Sunday 30 November 2014

Bridging the Gap

I was trying to think of some witty analogy or something like that that fits these pictures from the last weekend I spent with Mr Sparky. Oh that was last weekend, tiredness has set in. 

Maybe that sign in the photo below suits me. I should hang it on our door for when I am a bit lacking in sleep.


So, as I can't think of anything spectacular I will share a few sayings or quotes that other sharper minds thought came up with.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Will Rodgers


 "A bend in the road is not the end of the road ... unless you fail to make the turn." Helen Keller


“Life is like a moving train, people drop and others enter, do not bother about those that are dropping but focus on those that are coming in and move on” Ikechukwu Izuakor


“Forever can never be long enough for me to feel that I've had long enough with you” Train
(That day was, that kind of day. One I didn't want to end.)


"If a train doesn't stop at your station, then it's not your train." Marianne Williamson






"Sometimes you're the train, sometimes you're the track." Luke Bryan




I took these while Mr Sparky was having a snooze in the park after lunch. It is an old railway bridge in Atherton. The line either side is there no more.

Thursday 27 November 2014

My Wednesday ...

My Wednesday looked a bit like this ...


The morning started off a bit wet. Mind you it was a bit hard to tell what was wetness and what was extreme humidity. It didn't get wet at our house though, just my work.



The day tried to clear as it went on and the sky below looks a lot more blue than what we could see at the time.



No rain in the afternoon meant it was Botanic Gardens time with the current student. I think she enjoyed seeing many different plants and flowers.









She even got to spy a Rainbow Lorikeet, way up high.



Then we saw a little yellow Sun Bird that was making a ruckus.


When we got back to the office/ school the sky was still looking very hazy. Was it humidity or smoke? That is the question.




Sorry for any weird blurry spots, my replacement camera decided to malfunction so I am back to my scratched lens friend. Christmas wish list ... you can guess.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Kooky Morning

Sunday morning I watered the garden, usually this is an evening ritual but the last two evenings had been a bit busy meaning the poor garden missed out.

So there I was spraying water over everything, giving it a good soaking and looking around the place. The scene is set.

"Mr Sparky?! Can you grab my camera?' 
"What?"
"Can you bring me my camera?"

And like a wonderful Mr Sparky, he did.


Unfortunately I couldn't do any circling to avoid branches.


What started off as a party of three, became a party of two.



Then suddenly it became a party of four with laughter and more.


Then, once again, the tree was bare.

I loved seeing my blue wing kookaburra visitors whom I haven't seen for a while. Maybe after wet season they will be back a bit more.


http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/wild-bird-wednesday-124-robin.html

Tuesday 25 November 2014

25th of Nov!!!


25th of November! How and earth did it managed to be the 25th of November? I sometime swear I just blinked and missed big chunks of the year, maybe I slept through them. Something had to have gone on for it to be the last week in November already.


Over at My Home Truths it is time for I must confess and this week is about Santa photos. I haven't had one of them for years. My last one was sometime in my mid teens as my brother refused to have one without us all. Actually that might be the last 'all kids in' Santa photo taken. We used to get one every year, a record of us changing, a record of a changing family and a great present for our Grandparents. The next generation has started this tradition, with my niece having her first Santa photo last year. These days it is pretty hard to get us all together for a photo. I guess that is what happens when you fly the nest.


My confession about Christmas is that part of me is excited for it coming (1 month to go), part of me doesn't want to get my hopes up for anything exciting and another part of me is dreading another Christmas away from my family (at work last night 'So this is Christmas' came on and I was ready to blubber in the middle of the aisle but when another song came on later I was fine and singing along, which really goes to show how up and down it all makes me feel).


I used to be such a Christmas junky (still am a bit). I'd be there with the best of them cooking, creating, making and picking the gifts that were 'just right' for each person. When there are only two of you and no kids around, part of the magic of Christmas is gone. The gathering of family, the sharing of love and the excitement of kids, they are part of what makes it such a special time. As Christmas approaches I will have days when I will want to crack out my inner elf and create some Christmas cheer. Cooking big batches of tasty things is kind of my thing but I can't really do that with no one to eat them. Christmas crafting is fun and I hope I get making and cards will definitely be on my creating list. All these things I still find are better with someone to share the experience and fun with. So when the mood strikes I might share what I I dram of doing or what I make with you.


On a totally different note there is plenty of red flowering trees putting on a show up here, just to make sure we remember the time of year.



I Must Confess

Friday 14 November 2014

Esplanade Busy Bodies

The other morning when I was down at the Esplanade (which I apparently never posted about) the tide wasn't all the way in and that always leads to some busy bodies near the shore.



Just a fairly small patch of mud was keeping the Bar-tailed Godwits busy (I'm guessing I've identified it right, I just like taking photos). Well a couple of them busy, the rest were having some time at the Esplanade beauty parlor. 


This really seems to be pretty normal morning, well all day, routine. However I did spot something else happening in the background, much more interesting than preening birds. Mind you the fact that they can clean themselves with that long pointy beak is something amazing.


There in the back, closer to the mangroves but still in the shallows was a lone pelican.


I don't know what he had found but he was sure having a grand time finding it. By the way my use of he has nothing to do with whether this pelican is a he or she, a pelican just seems like a he to me.


He was keeping a watchful eye on whatever it was he was looking for.


And he was sticking very close to the shallows and wavelets.


 He would dip his head in sideways, staying fairly flat to the water.


or leave it wide open for the water to go through.



Or he would paddle along watching, often beak open dragging in the water.


Then awkward looking dip and he had something.


Then down the hatch it went.


Those others busy beautifying weren't worried by what he was up to at all.


I'm not sure how much attention he was paying to where he was going.


Maybe he was following his food.




His feeding was interesting to watch. I've only seen them going deeper, head down like a duck, for food.


He drifted further and further down the Esplanade until he suddenly changed hi mind and headed a little deeper. It seemed he had finished for the time being. Funny fellow, all serene after his more clown like fishing.




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