The edge of the Baie

Last week we all stayed in a cottage attached to the Baie Wines vineyard on the Bellarine Peninsula - and very good it was too!  Wonderful views out over Port Phillip Bay back towards Melbourne in one direction and out over farmland in another.

We were adopted by this rather splendid little dog almost as soon as we moved in - and with rather less than an original turn of phrase we named him Dogger!  He is the only dog I have ever met that did not understand the rules of 'fetch'!  He would collect sticks and balls with great enthusiasm, but then head off for home, with his new toy firmly clenched in his teeth!  He was often pursued by my kids, shrieking with laughter and outrage at the actions of this canine villain!

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

If you build it, they will come

I spent last week away from home, taking an Easter break down on the Bellarine Peninsula, a couple of hours from Melbourne.  We go there pretty often, but this time we stayed in a different location to usual.  (How dare somebody rent out the house we normally have instead of us!)

We stayed near an area called Curlewis, which, not that long ago, was basically all agricultural land.  Thats clearly not the case any more.

I found this empty road, which is called Hinterland Avenue (I'm not making this up!) rather strange and photogenic all at the same time.

I used these pictures for my weekly 52Frames project - with the theme being Negative Space.

Normal service will resume soon!

Wild Bird Wednesday 192 - Collared Dove

Just to break the string of birds from Lord Howe, I have gone back into the archives to find some shots from my last trip to the UK.

These are Collared Doves (Streptopelia decaocto) from Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve in Yorkshire.  If you are in the UK, I highly recommend a visit to this site - although the puffins and gannets are the stars I really liked catching up with birds like these.

The Collared Dove has undergone  a huge expansion in range in the last 100 years or so.  It was first recorded as a breeding species in the UK in 1955, but now it has spread over most of the country.  In the game of winners and losers in the game of environmental change, it would seem that the Collared Dove is a winner.

The count down to WBW continues - so for the 192nd time, click on the blue button to join in with Wild Bird Wednesday. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Broadsword

As part of the 52Frames group I try to take a picture based on a provided theme each week - so far I have managed every week of this year - although not all of the pictures make it to this blog.

Last weeks theme was 'Line from a Song' - so I delved into my 'record' collection to come up with inspiration.

I have been looking for a reason to photograph this for a while. This sword is prominent on the outside on St. Marks church in Camberwell, Melbourne. I cant help but find it unsettling. The conflation of truth with belief and violence with religion seems not to be an entirely new issue.

'Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.'

Broadsword, Jethro Tull, 1982.

Here are 3 versions of pictures I took.

Should you feel in any way included to hear the song that the line that inspired these images is from, you can hear it here.

I will be away from my desk for a few days this week, so replies will not be speedy!  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 191 - Brown Noddy

Yet more pictures from Lord Howe - I've been rather busy for much of the start of this year, so I'm glad I have a back catalogue to mine!

I'm just going to post these pictures today - and let them do the talking instead of me.

And now, for the 191st time, it's your turn.  Click on the blue button and off you go.

An InLinkz Link-up

Reflections

I seem to be behind again!

These are some reflections in buildings from the trip along the Yarra last weekend.

Hope to catch up soon.

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