A touch of Deco?

What do you think? Am I right, definitely curvy Art Deco lines oui? I like to throw in a bit of Perth architecture now and then as it can be so totally diverse from one suburb to the next. This house along a favourite walk always catches my eye. I love the mosaic underwater artwork along the front wall which miraculously seems to have escaped tagging. The views are spectacular, although it would worry me being directly opposite the ocean, water rising, tsunamis etc. I know right 😉 Would love to have a peek inside. Btw we are just one day away from official winter.. check out that sky! Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe..

A botanical enigma..

Do you prefer a soft and pretty or hard and spiky kind of garden, or a combination of both? Walking through the Supreme Court Gardens at the weekend it was interesting to see the many varieties of plants growing there, something for every taste. Superimposing the soft over prickly above to create a botanical enigma :)

There is even a mini walk trail through the combination of hard and soft.. if it weren't for the glimpse through the ferns of traffic lights, buses and cars on Barrack Street, one of Perth's busiest streets, with a lot bit of imagination you could be on a tropical island.. kidding :) Wishing you a green and serene Wednesday, take care and stay safe..

Happy crabs Nippa-n-Snippa.

Spotted along the coast yesterday at Watermans Beach ten minutes from home. Freshly finished by Secret Harbour artist Samantha Prentice @ Mural Creations a Splash of Colour is a curated public art series by the Water Corporation, the aim being to 'enhance and transform everyday water and wastewater infra-structure into public art pieces'. Nippa-n-Snippa look super happy to be by the beach and I'm 100% certain that they will bring a smile to all who jog,walk or ride by. Looking forward to discovering more! Check out those skies, love them :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

Visit Sami to see more Monday Murals from around the world..

P..s. Couldn't resist matching up the mural horizon with the real thing..  come on, you would have done that too right :)

'Yesterday and tomorrow cross on the skyline'..

I've always loved seeing images of city skylines. After brunch in the city yesterday in Brookfield Place looking up at the skyline here along St Georges Terrace from this angle struck me as being a look through the ages. From the 18/1900's through to the present time. I like the mix, I prefer the mix. Whereas below looking straight up the 2000's, while impressively reaching for the sky, could do with a wee bit of softening from a bygone era don't you think! Hope you had/are having a super weekend, it was a wet one here in Perth, my favourite kind :) Happy Monday, take care and stay safe..

Pink-eared zebra duck..

At Lake Gwelup it wasn't just that it was the first time I've seen the pretty pink-eared ducks, sometimes called the zebra duck because of its brown barred flanks.. it was seeing pairs locked together head to tail spinning round and round. At first I thought it must be some dizzying mating ritual but it turns out it is the way they feed, filtering and scooping up the disturbed organisms in their huge square-tipped grey bills. Apart from the circles created in the water it's a little hard to imagine this feeding ritual, luckily P was with me and he put together this short, and I do mean short.. 5 seconds :) video here so you can see the motion..

Above you can see that there were more than one pair, I have heard that if there is a large flock of pink-eared ducks, rotating pairs often spread far across the surface of the wetlands. What a sight that must be.. might go back and try for that shot! Then whoosh they were off! Happy weekend, it's going to be a wet one here.. take care and stay safe... 

Visit James to see more Weekend Reflections from around the world..

Calm before the storm..

Fremantle may have the Cappuccino Strip but Guildford, established in 1829 has the 'antique strip' with cafes thrown in along the way for that restoring caffeine pick me up before heading back in search of that illusive treasure! It was 28C yesterday, humid with a storm brewing all day. James Street was as busy as ever. It took all day but the storm has arrived, the rain bucketing down as I type, I must remember to turn off my reticulation, it won't be needed for the next four months ☁⛆ Happy Friday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. back to Lake Gwelup tomorrow...

Inappropriate photo-bombing :)

The last time I came to Lake Gwelup Reserve was with Aimee a few years ago after we had had a bit of autumn rain and it looked like this, completely different, have a look. I was quite pleased with my overly imaginative images.. you liked them too :) Yesterday the water in the lake was still pretty low but it looks like after today and tomorrow's storms it will be at least 70cm deeper, yes at last la pluie has arrived ☂ We received a lovely welcome to the reserve from the sweet wee willie wagtail below..

 

When I downloaded the shots I took yesterday the rather awkward timing of the photo-bombing Coot passing by the upturned black swan, second shot made me smile.. excusez-moi :) I saw something else yesterday that I've never seen before on any of the lakes, quite fascinating to watch, show you tomorrow.. Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe..

This side and that..

