them are already beginning to fade away.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

A simple Perth Sky - SkyWatch Friday.

2011-12-01T00:12:00.000-08:00

Although I got out and about a few times in Perth I never found any huge skies. However, on the last evening there I found this little streak of clouds being lit up by the setting sun. I decided to isolate it from any other aspects of the sky – which were all tall buildings if the truth be told – just to give it a more abstract, graphic feel. I rather like it’s rather minimalist feel.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Nankeen Night Heron

2011-11-29T02:42:00.000-08:00

On the last afternoon in Perth I managed to sneak away to a local lake – it was so full of life I think it may have been making coal! I had seen it the night before from Kings Park – the highest point in Perth – and it looked like a cut off section of the Swan River.

The best find was this immature Nankeen Night Heron. It was just sitting there near the water’s edge. It was so cooperative I actually began to suspect in was dead. But I did eventually see it move! Hard to believe this was taken in a place surrounded by main road in peak hour traffic!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Perth

2011-11-28T01:57:00.000-08:00

I spent most of last week in Perth – hence the early posts and the late replies. Strange how exhausting a day’s work can be when you’re away from home.

Took a few pictures as I walked out to find dinner.
Perth feels much younger than Melbourne (it is!) It feels like you are visiting your energetic younger brother for the weekend! Many of the buildings in the CBD are very new – all glass and reflections. But now and them you find an older building. These are a few of the pictures I took.
You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - 703 (or 704)

2011-11-26T23:19:00.001-08:00

There was a ‘fun day’ at school this week – the Grade 6 kids are nearing the end of Primary School and they get to organize a day of fun and games.

One of the games was “Guess the number of Sweets in the jar” and with a guess of 703 my daughter got within one of the real figure! While the outcome may not please our dentist or the diabetic association – it caused (and continues to cause!) much excitement.

Thought the colours would lend themselves to a bit of a close up.

You can find more macro shots here at Macro Monday.

Enjoy the close ups!

School Sky - Skywatch Friday

2011-11-24T15:09:00.001-08:00

Busy week is over. Flight back to home arrived at 11:40 pm! It’s been a long week – apologies for lack of replies – will get on to those as soon as I can fully open my eyes!

Was in involved in a school fund raiser last weekend – lots of kids trapped in a school hall by thunderous rain! Stepped outside for a moment in an attempt to regain my sanity and was greeting by this sky trapped between passing storms. Only had my phone as a camera – so I’m pleasantly surprised by the results.

Some of the ‘clouds’ in this picture are actually sheets of rain being lit up by the setting sun flashing though a hole in an otherwise solid sky. It was pretty remarkable I have to say.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Australasian Pelican

2011-11-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

Busy week ahead – so, posts are going up early!

Here we have two Australasian Pelicans – count the legs if you missed the sleeping one in the front!

I can only assume that the bird with its beak open is getting a drink – it really was throwing down with rain at the time! It would wait a few minutes in this position, close its beak, give its head a good shake and they open up again! Maybe it had eaten some bad fish!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Cape Otway Lighthouse

2011-11-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

Busy week ahead so posting early!

A few weeks ago we visited Cape Otway Light house. Very splendid place, as lighthouses often are. When you looked at the rocks below you could see why I lighthouse would be needed! Also really liked the deceptively gentle looking sets of symmetrical waves.

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Flatwing

2011-11-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

Busy week ahead – so, posts are going up early!

This is a damsel fly – it’s a Flatwing of some sorts, but I’m out of my depth here! I think it may have recently emerged as one wing tip does not seem to be fully ‘extended’. I took this image early this year. Over the last week I’ve been seeing more and more dragonflies on the way to work so summer must be on its way!

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.
You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

Passing in the channel - SkyWatch Friday.

2011-11-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

The waters off Point Lonsdale include The Rip – the narrow and difficult passage to Melbourne docks. One ship moves away another moves in under changeable skies. Ten minutes later it rained. One hour after that the sun was out again! It was that kind of weekend.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Common Bronzewing

2011-11-15T00:56:00.001-08:00

This rather plump looking pigeon is a Common Bronzewing – which just goes to show that ‘common’ in the name does not always mean dull or uninteresting.
I was pleased with this picture because the first thing you see of these birds is normally their rump disappearing into the distance. They tend to sit tight as you approach and then burst with surprising speed from cover. The moment they land, they disappear! This one was looking round the edge of a camp fire for scraps, so I think that’s why I was able to get within lens range.

