Footy Season Begins!

Thank goodness!  The footy is back!  Dragons V Knights tonight is the Season Opener and we are currently watching the game as I speak.  It's half time and Dragons are leading 8 - 6.

My start to the day was most enjoyable today.

I forgot my purse, but luckily, being a regular customer meant that the Bakery gave me my morning coffee on credit!

I had an hour with my boys at the Seat of Knowledge and we were entertained by hundreds of mullet jumping out of the river.

It looked like they were being chased by a big fish - it was suggested perhaps a shark - because suddenly out of nowhere, a huge school of them would all splash out of the water and race a couple of metres and then disappear again.

There were men in boats coming from all directions with their cast nets trying to catch the mullet and about a dozen men lined the banks of the river casting their nets as well.

Only one man caught a couple of mullet and the rest, from what I witnessed, failed miserably.  They had plenty of enthusiasm!

I also failed miserably, trying to capture a shot to document the phenomenon!

I did witness something quite strange with the birds.  A beautiful Eagle had caught a fish (I did NOT witness this event) and was flying towards a tree with it firmly clasped in it's talons, when it was suddenly attacked by three seagulls!

Scared Eagle - not a great shot - tightly cropped, so much detail is lost, but gives you an idea of the action.

It was afraid of the gulls and even though he tried to outrun (or outfly) them, they eventually forced him to drop the fish into the river.

He flew off and they enjoyed the spoils!

After I left the Seat of Knowledge, I pedalled home to get my purse and then returned to the bakery to pay for my coffee.

I decided to head down to the Lions Park and sit in the shade by the water to just soak in the day and enjoy the serenity.  It was a beautiful sunshiny day with a light breeze and some scattered cloud to keep the temperature down a little.

While I was sitting there watching the mullet dancing out of the water, I heard the familiar call of the Whistling Kite and as I looked to my left, I noticed two of them fly along the tree line and land in a tree.

I watched and listened for a while and one of them flew off.  As I looked through my viewfinder, it flew back to the tree with a big bunch of twigs in it's talons!

I deduced that it may have been building a nest, so I grabbed my camera gear and headed down the bank, across the beach and down to the edge of the inlet.  As I got closer, the bigger bird flew off, but the smaller one waited until I aimed the camera ...

Juvenile Whistling Kite

I was over the moon with this shot. I think this is the juvenile.

I haven't any more contributions to my 104 challenge yet, but the March Photo a Day Challenge started today and the first brief was 'UP'.

1. UP

This is looking up from under the canopy of the beautiful fig tree that shelters the Seat of Knowledge.

On the way home, I stopped at the Post Office to check our mail, and to my delight, a parcel arrived for me!

On Monday I ordered a fashion camera bag and it arrived today!

I packed my camera with a lens attached, two extra lenses AND my laptop into the bag comfortably.  It has a detachable long satchel strap, as well as a short strap if preferred and there is a zipped flap on one side of the bag that holds everything that would normally be kept in my purse eg credit cards and money.

Plenty of room for my glasses case, my fan, phone, notebook & pens, lipstick etc etc.  I love it!!

I would like to finish with a quote that I truly believe.

"Everlasting friends go for long periods of time without speaking, and never question the friendship. These friends pick up phones like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long it has been or how close or far away they live, and they don't hold grudges.  They understand that life is busy and that you will ALWAYS love them."

I have friends like this - you know who you are.  I love you.

Nite all.

Movies Lunch Chicklet WWF

I've just spent three hours playing 'Words with Friends (WWF)' online with my sister and the tips of my fingers are almost numb!

For those of you who don't know, WWF is an online game very similar to Scrabble.  I love it!  I am a big Scrabble fan, so this game also has a high appeal for me.

So now I am again, brain dead, and am struggling to find words for my blog post tonight.

I think I will either have to update my blog earlier, or put a time limit on WWF.  I need to finish early enough for my brain to still be functioning to do this.

