Blood Moon Modified!

O...M...G! My jungle garden is trying to kill me! Here I am back after three days of weeding, chopping back, fertilizing, checking reticulation.. in other words getting ready for summer, I can honestly say I'm knackered :) but triumphant! Did you see the Blood Moon? I was lucky enough to get a super clear view of it hanging low in the sky over my back garden on Monday night, not so lucky to get a clear shot but have had a wee bit of fun interpreting it my way. Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to today, happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe...

Aspects of Kings Park...à bientôt!

Aimee and I were up with the sparrows yesterday morning, she missed out on last weekend's visit to Kings Park and wanted to take detail photos of the wildflowers for her blog, wait till you see them, fantastique! Leaving the close-ups to Aimee I enjoyed taking the wider view.. recognise the 'royal funky trunk' in the reflection below :) and to the right and above the gorgeous Bella Umbrellas adorning the entrance to Aspects of Kings Park..

We had breakfast in the Botanical Cafe, thanks Aimee :) overlooking the city and below the view looking back up to the cafe with Fraser's Restaurant to the right..

Pretty fab views out across the Swan River..

Yes, that IS Elizabeth Quay you can see through there.. not looking :)

Much better :)

This wonderful bench with the Banksia leaf design along the back sits at the entrance to the Banksia Garden and also overlooks the fountain above. I mentioned in my last post that it's been a while since I 'tended' my jungle garden, so as it's a long weekend I think I may take time out to do just that, and a million other things also :) I'll catch up next week, until then have a brilliant weekend, take care and stay safe..

Visit James to see more Weekend Reflections

War of the roses..

I don't often show flowers but I had to share my delight in discovering these unexpected blooms in the garden today. For many reasons I haven't had much time to spend in my garden over the last few months but with the weather heating up this past week it was necessary to get out and do some watering. I wasn't expecting to see the roses out so early in spring but there they were! The four pastel colours are David Austen French Lace, naturellement :) and are a fairly new addition..the deep red I call 'Dad's rose' because I planted it with my dad about twenty years ago and it's still my most robust and exuberant rose, that's how I like to remember my Dad, robust and exuberant! Happy Friday, take care and stay safe... p.s. I don't understand the title either :)

Save the drama for the runway!

There's always something going on in the city to pique my interest. On Sunday, while the two gentlemen above were perhaps sharing a private fantasy, on the other side of the Perth Fashion Festival venue queues were forming to see one of the free fashion shows on the last day of the event. I would have loved to see Dita Von Teese who closed the fashion festival later in the evening.. oh la! she looked stunning here wearing Wheels & Dollbaby..

Meanwhile.. I was doing a little fantasizing of my own.. kidding! These two gents just happened to walk into my field of vision :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe...

Hands Up.. Palms on palms!

More 'funky trunks'! Someone, probably the same quirky mind that dressed the gum tree in a royal ball gown, has encased the four palm trees you've seen many times here, tall and majestically overlooking the city with a tropical flourish from Mount Eliza, the highest point in the park.. in palms! Black on white, white on black, significant also because of the Aboriginal history connected to the park. Last shot, look who's taken up residence in nature's skyscrapers, million dollar views for free, swweeeet! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe...

Right Royal Funky Trunk...

The Kings Park Festival is always a visual treat, each year as well as the abundance of spring flowers there are many delightful unexpected surprises. You've got to love the mind that came up with the idea of dressing the magnificent old gum tree that looks out over the city and the Swan River as.. the queen! Gown, sash, gloves and (you may have to pull the shot in a bit) crown, do you see it up there hanging at a jaunty angle.. excellent!

Kings Park is a très populaire destination at any time of the year but during the spring festival, on a warm day, well you can imagine! We thought we'd get there early before it got too busy.. the tour buses were even earlier..

Smile! Not gonna, won't, can't make me, didn't.. but I did :)

Ah well, the flowers are prettier.. love the chapeau!

Show you more 'funky trunks' in the park another time, oh look there's a bit of psychedelic madness going on below :) Hope your week is off to a happy start, take care and most of all stay safe...

Nine lives, three tails et trois yeux!

How absabloomin' fabulous, j'adore! One of the many murals adorning the exterior walls of the Little Wing Corner Gallery, an amazing studio/gallery space for local, national and international artists in Subiaco. Created by The Velveteen Rabbit Art aka Perth artist and animal lover Rahalie McGuirk. In addition to nine lives this fantastical pussy cat has three tails et trois yeux.. the vibrant colours and patterns look brilliant on the hot pink wall of the gallery but I do believe they would look even better hanging on my wall, a theory I may have to pursue :) Happy Monday from Perth, take care and stay safe...
 See more Monday Murals from around the world here..

One man's junk is another man's treasure or.. cross-trainer v chocolates!

One of the many services we get in return for paying our council rates is a twice yearly bulk rubbish collection, bulk garden waste, trees etc. and any un-wanted 'anything' really! Last week we put out two old side tables, a chest of drawers, a door and the 'jewel in the crown' my almost unused cross-trainer :) Most of it disappeared before the pick up truck arrived, excellent.. and just as I was about to give up on the evil cross-trainer finding a new home, a very fit looking lady pulled up and excitedly with P's help loaded it into her 4wheel drive.. returning an hour later with a box of chocolates for me as a thank-you. Now that's what I call a happy ending :) Have a wonderful Sunday, take care and stay safe.. p.s. come on confess, what exercise equipment have you bought and never used? 