Not sure what’s going on in the background – maybe a small earthquake that I was unaware of!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Bellarine hay bales

2011-11-14T02:23:00.001-08:00

These shots were taken down on the Bellarine Peninsula on my last weekend away. They were all taken in space of five minutes – as you can see there is a huge change in the light during that time. This was not some form of intentional ‘project’ – but just a windy day with the weather being pushed about and never being able to make up its mind. I think it’s interesting how different the light and small changes in composition make in each picture

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Large and Little

2011-11-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

OK, so I admit that spiders may not be the most popular creatures in the world. OK, so I admit that they weird me out more than any other creature. But you have to admit that they are remarkable none the less.

The Huntsman is the classic “there’s a huge spider in the bathroom” spider of our area. Their ability to move sideways into thin cracks is very off putting to say the least. I found this one loitering on a red brick wall on the way home – the bricks give a nice sense of scale.

At the other end of the market is this jumping spider I found on the fly wire of a window this weekend. It’s not large - maybe 10mm at best. It would have a hard job intimidating a rice grain if the truth be told.

So, you may not enjoy them – but I doubt you can ignore them either.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

Stormwatch (SkyWatch Friday)

2011-11-10T02:13:00.001-08:00

The weather forecast for Wednesday evening was not good. Heavy rain, winds, flash flooding. There were reports of animals in pairs seeking a large boat. When the weather front moved over our house all the predictions felt plausible.

The clouds were going in all directions. We got some good rain – 25 mm in the rain gauge, but that’s about as reliable as a politician. Some places near us had a lot more rain, but it brought flash floods and a bit of damage. I’ll settle for 25 mm of rain.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Silver Gulls

2011-11-08T02:10:00.000-08:00

These Silver Gulls seemed very interested in out sandwiches last weekend. But like all opportunists, they could not help but keep an eye open for other sources of food!

These are our most common gull in Australia – they are the typical chip stealers that we know and love!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Melbourne through the Ozone

2011-11-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

This is all the remains of the paddle steamer Ozone. It was sunk off the coast of Indented Head – a small fishing port in Port Phillip Bay - to act as breakwater. You can see the CBD of Melbourne in the background, across the bay.

This beach is a wonderful area for just wading about when it’s hot.

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.
Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Bolt Heads

2011-11-06T00:35:00.000-07:00

Found this bolt holding together a section of retaining wall near the sea when I was away last weekend.
The second set is on a board walk that is very popular with walkers and cyclists – hence the polish!

Rather like the effect in black and white. Not much more to say!

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

Point Lonsdale - SkyWatch Friday.

2011-11-03T03:31:00.001-07:00

Managed to take a long weekend this week – with the help of the government giving us a day off for a horse race! No real interest there, but I’ll take the day off. Spent 4 days at Point Lonsdale, dodging showers, going to the beach and watching the sky change almost by the second.

This was one of its better efforts!

Melbourne sits on a large bay – and these picture are taken from its western shores. I’m tempted to call the whole post “Looking for Gemma” as another regular on these memes posts many shots from the land on the horizon of these shots. I have often wondered if we would ever end up taking picture of the same cloud, but from different parts of the bay.

Anyway, enough of this!

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Superb Fairy Wrens

2011-11-01T01:01:00.001-07:00

These birds are male Superb Fairy Wrens. They were feeding in the grass and flowers around our cottage when we were on holiday. They would attack their own reflections in the windows of the house and on the cars windscreen. One bird actually landed on the car within seconds of us pulling up to the cottage.

That’s a really high degree of territoriality!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Last Johanna Sky (SkyWatch Friday)

2011-10-27T00:26:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post this week – more skies from Johanna. The clouds in the first picture looked like they would produce rain – but it never really happened, just a few big drips and drops.

The “mist” in the second picture came in off the sea all the time – I just think you could only see it when the sun was low in the sky.

Children, dinner and the need to have an early night calls!

You can find more pictures of the sky at SkyWatch Friday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the skies!

World Bird Wednesday - Hooded Plover

2011-10-25T02:01:00.000-07:00

Hooded Plover are small and (according to one of the field guides) tubby! They also seem to have a lot of energy, being constantly on the move. I found these birds on the beach during my last trip away. I tried all manner of stalking methods, but could not really get that close. In the end they decided that they had had enough of me and flew to the other side of a river. As I did not feel much like wading that day I left them to it.