Anyway!  Adoring Husband and I went to the movies today and used the last of our movie passes to see the latest Katherine Heigl movie "One for the Money".

I think I have a bit of a girl crush on Katherine Heigl.  In my opinion she is stunningly beautiful and her movies are light and funny 'no brainers'.  Just easy to watch, 'feel good' movies.

After the movie, we drove to The Bayswater restaurant for lunch and were met afterwards by Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet for coffee.

Chicklet was a happy little vegemite and played on my lap for quite a while, chatting away and doing lots of cute stuff and making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This is the view we had for lunch...

and this is the lovely little Stormbird having breakfast in the tree near the Seat of Knowledge this morning.

It's been a really pleasant day.  Nothing extraodinary, just nice.

Oh and the last photo for the February Photo a Day challenge.

29. Something I am listening to (Our dog Jack being cranky and growling)

There is a March Photo a Day challenge too!

Nite all.

Words Escape Me

I can't find anything to say tonight.

I'm ok.

My brain just isn't feeling imaginative nor does it feel like describing my day.  It's feeling very lazy.  Ok 'I' am feeling very lazy.

February photo a day challenge photo...

28. Money

I got a few shots this morning ...

A Playground - Photo 58 of 104

This dog was having such a wonderful time in the water, running in and out, jumping about, creating his own splashes and not wanting to get out.  So I decided, for the purposes of my challenge, that the river was his playground.

My final word for today is ...

That is all.

Nite all.

Something Different

I can't believe it!  I actually got out of bed at 5am and Adoring Husband drove me to the beach to catch the sunrise.

Sunrise - Photo 56 of 104

It was spectacular but oh so very brief!

When he came back from work half an hour later, he helped me take my challenge shot for our flickr group.

The brief is titled 'Where's Wally' but it's, basically, where you set up your camera to take a photo of a scene with yourself in it, and then get somebody else to press the button, after you've put yourself in the scene.

I think Adoring Husband has a very good chance of winning this month, but here is my submission...

I tried another shot of myself standing in the middle of some tall trees, but I'm so glad I didn't submit that one, because after I posted my photo, I looked at the other entries and somebody had submitted a shot almost identical to it!

Adoring Husband then suggested that we drive to Maryborough and have a couple of games of 10 Pin Bowls.

I thought this was a good idea because I needed to go to the Maryborough Cemetery for two reasons.

The first was to find some Art Deco style headstones and the second was to find the headstone of a recently discovered ancestor of mine.

We stopped at the cemetery first and traipsed around there for about half an hour, but the recent heavy rains had caused some localised flooding and the rest of the ground was very soggy and muddy, so we decided to abandon that idea and wait for dryer weather.

Cemetery or Gravestone - Photo 57 of 104

At least the traipsing through mud and water dirtied my feet up enough to fulfil my 'Dirty Feet' brief in the 104 challenge!

Dirty Feet - Photo 58 of 104

From there, we went bowling.  We played 3 games and Adoring Husband beat me in the second two games.  The owner/manager cleaned our bowling balls for us because we've had them sitting in their bags in the shed for three years!

It was fun but our age is telling now.  Our lower backs are quite sore from using muscles that we haven't used for some time.  Ugh.

We stopped at the Howard Butchery on the way home and Adoring Husband bought some chicken breasts, which he marinated, and cooked for dinner, served with a delicious fresh garden salad.

I managed to struggle through about an hour of housework when we got home and then plonked myself in my favourite position on the couch with my laptop and camera.

Now it's time to rest my weary bones.  It's been a long day.

Nite all.  



    

So Much Rain!!

The bottom half of Australia has High Fire Dangers and Complete Fire Bans, while the rest of us are having floods and very heavy rainfall.

One area of the Sunshine Coast received over 100 mls of rain in an hour!  340 mls fell at Cooroy in 24 hours!  That is a LOT of rain!

