Most unfortunate.....!

Je suis dévasté! My beautiful little furry ami is moving..just to clarify, her owner is moving and alas taking Syd with her, hmmmff! :) You may remember me saying that she comes to visit for breakfast each morning and likes to tarry around my garden eying up the birds (just looking) through the day while her owner is at work, she even sometimes rebels and stays over for the night, love when that happens..They're moving soon, a couple of suburbs away.. I wonder, is it just dogs that find their way back, or is that just wishful thinking! Hope your week is moving along nicely, happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe..p.s. Aimee thinks it's time I rescued a pussy cat all of my own, she could be right :)

Seen in Northbridge.....

The suburb of Northbridge, separated from the city centre by the railway lines will soon be welcomed into the fold when Perth City Link is completed in 2015 (?), lots of time to plan ahead for a visit :) Northbridge has always been the more 'colourful' side of town but the development of the Piazza, corner James and Lake Streets, and the Perth Cultural Centre has already lifted it's profile, with many more upgrades evolving as the link project proceeds. The untitled mural above by the Ololo 'collective' and the Arch by Australian artist Lorenna Grant are just two of the artworks on the Piazza. Hope you had a good weekend and are ready to face the new week, take care.....This post is linked to Monday Mural

Sails and sandcastles.....

Whether you may be

Building sandcastles by the sea

Or dreaming of sailing off into the blue

Have a happy weekend whatever you do :)

p.s. is that Nessie swimming in our waters above
It must be silly Sunday haha!

Little bit rusty.....!

You have to wonder sometimes what it is that makes the artistic mind tick..Garden Week has just finished here in Perth and it's always fun to see what new weird and wonderful things you can find for the garden. My sister fell in love with these rustic and rusty garden ornaments, I do like the flower, not sure about the rusty balls though, and would you pay $130 for a holey butterfly?

I didn't have any luck winning the vintage bike in the last competition I entered, so cross fingers for me..maybe this one will be mine! If I win it I'll definitely get Aimee to take a shot of me wobbling along on it, the 'little bit rusty' applies here also :) Hope you have a really good weekend, take care and stay safe....

An Officer and a Gentleman.....

Seriously it would have been too easy to turn over and go back to sleep at 4.30am yesterday morning, but once again I'm so glad that I didn't. To experience the dawn service high up in Kings Park is almost a surreal experience. The respect felt by the thousands of Perthites and visitors sitting silently waiting for the sun to rise is almost palpable, there are no loud voices, even the many small children are quiet or asleep :) Remember those grassy slopes I showed you last week, they were the perfect spot to sit and watch the dawn over Perth, it's pretty oui?

In this shot you can just see the Flame of Remembrance to the right side, but it was the tall 'officer and a gentleman' that caught my eye..

Bet you wouldn't have been able to resist either.. this gentleman 'greasing up' his instrument in readiness for the Anzac parade down St. George's Terrace, standing beside his super shiny, super cool old Holden 'Special'..nice! It's a little weird having a holiday on a Thursday, kind of throws you all out :) but it is Friday today even though it feels like Sunday, hope it's a good one, take care and stay safe....

Anzac Day.....

A Tribute to ANZAC Day

With their hair a little whiter, their step not quite so sure
Still they march on proudly as they did the year before.
Theirs were the hands that saved us, their courage showed the way
Their lives they laid down for us, that we may live today.

From Gallipoli's rugged hillsides, to the sands of Alamein
On rolling seas and in the skies, those memories will remain.
Of airmen and the sailors, of Lone Pine and Suvla Bay
The boys of the Dardenelles are remembered on this day.

They fought their way through jungles, their blood soaked desert sands
They still remember comrades who rest in foreign lands.
They remember the siege of old Tobruk, the mud of the Kokoda Trail
Some paying the supreme sacrifice with courage that did not fail.
To the icy land of Korea, the steamy jungles of Vietnam
And the heroic battle of Kapyong and that epic victory at Long Tan.

Fathers, sons and brothers, together they fought and died
That we may live in peace together, while at home their mothers cried.
When that final bugle calls them to cross that great divide
Those comrades will be waiting when they reach the other side.

Ken Bunker

The State War Memorial above is the venue for the Dawn Service, the beginning of a full program of events (see link) planned each year on the 25th April for Anzac Day..It'll be an early start this morning, around 4.30am, watching the sun come up over the city while the bugle plays The Last Post followed by a silence and the Reveille and joining thousands of other Perthites to honour the Anzacs is a memorable experience..and thankfully it won't be raining, just 'dewing' heavily :) Have a good Thursday, take care and stay safe.....