This bird suffers badly from disturbance during the summer as it nests on the beach. This is not a good strategy if the beach is popular with children, dogs and 4WD’s. Often their breeding areas are fenced off to stop the nests getting trampled.

What I really like about these birds is that they are normally only found on wildish beaches – so if you find a Hooded Plover you know you are often somewhere a little beat off the beaten track.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Only place in the world where this happens!

2011-10-24T02:35:00.000-07:00

When I was away I started to think about the idea of putting up a post that really could not be anywhere else other than “my world”. So, living where I do I did not have to think that hard about what I could do! But what did surprise me was the ease with which I got the pictures.
Near the end of a walk a cry of “I’ve found an echidna” went up from the smaller of my small people – and she was right. This one obliged by staying on the surface for a little while we looked and photographed. He (?) even kicked some dirt at us to tell to go away. If you don’t know anything about this animal, the key think to know is that it lays eggs. But it’s a mammal all the same.
We saw lots of kangaroos and wallabies during the holiday – but I thought I’d go with a bit of a crowd pleaser in the Koala – and please, please, please don’t call it a bear!

On the road out to Cape Otway Light house we must have seen 20 or 30 of these rather charming animals. You can see from the state of the trees that 20 or 30 may be just a bit more than the trees came cope with. So the koala is a marsupial – and it gives birth after 35 days of pregnancy to a Joey less than 20mm long. That’s smaller than most bees! In then stays in the pouch for 5 months!

The other remarkable thing about koalas is that it is the one vertebrate where the brain does not fill its cranium. About 40% of the volume is taken up by a think jelly! Evolution has swapped brain power for energy conservation, and produced a highly energy efficient beast that is not much chop at after dinner conversation or crosswords.

So, seeing both of those on one trip pretty much places you on the east coast of Australia – you should visit and see for yourself.

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen. (The most recent post has more echidna pictures from a different trip)

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Apple Blossom

2011-10-23T02:06:00.001-07:00

The path to my front door is flanked by two pairs of apple trees – at this time of year, albeit briefly, they produce whorls of wonderful flowers. I managed to take this picture just in time. Winter had not really given up its grip and the day after I took this picture my garden was coated with a counterfeit snow of apple petals. A few hardy flowers hung on, but generally the show was over. Today it’s warm again!

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups !

Johanna goes to sleep - SkyWatch Friday

2011-10-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

These images were taken over a 30 minute period as the sun was setting over Johanna beach. It was a windy evening so the clouds were being pushed through and the sky kept changing. Only saw one other person and they were taking photographs as well. All in all it was a splendid way to watch the day settle down for the night.

You can find more pictures of the sky at SkyWatch Friday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the skies!

World Bird Wednesday - Silvereye

2011-10-18T03:39:00.000-07:00

The fields and garden around our temporary home at Johanna were full of Silvereyes. These little birds – they are about 11 cm long - seem to behave more like mice than birds, excepting of course that they can fly and that’s beyond the mice I’ve known!

They would land in the tall grass or flowers and dive down to soil level and them move about inside the tangle of leaves and stems. You could tell they were still there because the plants would move about with them. They would then reappear at some random point fly off.
It’s the kind of behavior that’s has only really become possible to photograph with digital – I got a hit rate of about 1 useable image every 10 – 15 pictures (and that’s only if you extend the definition of useable!)

Anyway, they are a great little bird and they were our almost constant companions for the week. Hope you enjoy them!
You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Triplet Falls, nr. Johanna

2011-10-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

The rain has been falling. The dams are filling. A year ago it felt like sights like this may have become a thing of the past.

This is Triplet Falls in the Otway Forests, west of Melbourne. These are cool temperate rainforests (similar to those in the Pacific North West of the USA). It’s a wonderful place. Now it feels like its come back to life, with back side rustlings, bird calls and natures white noise – the fall of water.

You can find more places from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can find the most recent post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Blotched Dusky Blue

2011-10-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

This is probably the last of the shots that I took in the Grampians. I was photographing flowers, when this little flash of metallic blue flew past. Orchids were forgotten for a while as I chased this butterfly.

I think that it is a Blotched Dusky Blue – but I’m sure it’s a butterfly! You can read the full story of this picture on my other blog.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups !

Johanna Sky - Skywatch Friday.