So now Gympie has flooded and is cut in two as all that rainfall swept down the Mary River dividing the town with floodwaters.

We have received an inch of rain today.  Not even a glimmer of sunlight for two days now and one road out of town was cut by floodwaters yesterday.

Our town, generally speaking, is never as badly affected by heavy rains or floods as the surrounding areas.  We are based at the mouth of a river and we are protected by Fraser Island.  Even after heavy soaking rains, it only takes two days of sunshine for the ground to look and feel completely dry again.

I haven't been able to ride my trike today and certainly no photographs have been taken.  So I've worked on some old shots and I have a couple of days worth of challenge photos to share.

February Photo a Day Challenge ...

25. Green

26. Night

Our group on facebook have posted a total of 333 photos to date.

A Bride - Photo 53 of 104

A Busker - Photo 54 of 104

Anchors Oars & Bollards - Photo 55 of 104

They were all very busy over the weekend and have been happily sharing their results over the course of the afternoon and evening.

Another shot from yesterday in The Bay ...

A water arch from the Wet Side Water Park.

 I only have one more day left to get my shot for the February flickr monthly challenge which is themed 'Where's Wally' and where we have to set up a shot with ourselves in it and have somebody else press the button (or use a remote shutter button).

I think I will try for a sunrise shot tomorrow of me strolling along the beach.  Let's hope the rain stops momentarily so that I can do it ... or then again maybe an umbrella along the beach will add more interest!

That means I need to rise earlier than this morning.  I woke at 6am today, but dozed back off to sleep and didn't wake again til 8am!  Ah well, it is Sunday.  We are allowed to sleep in on Sundays!

So sunrise is at 5.40-ish tomorrow morning and it's also low tide at the same time, so I should have a vast expanse of wet sand to stroll along with my umbrella.

Best get an early night!

Nite all.  

Chicklet Share-athon

I had a lovely morning with Chicklet.  She didn't want to be cuddled today, but I did get a kiss before I walked out the door to come home!  I guess she figured that if her Mum could kiss me, then she could too lol.

I love to just sit and watch her and listen to her.  She chatters away like she knows exactly what she is saying - if only we did too!

So I am sharing a whole stack of Chicklet photos with you today, because I took a whole stack and because Vegan Chickie emailed me a whole stack during the week.

You've got to admit that she is really something special hey?

Ok so I am biased :D  I love my baby and I love my baby's baby :D

Nite all.

Golfing Champions!

Ok, so maybe we are golfing champions in our own heads .. but that's the most important place for it to be!

April last year, was the last time I played golf and that was with Adoring Husband down on the Sunshine Coast.

Today, on the first tee, we hit the ball so damned sweetly!!  It was a joy to behold!!  It felt so good and even the walking, which I was concerned about because I've gained weight and done no other physical activity besides riding my trike every morning, was not a problem in the slightest.

We were blessed with perfect golfing weather.  There was a deliciously cool breeze blowing and the air temperature was conducive to aiding the control of my menopausal, usually 'out of control', body temperature.

Our games were so good that the two men in front of us on golf buggies, who were putting on the first green as we tee'd off, were still only two holes ahead of us by the time we reached the seventh tee!

How very satisfying it was :D

I haven't been out on my trike today and all of my photos have been taken inside, which is fine because there are a few on my 104 challenge list that are definitely 'inside' shots.

Denim and Lace - Photo 51 of 104

A Combination of 3 Textures - Photo 52 of 104

... and two from my February photo a day challenge as well.

23. My Shoes

24.  My Bathroom Cabinet

We are up to 296 photos posted on the facebook group wall for the 104 challenge now.  Really, out of the 36 people in the group, there are only half a dozen who are regularly posting photos, so 296 is a great effort!

Adoring Husband is spending the day in the vegetable garden today.

I should have taken a 'before' and 'after' shot!  Actually, my 'hopelessness' shot is a great 'before' shot ... here is the 'before' and 'after' shots of one of the vegetable gardens ...