Jamie's in the house.....!

Thanks so much for the good vibes, I think I'm just about ready to 'go out on a limb' for that certain shot again :) and to celebrate this, plus a successful result to a difficult work project for P and even though I missed it on the day, my two year bloggaversary last week, we went into the city on Monday to experience the Jamie Oliver phenomena that hit Perth a few weeks ago. Jamie's Italian, only the second to be opened in Australia so far, the first being in Sydney natch, but pretty chuffed that he picked Perth for the second, is going down a treat with Perthites as you can see from the queue above, this was at 6pm on a Monday night..CRAZY! Thankfully we got there early and walked straight in, I'm not a fan of queuing no matter how good the food is. Check out that chandelier below left, fabulous!..

The food was excellent, locally sourced in season fruit and veg, freshly made pasta and to start, the 'planks of antipasti' (below left) that are a Jamie specialty. On the right 'honeycomb cannelloni '.. mine, pukka tucker!

My sister on returning from the 'ladies' said 'get in there with your camera quick before it gets busy'..a few odd looks later and with a grin on my face I came out with the two shots below, how very Jamie, ever the  joker and so very British haha!

Don't you love it when you can look into the kitchen of a restaurant and see all the action going on? To cope with the volume coming through thick and fast this kitchen was amazingly organized, with smart, stripey aproned waiters at the ready to whisk delicious dishes off to eager diners. All in all the evening was a bit of alright, the dogs bollocks as they say in ye olde Motherland :) Perth is in love with Jamie and I think when he sees those queues he'll be well pleased! Looking forward to catching up with what's been going on in your part of the world today, happy Wednesday, take care and I hope you've all stayed safe.....

Purple haze.....

I took these 'blue' shots when we were having dinner at Hillarys Boat Harbour on Wednesday evening. Such a wonderful time to catch the light as the sun slips down below the horizon and gives off that magical glow.. I'm not feeling the 'magical glow' myself right now, I may have to take a short break for a day or two to pull myself together :) Hope you're having a good weekend, take care and catch you soon..

Disappearing skyscrapers.....

This is what Aimee saw while walking across the Horseshoe Bridge from Northbridge into the city on her way to work early (7am) on Thursday morning, the shot below is from her office on the 13th floor, the tops of the skyscrapers were mysteriously enveloped in a thick blanket of fog, caused by the higher than usual humidity levels, somewhere in the 90% range at that time according to the Bureau of Meteorology, seriously uncomfortable! Thanks for letting me use these super shots Aimee. Hope you have a good weekend, it's a busy one for me here in Perth..thank goodness for painkillers haha! Take care and stay safe. p.s. thanks so much for all the anniversary wishes :)

Inside out....!

We had a bit of an 'anniversary thing' on Wednesday and after showing Bella Fonte from the outside looking in last week we decided to see what it looked like from the inside looking out. We arrived just as the sun was going down and caught some quite nice 'blue' shots, show you tomorrow. Looking out at the marina from the verandah on a warm balmy night was not so bad :) couldn't resist playing a bit, the same scene below with a bit going on! 

The food was excellent, a bit pricey, but for a 'once in a while' and that view it was worth it.. I had Tasmanian Salmon with a leek sauce on a bed of garlic mash and broccolini below, yum. Aimee had gnocchi and P chicken parmigiana, I always think that's a rather old fashioned dish but I guess it's just typically Italian....

As far as I'm concerned dessert is the best part of any meal and it's always difficult to make a choice, so we did the only sensible thing and ordered three different desserts and had a taste of each, the sticky date pud below, glistening with caramel sauce was tops for me, but the chocolate mousse and the icecream sundae weren't too shabby either. The trouble with eating all that food and not being able to exercise because of the 'bad back' issue, there's only one place for that sticky date pud to go..I think I may be sitting on it right now haha! Happy Friday, take care.....

Location, location, location.....!

When you, by a stroke of luck, manage to catch one of the smaller, quicker birds in your lens you can totally understand the thrill of the dedicated birder. I'm not sure if I could be that committed, but it certainly was a buzz to catch this pair of Singing Honeyeaters when I was taking yesterdays shots .. there it was perched on the highestbanch of the bush singing loudly, sweet! Talk about location, location, location. This pair were nesting in a bush along the sand dunes, surrounded by a plentiful supply of berries, small insects AND the perfect lookout! Btw that blue blur in the background is the Indian Ocean, so add a fabulous view to the list of pluses :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.....