2011-10-13T01:42:00.001-07:00

Keen followers will know that I spent some at a rather splendid location to the west of Melbourne last week.

Johanna is about 3 ½ hours from Melbourne and ½ an hour from Apollo Bay if you happen to know the area (I suppose they are still those times away even if you don’t know the area – but that’s a pedants distraction!)

I liked the abstract shapes and colours of these water tanks on the property – although I have no idea what the orange ball is!

I liked the way that their solid form contrasted with the sky.

As I was taking the picture 3 Corellas – small white parrots - shot past and I was able to include them in one of the shots.

You can find more pictures of the sky at SkyWatch Friday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the skies!

World Bird Wednesday - Masked Lapwing

2011-10-11T03:39:00.000-07:00

Masked Lapwing – or Spur winged Plovers as they were once called – are familiar birds over much of Eastern and Northern Australia. I tend to see them most often in their natural environment - the grass in the middle of roundabouts, road-side verges, football ovals and under my window when I am trying to sleep in!

We call them “the bird of stress” for their tendency to fly around shrieking for no apparent reason. They will also swoop you if the fancy takes them – and their old name comes from the fact that the have black-tipped yellow spurs on their “shoulders” which they use against predators and otherwise innocent pedestrians!

In the hand they are a remarkable bird, with the yellow face mask feeling like soft leather – but when we do happen to catch one you need ear plugs!

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also see the most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Welcome to Johanna

2011-10-10T03:16:00.001-07:00

Just spent a week out West – along The Great Ocean Road at Johanna. The Road was built in the 1930’s as a project during the Depression. The landscape was built over millions of years by the sea and the wild wind.

We stayed in a small cottage on a dairy farm – lots of cows, mooing and other stuff. The beach was a five minute walk from the front door, and in the evening the setting sun lit up the folds and buckles of the landscape. You fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean and you woke to them as well. As you may be able to tell, I liked the place. More posts to follow!

You can find pictures from around our world here at Our World Tuesday.

You can also find the latest post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures!

Macro Monday - Green Grasshopper.

2011-10-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

I found this rather good value grasshopper (and a friend) on a Native Mint bush in the Grampians recently. It was blowing a gale – I was holding the bush with one hand and the camera in the other. All things considered it’s not a bad picture! I can’t make any progress on naming the beast – so help or suggestions welcome.

You can find more macro shots here at Macro Monday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the close ups.

PS: have set up an RSS feed if anybody feels like subscribing.

Queenscliff Skies - SkyWatch Friday

2011-10-02T02:15:00.001-07:00

This is a simple idea - its two views taken from the same spot. I was stood in the middle of the road near Queenscliff - luckily it’s a rather quiet road! As the sun set I was not sure which view I liked the most, so here are both of them!

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Noisy Miners

2011-10-02T01:46:00.000-07:00

During a work trip to Brisbane I sneaked out at the end of the day for a walk. The park across the road had a number of Noisy Miners in it. Although the light was fading I was surprised at the images I managed to make.

In many places these birds are a bit of a pest – although they are native bird they can come to dominate areas and drive all the other birds off.

But whatever their status they brightened up an evening walk.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention picture on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - Big Waves

2011-10-02T01:29:00.001-07:00

When tide, time and wind conspire Point Lonsdale can experience some rather large waves. At the top of the tide they break over the walkways – much to the delight of the kids and photographers with motor-drives!

These images were taken a while ago – but I really like them. They are all about summer and the excitement of childhood. We have lapsed back into winter here for a few days, so this gives me something to look forward to!

You can find other picture from around the world at Our World Tuesday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures from around the world

Macro Monday - Paint Chip Dog

2011-10-02T01:14:00.000-07:00

This paint chip lives on a wall in East Melbourne. It’s caused by moisture moving out through the mortar in a brick wall. I think it looks like a little Scottish terrier type dog. Whatever it is doing I will leave to your imagination! I also like the way that random processes have made an object that seems to have order – there really is no dog there, but most of us will see one.

You can find more close up images at Macro Monday.

You can also see the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the close ups!

The sky above you (SkyWatch Friday)

2011-09-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

Another in my occasional series of sky shots with no sky! Aim of the game is to make it clear what the sky is doing without really showing the sky.

So on a bright and sunny day in the Grampians I found this shadow on a stump – not a cloud in the sky, not a flaw in the shadow.

Hope you like it.

You can find pictures which probably contain the sky at SkyWatch Friday.