Before ...

After!

He has performed miracles in the garden and all that fresh air and exercise has done wonders for his demeanour.

A load of fresh soil and compost, a few vegetable seeds/seedlings, some mulch and all will be well in our garden world again :D

Looking forward to some time with Vegan Chickie and Chicklet tomorrow.  Saturdays have become my favourite day of the week :D

Normally, I would sign off with 'Nite all', but it's only mid afternoon as I write this today!

Let's go with ...

Have a lovely evening all.

Damn That Champagne!!

I'm playing golf tomorrow with Woman of Many Talents, for the first time in almost a year!!

According to the weather forecast, we may be rained in and our date may, once again, have to be postponed another week.

This afternoon I visited the Blonde Bombshell at Adopted Sister's place.  (One day I will tell you the story about why she is called 'Adopted Sister')

I took two Vodka Cruisers with me, which I drank, and then a full champagne glass was placed in front of me.  Yes .. I drank that too .. and then another .. and then another!  Ugh!

These are the two trouble makers who influenced me so badly!

Adopted Sister has yellow globes in her outdoor downlights, so it was very difficult to get the fluorescent yellow colour out of the photograph!  If you think this is yellow, you should see the original!

They have been best friends for about 30 years.

I have to be up at the break of dawn tomorrow, so I have one photo from my 104 challenge to post ..

A 'very special' local woman and I'm pretty sure she reads this blog.  Isn't she lovely?

That is all.  It's all over for me.  Damn that champagne!!

Nite all.



    

Dinner is Served

Adoring Husband cooked Pad Thai for dinner tonight, with prawns.  De-bloody-licious!!

I'm not sure what inspired him to create this gastronomic masterpiece, but I'm so glad that he did!  I think we'll put it on the 'regular meals' list :D

I had a morning of bird encounters down by the river, so I didn't get any shots for my 104 challenge, nor did I take any for the February photo a day challenge .. instead I used one that a visitor to my town took of me in 2009.

The brief for today's February shot was 'Where you Work'.

Since I don't really work, I used a shot of me doing what I do every day..

This is me, about 50 metres from the Seat of Knowledge, at the beginning of my morning ride.

I, yet again, missed a shot of a Kite diving for a feed in the river this morning, but got plenty of other birds in my travels.

Breakfast is served ... for the diving Tern.

The Blue Faced Honey Eater - this one has a green face, which means it's a juvenile.

A boring old Noisy Miner - but I really like the shot, so it stays.

Adoring Husband and I went to the movies today and saw 'This Means War'.  It was silly, but we enjoyed it anyway.  Reece Witherspoon starred in it and I think she grows more beautiful as she grows older.  She has the most amazing eyes.

Nothing else much of interest today.  I spoke to Best Cousin in the World on the phone when she rang to talk about Uncle Ron.  It was nice to catch up with her, even though the initial news was sad.

More rain about town.  No storms.  No sunset.  De-bloody-licious dinner :D

Nite all.

A Busy Morning

It all started when I slept in this morning!  I hate that.

I was really hoping to be up early enough to wash, dry and straighten my hair before going out this morning because I was having morning tea with the girls.  I thought it would be nice to look presentable for a change, instead of looking like I'd just completed a ten kilometre ride.

Alas, it was not to be and I only had time for a quick shower before walking out the door forty five minutes later than usual.

I got my coffee and then spent a short time with my boys at the Seat of Knowledge.

Rumour has it that there was a croc sighting along the beach at the other end of town a couple of days ago.

Highly unlikely, but I wasn't able to walk along the beach due to the unusually high tide this morning, so I didn't have the opportunity go searching for it myself.  There are a lot of large tree branches, logs and driftwood along the beach at the moment, so it would be easy to mistake one of them for a croc.

To catch up on my challenge photos.  February photo a day ...