Over the rooftops.....

You might wonder what this shot is all about but if I tell you that the outline on the horizon (you might have to pull it in a little closer) is Rottnest Island and that the island is approximately 25 km offshore AND it was a cloudy day, I'm well pleased that I could even see it at all through my new 75 - 300 (150 - 600) lens..yes I couldn't wait, so it's baked beans on toast for the next month haha! I took this shot above yesterday looking over the coastal suburb of Hillarys...and below from the coast road, the yacht was barely visible to the eye, I found it while trying to catch the helicopter. Once again yesterday the world awoke to the tragic news of another senseless act of violence, this time in Boston USA, things like this really shake one's confidence in the superiority of the human brain, when I end off everyday with take care and stay safe, I sincerely mean it..Happy Wednesday, hope it's a good one.....

The big trees of Kings Park.....

From the moment you drive, walk, run or cycle up Fraser Avenue, the main entrance into Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens, you know why the Aboriginal people have for thousands of years and still today, deem this as a sacred place. Lined with tall majestic Lemon Scented Gum Trees (below) planted in 1938 Fraser Avenue isn't the only entrance to Kings Park but it is the most impressive, giving you spectacular views of the city and the Swan River all the way up.. can you imagine picnicking on a lovely day along those grassy slopes with that view, fabulous! One of the oldest trees (above) with views of the city peaking through is a mature Australian Red Cedar.

Love the roots on this rubber tree.....

..and when you reach the top, the view through the tall palm trees is not too shabby :) There are many more magnificent trees in Kings Park, I'll save them for another day. I hope your week started well, take care and stay safe. P.s. in the foreground below the  Flame of Remembrance.....

There one moment, and......

Plooop!..... gone the next.....!

This little joey in the pouch must not have liked what he saw (surely I couldn't have looked that bad) and disappeared hastily back indoors :) The link above is one of the last in a series of short videos describing how the joey develops from birth right up to this cheeky wee face popping out to see the big wide world! I know I've shown the kangaroos a few times before but who could resist this peaceful family scene? Taken in Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park, this one is for your house guest FC hope she enjoys. Here's hoping that you're ready to face the week ahead, not sure I am.. take care and stay safe.....

Peaceful happy Sunday.....

Doves have been immortalized in myths and religion as a symbol of peace and love since.. forever. While researching my Turtle Dove above, I discovered a few interesting facts that I didn't know before.. one that the only difference between doves and pigeons is their size, doves being smaller, they both belong to the Columbidae family..two, that 59 species of pigeons and doves are now threatened with extinction and three that, although it sounds horrible to me, they make a good filling for a pie, the very pretty turtle doves that visit me in my garden have nothing to fear on that score :) I've been having fun playing with my new Olympus OM-D in my own back garden over the weekend, seriously excellent purchase. I hope that your weekend is going well, take care..p.s. 'you know who' was also enjoying breakfast, corn kernels yumm!

No drooping or you're out.....!

Although the weather here in Perth is probably what most people would call perfect for most of the year, our summers do seem to be getting hotter with longer periods of high temperatures. Thankfully there are some flowering plants that not only survive the heat but actually flourish in it, providing they get a bit of water that is.. Here are a few that I took yesterday in my garden..my sister in law always says she would hate to be a plant in my garden, the first sign of a droop and you're whipped out, not true, most of my plants have been around for many years :) Above and below I'm sure you'll recognise the Dahlia ' Mystic'. It's only when you shoot macro's that you realize just how complex the 'innards' of a flower can be....

Another super easy to look after tough little beauty is the Portulaca Sun Jewels below, they look fabulous in big pots..if you look a bit closer at the shot on the right you'll see this flower had a teensy 'alien' looking visitor..don't you love these unexpected surprises.....

To be honest I only discovered the Mona Lavender below this year, and I see on searching for the link that this particular plant is a relatively new species. It's made up of many spikes of tiny lavender coloured little flower heads and looks stunning....

The intense splash of colour from the tiny Blue Lobelia flower is a pleasing sight in the garden, according to the growing info on this little gem, they flower in spring, autumn and winter, not so much in summer, I beg to differ, this cheery wee face has been smiling all through summer and is still going strong, maybe it heard the strict 'no drooping or you're out' rumour :) Every garden needs a pussy cat oui! unfortunately Syd isn't my cat, she lives around the corner..but she visits every morning for breakfast and a cuddle..nice! Friday (CUBIFA) once again, hope it's a good one, take care...p.s. hectic day, catch up tomorrow.....