You can see the most recent post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the skies!

World Bird Wednesday - Australasian Grebe

2011-09-26T21:59:00.001-07:00

Australasian Grebes are busy little birds, and like most of the grebes I have tried to photograph, rather nervous. When “startled, dives rather than flies” says the guide book and it’s not wrong. And they seem to be able to swim for miles underwater, often coming up a very long way away from where they dived. They look similar to the Little Grebe – or Dabchicks as we called them – that I saw as a kid, but they are a different species.

You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

Our World Tuesday - A short walk on a long pier

2011-09-26T05:53:00.001-07:00

Took a short walk on a long pier this weekend – as you can see! This is Swan Bay Jetty, about 2 hours from Melbourne. The Crested Terns sat on the rails for a while but most of the other birds took flight.

You can find more pictures at Our World Tuesday.

Hope you enjoy them!

Macro Monday - Grampian Flowers

2011-09-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

Despite the howling gale that was blowing I did manage to get some flower images during the trip to The Grampians – in fact I got rather more decent images than I expected!
The Grampians is famous for its Spring flowers and has a wide range of native orchids. I think I may have been there about two weeks too early as there were large numbers of orchid shows leaves only and no flowers (boo!). But tucked away in quiet warm spots I did find a few.

Wax Lip Orchid

Pink Heath

Pink Fingers Orchid

A type of pea (there are lots in the Grampains!)

Mantis or Spider Orchid

Nodding Greenhood Orchid

Blue Tinsel-Lilly

Grampians Thryptomene (each flower is only about 8 -10 mm across)

You can find more close up / macro images at here at Macro Monday.

You can find the latest post from my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen

Enjoy the close ups!

Grampian Skies (Skywatch Friday)

2011-09-22T01:34:00.001-07:00

Greetings – keen followers will know that I was The Grampians last weekend. (That’s in the west of Victoria if your geography of Australia is a little bit rusty!) Wonderful place. The best sky I saw that weekend was as I got out of the car in Halls Gap when I arrived. Huge sky, full of stars, with the streak of the Milky Way cutting the sky on half. I just looked – could not bring myself to try some picture after a very long drive – added to that was the fact that I wanted a glass of wine! (or 2)

So, these are two other pictures. It was blowing a gale for much of the weekend and the sky did not really put on a show. However, a number of people have mentioned the clear blue skies we get here – so I’ve posted one of them! Also (when almost being blown off my feet!) I noticed the other sky. I was drawn to it by the idea that the rock face and the cloud are sort of opposites of each other. Tell me what you think!
You can find more skies here at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post for my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen. The most recent post is about Fishing rather than the Grampians!

Enjoy the skies!

World Bird Wednesday - Pied Currawong

2011-09-20T03:44:00.000-07:00

I’ve been visited by a few Pied Currawongs of late. They seem to have designs on my lunch. These are magnificent (if not always popular) birds that can grow to about 50cm. Their lack of popularity may be due to their tendency to eat the chicks of other birds.

They have a wonderful, strange voice that always greeted me on autumn mornings at my last job. It’s just about the only thing I miss about it.

I’ve taken another step down the “colourful” as these don’t really even make it grey scale – they are black and white. I admit the eye may be a bit crazy looking and that have what can only be described as a “clanking great bill” (all the better to eat you with!).

They seem to be smart and have bags of character – I have to admit I like them!

You can find more world birds here at World Bird Wednesday.

You can have a look at the most recent post from my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention button on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the birds.

PS: This is my 100th photo-blog post!

Our World Tuesday - The Grampians

2011-09-19T03:49:00.000-07:00

I spent this weekend in the Grampians National Park. That’s in the west of Victoria – about 3 ½ hour’s drive from Melbourne. Well it was more like four – buts that’s because two cars had a bit of a dispute on the freeway out of Melbourne and we all had to sit around and wait for them to sort it out.

The Grampians is a splendidly hilly kind of place – with long ridges of high ground that seem to sweep like solid waves across the land. The rock here is very old – 380 million years, give or take a pause for traffic accidents!

I had come to photograph the wild flowers – but it was really very windy, and the plants were flapping about like flags – this proved to be a challenge!

So – I took some picture of some rocks instead! They were about the only think not being blasted about. I walked up to the top of Mount Stapylton past the orange sweep of Taipan wall. This is regarded as one of the best climbing crags in Australia. 90 m of slightly overhanging sandstone. Even in the past when I used to do this kind of thing, I doubt I could have even got off the ground!

