A windy day...

Sunday was windy.  Sunny, mild in at times, but windy!  We were out and about in search of birds, adventure and maybe even lunch.  In the end, all we found was lunch!

A post lunch stroll on the pier at Mordialloc blew weeks of cobwebs out of our brains - and almost blow some smaller children into the sea!

There was a sailing regatta in progress, which seemed to be a bit of a challenge for some people judging by the number of unturned boats.  But there was a rescue vehicle on hand!

As we were leaving a noticed this windsurfer heading more or less down wind - he was going at a rate of knots!

I dont generally post images of my kids, but this one made me laugh and seems perfect for a post about windy days!

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

SM

Garden Bark.

While pottering about in the garden a while ago - removing winter debris, weeds and finding long lost kids toys - I noticed the bark of one of the few mature trees on our block.  The tree is a Chinese Elm - a semi-deciduous tree with a fine shape and interesting bark.  The patterns on the bark give rise to another of its common names - Lacebark Elm.

You can find more close up type images at Macro Monday 2 and I love Macro.

SM

To welcome the spring.....

The title of the post is an adaptation of the words of a song:

The real words are "To welcome the summer, whose first day is ending": it's from this song, which you may or may not like!

I managed to get out for an evening walk this week - a combination of growing day length and an almost fully healed ankle.

So, here are two skies to welcome the spring, whose first day is ending.  (Its raining and cold outside tonight, so I think winter is having one last go - but that does not sound as poetic!)

You can find more skies at Sky Watch Friday.

Enjoy the skies - and if you are up north, enjoy the last days of Summer.

SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 59 - Red Knot

Reports are starting to come in of the waders returning from the Northern Hemisphere to the coasts and wetlands of Victoria.  This is always an exciting time - and with luck I may be able to get out this weekend to have a look for some.

So, it a desperate attempt to segue between that and todays WBW I have decided to post some pictures of waders - Red Knot - getting ready to fly north a whole breeding season ago.

The Red Knot - Calidris canutus - is a chunky looking wader of about 25 cm.  It only takes on its eponymous characteristic in its breeding plumage.  In other words, it generally looks at its best when its not in Australia.

However, I was lucky enough to find a group of these birds on Pope's Eye - an island I have mentioned a few time in posts - last autumn (thats last spring for you up north!)

A few of the birds were beginning  to "red up" into breeding plumage - which meant that a). they look splendid and b). they were easy identify! That's the kind of double win I like!

It's hard to believe that these birds are about to fly off to N.E. Siberia!  And its even harder to believe that if I manage to see the leg flagged bird again, it will have flown from Australia to Siberia and back between sightings.    The leg flagged bird (A7) was flagged less than 20 km from where I saw it, so it obviously just popping out for some milk and the paper before it heads north!

As ever there is some fun to be had from looking at the origin of name of these birds.  The origin of Knot is (sorry) not know - which apart from anything else demonstrates the baffling use of silent Ks in the English language!

Calidris is derived from the Greek for "speckled water bird", although there is very little chance that Knot were the bird that help come up with this name.   canutus comes from some form of association with the Danish and English King Canute.  It seems he may have liked to eat them!

Anyway, enough of me, now its your turn!

Most of you know the drill by now, so click on the link and off you go!

If you are new to WBW - welcome! and click the link below and follow the simple instructions to join in.  Cheers - SM

Before and after...

I suppose most photographers (of any styles and competency) must have a interest in light.  The way it bounces off some surfaces and is absorbed by others is fascinating - the way the merest change  can radically alter the way that light interacts with that the surface makes for a constant shifting of colour and texture.

Back when I was a science teacher I used to love the practicals about light - especially bouncing light from pale surfaces to fill the darkness of shadows.  For many students it was a "your not kidding" kind of moment when it became clear that the mad-man at the front had got it right when he said light bounced off things.

I suppose these two images from the harbor in Hobart sum up this idea - the way the light falling on the boat and coming straight back to the camera makes such a different image to the light coming to the camera via the surface of the water.

So, why is this Our World on Tuesday?  I suppose it sums up an important aspect of our world,  - that understanding how things really are does not take away a single iota of beauty or mystery.

Enough!

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

SM

Many, many horses.

This is another image from a post trip to Hobart.

I like the differences and similarities between the sheen of the metal and the liquid flow of the water.

I have increased the saturation a tiny bit - but the depth of the colours in the reflection is what attracted my attention in the first, so I dont think the picture has been "tricked up" too much.

You never know, but by next week I may have some new pictures!

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday 2 and I love Macro.

Cheers - SM.