Tilt shift...

Have I mentioned how much I love my Olympus OM-D E-M5, just one of the fab features is the tilt screen allowing more versatility of angle when taking certain shots. Despite skepticism by the 'old school' brigade :) the lighter-weight mirror-less, interchangeable-lens cameras are being used more and more by professional photographers.Turning slightly to the right of last weeks reflection shot a very different image.. Council House reflected in the same water feature in Stirling Gardens. Have a good weekend, take care and stay safe...

Visit James to see more Weekend Reflections

'Mobbed' by tourists on the Terrace...

No not me, I'm not that well known :) Due to family commitments and a touch of flu I haven't been out with the camera this week, hopefully out and about at the weekend, so I'm diving back into the shots taken along the Terrace last week. Above one of a 'mob' of five kangaroos that sit on the terrace in front of Stirling Gardens.  Sculpted in bronze and weighing in at between 850 to 1000 kg each they were created in 1997 by Perth sculptors Charles Smith and Joan Walsh-Smith. I don't think I've ever passed here no matter what time of day when there hasn't been people posing with Australia's iconic marsupials, although this little chap seems a little 'ho hum whatever' :) Big catch up today, happy Thursday, take care and stay safe...

'Ka-ching' or.. nice legs!

This was one of those impulsive shots that my lens was drawn to like a water-divining rod to moisture :) Passing Westpac on the Terrace the differences between the two with-drawers were evident. She slim, assured, confident that her request for money would not be refused (nice legs too) he in his baggy track-pants looking a little perplexed.. they say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, it's possible she was drawing out her last $5 and he was an under-dressed millionaire :) the bright red Westpac logo against the red and white background was the clincher, what do you think, would this scenario have caught your eye? Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

'All aboard the last tram to the city!'..

This one is for the tram devotees, especially you Andrew. You may have already seen this brilliant homage to the trams that no longer run in Perth. On the side wall of Mondo in Inglewood created by sculptor, illustrator and street artist Mel McVee aka Melski who's vibrant, colourful murals enhance suburbs like Mount Lawley, Leederville and North Perth. Check out more of her fabulous work here. The last tram made its way down Beaufort Street on the 19th July 1958 long before I arrived in Perth, I can imagine how wonderful they would have looked clattering their way through these old inner city suburbs on their way to the city, I often think I was born in the wrong era :) Hope you had/are having a good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stay safe...
See more Monday Murals from around the world here..

A bonnie wee gift from Perth.. to Perth.

Carrying on up the Terrace, at the entrance to Council House a bonnie wee Scottish flourish to a 1963 modernist style building, more about that later when I can catch it (the building) dressed up for the night :) Presented to the City of Perth in 1978 by the Perth and Kinross Council Scotland to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Western Australia. The blue skyscraper in the background is Exchange Plaza. The colour of the sky here is untouched, I took these shots last Monday on a 25C day, you can see already the intensity of the blue as compared to the winter skies just a few weeks ago, oh it's tough living here but somebody has to do it :) Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe... p.s. would have been so cool if the breeze had gently unfurled the flags!

Lofty reflections...

It was good to be walking along St. Georges Terrace on a warm spring day. Above, the sculpture Ascalon and St. George's Cathedral reflected in the water feature in Stirling Gardens on the corner of Barrack St. and the Terrace. Stirling Gardens, Perth's oldest public gardens, opened in 1845 as a botanical garden and some of the trees planted back then are still standing today, thankfully the gardens are heritage listed, those trees should be safe from acquisitive hands :) Hope you have a fab weekend, take care and stay safe....

 Click here to view all participants of Weekend Reflections

'There's gold in them thar hills'!

We paid a visit to The Perth Mint (check out some of those coins) on Monday, unfortunately there is a 'no photography' policy, perhaps the itinerary below gives a clue as to why :) I didn't get a decent close up of the sculpture 'The Strike' by WA sculptor extraordinaire Greg James, who's work you have seen here many times, you can see it so much better here. Depicting the discovery of gold by William Ford and Arthur Bayley back in 1892.. the discovery that 'would secure the future of the struggling colony of Western Australia'..

 Opened in 1899 it was then the Perth branch of the British Royal Mint and remained so until 1970 when control passed to the Government of Western Australia. Definitely worth a visit, you'll have to come and see the gold for yourself :) TGIF, am I the only one? Happy Friday, take care and stay safe...

Daniel(ink) 'get it on'..

Have you noticed how some people are so photogenic it's impossible to take a bad photo of them e.g. dynamic father and son duo above! When a market stall is abuzz while other stalls are packing up you know there has to be something really special going on. We had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Pavlovic and his father on Sunday at the Beaufort St. Art Market. A t-shirt business that involves the whole family with Daniel, who was born with cerebral palsy, drawing the designs, sister Nathalie and dad Ivan helping with administration and general business management and his grandmother hand-sewing the tags. Did I mention 10% of sales go to The Centre for Cerebral Palsy and for this year a 50% of sales collaboration with SIDS and Kids, so cool!

I'm a huge fan of the t-shirt, you can dress it up with a shirt and jacket or go casual in a cardi and jeans. I'm in star company here with many celebs wearing Daniels designs. J'adore the two I brought below and if you take a closer look at the doggy design on the left.. can you spot the angel? We need a little angel love in our family right now! Check out Daniel's website here and his designs here.. an inspiring young man et famille! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. p.s. did you notice you can order on-line :)