So, here are some images and a few “close up’s” of the rock face.

Just as you go around the end of the cliff you come to “Bird Rock” – which as you can see really does look like a bird! If you ever get the chance to visit you should take it.

You can find lots of other good things to see here or by clicking on the Our World Tuesday button on the RHS of the screen.

You can also see my most recent post on my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention button on the RHS of the screen.

Macro Monday - Potter Wasp

2011-09-18T02:54:00.000-07:00

Wasps have a bit of problem on the PR front. “Not very popular” or “generally unwelcome at picnics” is how they seem to be viewed.

I think this is a bit of an injustice – OK so they can be vicious killers of smaller beasts and they have a nasty sting – but, if the truth be told, none of us are perfect.

So, here in all its black and yellow glory is a Potter Wasp. I took this picture a few weeks ago on Magnetic Island.

You can find more macro shots here at Macro Monday.

Enjoy the close ups!

Canberra Skies (Friday Skies)

2011-09-15T01:14:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy!
School production, photographs of 170 kids in costume to take and process, day trip to Canberra for a science award ceremony (I was not getting a prize!), kids to cuddle, stories to read and blog comments to reply too! Sorry that the replies are not up to date!

Anyway, here are some quick phone snaps of the sky over Parliament House in Canberra. Let’s hope some of the kids who were there today can keep on the science path and help us fix this little planet up!

Parliement house has grass on the top of it - its basically an artificaial hill - and you can walk on top of it. It's one of the few times that MP's are in their proper place - under the people who elect them!

This last shot is looking up through the "flag pole" at the top of the hill. I think it was a bit more than my phone camera could cope with! But there you go!

You can find more (and if I’m honest, probably better skies) here at Friday Skies.

World Bird Wednesday - Grey Butcher Bird

2011-09-13T03:55:00.001-07:00

Today’s World Bird Wednesday post is brought to you by the Grey Butcher Bird.

People have noticed that we have a lot of colourful birds in Australia – so here’s one that manages to be rather splendid in a grey scale kind of way.

When I first arrived here I did not see many of these birds – but once I learnt their voice they are not hard to find. I often see them as I walk to work. I pointed one out to a stranger once and I think he was on the verge of calling the emergency services about an escaped lunatic before I walked off!

Most years they breed in the old oak trees near out house. They are related to Australian Magpies – but don’t seem to have the same aggressive tendencies. As far as garden birds go I have to say they are rather special!

You can find more birds here at World Bird Wednesday.
You can also look at my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen (go on – you may like it!)

Our World Tuesday - Remembering New York

2011-09-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

I’m posting these images and words with a clear understanding of what these days mean to so many, many people. Not just people in the USA, but people all around the world. The September 11 attack was the break-point for a tsunami of violence that washed away life, after life, after life on the day itself and then spread far from New York, Arlington, Virginia and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The waves from that day continue to claim lives.

As a kid I grew up knowing that every box by the side of the road, every strange parked car, could be a fiery gift left by fanatics. But what happened on September 11 was beyond anything that seemed possible. This kind of thing happened “elsewhere”, and the mindset of the people involved seemed to come from an “elsewhen” – as if the enlightenment had not happened and people still viewed the world as the play-thing of distant, but still persuadable, gods.

I do not think that the response to these attacks should be tied to any country, creed, religion or flag – it should grow out of a personal commitment by all of us to do good and to challenge simple minded solutions and violence wherever they are found. Surely, if we are honest, we can do better for the world and its people than we have managed to do to this point. What could we achieve if all the talent, energy, skill and bravery that was shown on the terrible day, and in the days that have followed, had been turned into something other than war?

What would have happened if we had spent the last ten years arming people with knowledge and a real sense of possibility rather than with guns and bombs? How many of the “best and the brightest” can we afford to lose? Each time a person dies a small strand in the great web of the unknowable possibilities of the world breaks with them. “How would life have ever been the same if this wall had carved in it one less name?” as it has been said in a way that I could never manage.

It is spring in Australia, a season of growth and reconnection. If we refuse to tolerate intolerance and if we admit that well educated children are the hope of the world, then maybe, just maybe, the next ten years will be better than the last.