I might have shown this view before but each time I find myself here, as I did last week, it is  irresistibly impossible not to take another shot. Standing at the top of St Georges Terrace looking down into the city through the Barracks Arch, all that is left of the Pensioner's Barracks (scroll down to see original barracks) is one of my favourite views. In the same spot in the opposite direction across the freeway is Parliament House. I don't think the view here, constructed 1958/64 is it's best side, the Harvest Terrace side, built in 1902 is lovely, will get over there and take some pics soon. Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe..

Butterfly kisses..

Discovered this gorgeous mural in a car park last week in Leederville.. just before I dropped my camera and broke my wide-angle lens :(  Created by San Francisco based muralist, fine artist and art director AmandaLynn last year.. you won't regret clicking the link to see more of her incroyable work. The artist is inspired 'by the female form and spirit' and her beautifully evocative women can be seen in many cities around the world. We are lucky to have the two beauties here in our city. Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

 Visit Sami to see more Monday Murals from around the world..

Never eat more than you can hold!

Excellent advice Ellie :) The small circles of ceramic art set into and scattered along the pathway at Hillarys Boat Harbour are little gems of seaside art created by children mostly during 2006/7, although I see bikini clad Grace below to the left is dated 2009! I tried to choose just a few of them to show but how could I possibly pick, they are all fabulous and deserve to be seen. Some have been stepped on more than others and are showing signs of wear and tear. There are many venues around Perth that encourage and include children's art in the design in some way, brilliant idea. Hope you had/are having a good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stay safe..

Show a leg!

Haha! No not mine :) Bit of a light hearted Sunday post to make you smile. Yesterday in the garden on a warm afternoon, looked up to see a familiar leg protruding out of the 'mostly given up for winter' creeper covering the roof of P's tool shed at the bottom of the garden. Calling up, the neighbours cat, taking its time, as cats do, looked up, gave me a cursory glance and a...

...ok I'm bored now glare before carrying on with his ablutions.. charming! Looking up at him looking down on me I couldn't help remembering the quote 'in ancient times cats were worshiped as gods, they have not forgotten this :) Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe..

Up close and personal..

There's always a chance when you press your camera lens right onto the glass window of a restaurant or cafe to take a reflection shot that there will be someone on the other side of that glass not too thrilled about a camera catching them with their mouth full :) So far so good, no angry taps and a 'clear orf', to date anyway! Could easily have happened here in the window of California Pizza Kitchen at Hillarys Boat Harbour, I couldn't see a thing inside but I had noticed it was pretty busy when passing the entrance! Hope you have a good weekend, take care and stay safe..

Visit James to see more Weekend Reflections..

Grass trees.. Short back and sides,

I don't think I've ever seen the Australian grass tree styled like this before, will have to check them out periodically to see how they grow.. seen here in Yagan Square . Why do they remind me of Cousin Itt without his hat, can you see it or is it just me :)

Meanwhile the iron cladding on the buildings in the square and the 9mt tall Wirin sculpture are oxidizing together beautifully under the warm/hot WA skies. Re the grass trees above, have a look here, guarantee it will make you smile, could we call this a 'tullet' :)  Happy Friday, take care and stay safe..

Oops! Not my day.

After a coffee on Tuesday in Leederville I did something I have never done before! I forgot that my camera was on my lap and stood up.. et voilà, quelle tragédie! My camera with lens extended fell to the floor. I'm lucky that the actual camera wasn't damaged but take a look at my very favourite wide-angle lens! If the barrel had been in and locked it would have survived but I had just taken the shot below..

...and just after, a wee bit skewed! Anyone who uses a camera in the Olympus OM-D range will know that this wide-angle lens is super brilliant.. it's my go to lens in so many situations. The bad news is that to replace it new would set me back about $700, the good news I think I can have it repaired for much less.. fingers crossed. Don't you hate it when you do silly things like this! Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. you might not be interested but I felt the need to share 😊

Bells Rapids.. Watching my step.

 Not the English country-side but beautiful in its own way. The pic above was taken towards the end of the walk when the sun was beginning to get a bit of warmth into it, the red earth colours here are exactly as they were. Walking along the river bed to the bridge below, Have a look at how this scene looks after the rains, beautifully captured in less than two minutes here.. incroyable oui!

  

This walk would have been impossible after the rains..

Through the bushes the super long good train on it's way up to Kalgoorlie..

A few of the trails we walked/climbed.

There were birds too, from afar a trio of Australian shelducks making quite the din.. 

..and below a rare glimpse in the bushes alongside the river of red plumage.. could it be an unknown new and exotic species of bird  🐦Phew, made it in ten pics :) hope you enjoyed the walk with me. Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. big catch up today, haven't been feeling tip-top!