Just around the corner ...

Yesterday morning I got my butt out of the house and went for a morning walk. Well, it was more of a wander and rather than heading to the Esplanade or a beach I stayed close to home.

You see the streets around Cairns seem to have all of a sudden been coated in bright colours.

Trees have suddenly burst into flower, showing off in all their glory.

Bottle Brush

And with the profusion of flowers comes the birds.

So basically it was more than time I explored close to home and  to see what was happening around the corner.
I hope you enjoy your wander around the corner with me.

Rainbow Lorikeet - breakfast time in a bottle brush tree.

Bottle brush flower

Pink trumpet tree

Pink Shower Tree

Golden Trumpet Tree

Paperbark

Double-eyed Fig Parrot - my favourite find of the morning because they are so cute and little.

Helmeted Friar Birds

 

Fig Bird (female)

Fig Bird (male)

Ready to burst into flower.

What is showing the change of season around your place?
Do you wander the streets near your home to see what is changing?

 

Some Morning Sun

Yay! A sunrise!

This morning I headed down to the Esplanade. It was the closest vantage point for a sunrise and i haven't been down there in a long time unless it was with work.

When we got up this morning it was dark and I thought maybe it would be too cloudy for a sunrise but when Mr Sparky left for work half an hour later the sky had softened into yellows and pinks. I nearly didn't head out, but I did.

 

It was so nice to see the sun peek through the clouds, to see it light up the world brighter and brighter and to see it reflecting of the wet mud flats.

It was so nice to see some blue sky.

It was peaceful to watch the morning changing and to see the bird life start to get active.

 It was a bit of a treat to see the pelicans relaxing and preening. They take more time to get ready in the morning than I do.

 

I enjoyed a bit of people watching. There was the man sitting quietly when I arrived, thoughtfully enjoying the sky changing. There was the older lady, from China I think, who was madly taking photos of the water and birds who then said "thank you" and offered me her camera to take her photo with the sunrise in view, repeating "thank you" when I handed it back. There was another man who sat on the edge of the boardwalk dressed for work in a suit and tie who was maybe preparing mentally for the day ahead. There was the young couple sitting sit by side, smiling and talking while watching the birds, hand in hand. There were so many more.

But even as I, the birds and the other walkers, runners, exercisers and tourists enjoyed the early morning light and a bit of sun on our skin I knew it would cloud over again, recreating the struggle between sun and clouds that seems to be regular at the moment.

 

I do love it though when fingers of sunlight pierce the clouds, breaking through and highlighting areas.

 At the moment the struggle has been won by the clouds which makes me truly grateful that I decided to go out and enjoy what ended up being some lovely morning sun.

They say it will be blue skies and sun on the weekend, I hope it is.