20. Handwriting (Mum's entry in my autograph book - again)

21.  A favourite photo of me (A wedding pic)

... and the 104 challenge ...

Hummingbird - Photo 48 of 104

A Newborn Baby - Photo 49 of 104

After morning tea, where I caught up with some of the lovely girls, I pedalled around to see the Blonde Bombshell and my Adopted Sister.

No champagne today and I actually arrived home just in time to share Adoring Husband's lunch with him.

I will, however, be making a return visit later in the week.  The Blonde Bombshell will be going back home on Sunday, so I will visit with her one more time before then.

We had a spectacular light show when a massive storm hit this evening.

I took my camera and tripod out the front of the house to watch the storm approaching ... hoping to capture some lightning shots, but after about thirty minutes and at least 100 unsuccessful shots, I began to fear for my life and scuttled inside.

There was sheet lightning, spider lightning, forked lightning and cloud to ground lightning.  Like I said ... spectacular.

No shots from me tonight :(

Tomorrow, Adoring Husband and I are going to the movies.  We still have four movie passes left (Christmas gifts) and they expire early March, so we must use them in the next couple of weeks.

We'll be seeing 'This Means War'.

So now I'm off to bed.  At least the storm has cooled the temperature down, so sleep should be easier than the last couple of nights.

Nite all.

Gone but not forgotten

I lost my Uncle Ron today.

He was a funny old bugger.  Full of love and full of fun.  Always having a joke and a laugh.  So cheeky.

Apart from my parents, he and Aunty Pat were the only family who I invited to my first wedding.

He was my Mum's older brother.  She was one of eight kids and now there are only three left.

Aunty Pat, his wife, passed about three years ago.  Maybe they are together now.  I hope so.

Instead of writing a sad dedication to him, which I know he would scoff at, I am posting something that I think he would get a real kick out of ...

Wherever you are Unc, I hope you have some good belly laughs and get to tell some real corkers!

Nite all.

Surprise! Surprise!

Today, I received an email from myself!

Last year, while I was in New Zealand, Vegan Chickie introduced me to this website http://www.futureme.org/

You can send yourself an email into the future - you can have it sent to you in a week, a year, 5 years or 10 years, or even longer I imagine.

It was quite a surprise because I had forgotten all about it!

So after I read it, I wrote another one to myself to be delivered in another year.

We/I have so much happening this year.  Just off the top of my head ...

• Adoring Husband has a week in Sydney next month to help celebrate two milestone birthdays - his mother's 95th and a friend's 50th.
• I have a road trip with BGWLBH in April for approx 3 weeks.
• We have another grandchild due to be born in April.
• Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour should be coming up for a week in May or June.
• MUST finish the photography degree by June.
• Vegan Chickie + fam may be moving away, around this time.
• Aussie H turns 70 in July.
• Final month preparations for the exhibit.
• The photography exhibit is in September.
• Planning a holiday in Tasmania in November-ish.

In a year, I'll know the outcome of everything on my list.  So my letter to myself mentions these events and what I hope to have achieved.  I know I will forget all about it again and there will be another surprise next February for me!!

One more photo for my February photo a day challenge ...

19. Something I hate to do.

Two photos for the 104 challenge, because I can't decide which one I prefer.

Hovering Dragonflies - Photo 47 of 104

I don't 'love' either of them, but I've given up trying to clearly capture a dragonfly hovering!  Too frustrating!!

The days are so warm lately, that it's too hot to be riding around town after about 9am.  I'm thinking that if I go to bed a couple of hours earlier, then I can get out for my photography ride BEFORE I get my coffee and go to the Seat of Knowledge.

Then I can come straight home before the day starts to heat up.

It's quite difficult to kick yourself out of an entrenched habit though and my brain has difficulty shutting down so early in the night.

However, tonight is the night!  It's now 10pm, which is more than one hour earlier than I usually head for bed.

I am wishing you a good night and surprise surprise, making an attempt to change my entrenched habit.

Nite all.