________

I am posting two pictures of New York – both from 1995. I arrived in the city by water, although I am not able to explain how this can be true. The skyline of the city was lit up with search lights flashing from helicopters and the roads were full of the flashing lights of police cars. It looked like some future, imagined city. It looked like a scene from Blade Runner. I had managed to arrive at the same time as the Pope. This was not a good plan. I walked the streets seeing things in real life that I had only seen on TV. My neck grew stiff from looking up at the towers that seemed to climb impossibly from the streets. The buildings were bigger than anything I had ever seen. The portions of food were bigger than anything I had ever seen as well!

I sat in café’s full of police officers dressed in what seemed to be TV costumes – but it was real. I was on the way to Australia to start a new life. Although I did not know it then this has led to two red-headed children, marriage and a new life. Like many others before me, I passed though New York on the way to somewhere better.

That’s how I remember New York : as a gateway to the unknown possibility of the future.

You can find more places from around the world here at Our World Tuesday.

(And it has just occurred to me that the shift to the collective “Our World” from the singular “My world” seems to the kind of change I’m talking about and hoping for.)

Macro Monday - Frangipani Flowers

2011-09-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on Magnetic Island – which for those of you not completely familiar with the geography of Australia, it’s about ¾ of the way up the east coast, in Queensland.
The light that day was strangely flat, with spots and specks of rain. I actually think that this made photographing the white flower easier. Frangipani flowers on the bare branches of the tree – it makes a strange sight.

You can find more macro shots here at Macro Monday.

Enjoy the close ups!

A Ten Minute Sky (Friday Skies)

2011-09-08T02:37:00.001-07:00

I think that photography can become a trap, where we look for the perfect and the remarkable and in doing so we miss the splendour of the ordinary. I think this comes to the fore when you are looking at birds – common, but splendid birds are overlooked in favour of dull birds, who’s only claim to fame is rarity. But I think it also get get hold of you when you take landscapes - or in this case "skyscapes".

So, armed with my camera I set a time – pretty much as soon as I had this idea actually - and I stood in the garden for 10 minutes. During that time I photographed whatever happened to happening in the sky. These are some of the results. I think it made me look harder to find things – and in doing so I found things I would have normally overlooked!

So, what do you think!

You can find more skies (probably without all the self indulgent thinking / introspection stuff!) here. You can find the latest post on my other blog by clicking the "Paying Ready Attention" link on the RHS of the screen

Enjoy the skies be they remarkable or everyday!

A mystery solved – a mystery deepened - a mystery resolved

2011-09-08T01:51:00.000-07:00

Recently blogger Kim posted the picture below with a plea to help name this rather splendid bird.
I tried. I failed. I sought help. I talked to a like minded colleague who likes a bit of a birding challenge. Both of us clearly need to find more things to do with our spare time.

Anyway, I’m pretty confident that the bird is a Red-Legged Honey Creeper.

But this does cause a bit of a problem. The Red-Legged Honey Creeper has never been recorded in the USA! Now this is interesting!

If you look at this map you can see that it is not recorded north of southern Central America or Cuba. Now there has been a bit of weather in that part of the world of late and I have to wonder if this is a bird that has been picked up by hurricane Irene and dumped in Michigan.

Now, if all this is true, this is a startling record.

However, (and I sort of get the feeling this is a rather large “however”) you can buy these birds over the net as cage specimens – so it’s also possible that the bird is an escapee and somewhere a bird fancier is mourning the loss of his (her?) rather splendid pet.

What are people’s thoughts?

UPDATE: 9th September - thanks to the people at Michigan Audubon.

I’ll leave the post as it is – but here is an update. There is a tropical bird display where this picture was taken!

So, no long distance migrant, so heartbroken bird owner, but a cracking bird none the less!

World Bird Wednesday - Red-Browed Finch

2011-09-06T04:12:00.001-07:00

Just to show that all the good value finches dont live in the Americas I thought I'd post these pictures.

These little gems are Red-Browed Finches. They are only about 11 cm long and can often be found in small flocks feeding on seeds in the grass – or split seed and grain around bird tables!
They are one of a small number of birds that have done (reasonably) well out of agriculture –it tends to produce the grassland and clearings that the favour. For all of the brightness of the brow and tail they are sometimes hard to see in longer grass and you only find them as you flush them. I was rather pleased when the bird sat on the wire gate!

You can find more world birds here at World Bird Wednesday.

You can also view my most recent post on my other blog by clicking here or on the Paying Ready Attention button on the RHS of the page.

Enjoy the birds.