Gondalering on the Swan..

It may not be the Grand Canal in Venice but how pretty does the gondola look atop the sparkling waters of the Swan River.. and there is a bridge :) I wasn't sure if gondalering was actually a bona fide word, I'm still not sure but would have used it anyway :) At Elizabeth Quay on Wednesday there was much coming and going of leisure craft. The South Perth ferry was back and forth with precision timing and at a much more leisurely pace Gondolas on the Swan, click the link to see the gondola trips at sunset.. so beautiful. Definitely on the 'to do' list, although the gondola looks so small and the water so.. you know, scary water like 😉 Happy Friday, take care and stay safe..

  

Serendipitous..

Walking along King Street in the city yesterday I noticed a detail that had slipped me by.. the sculptural signage above the old entrance to the Amateur Sports Club (heritage listed Monash House) opened in 1903. As I clicked a gorgeous young lady in sneakers and track-pants strode into the shot, a 2019 nod to the sporting past :) Looking back down King Street, the luxury end of town.. to me the luxury is that these beautiful old buildings are still standing here 💛 Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. would have loved to see the sporting outfits worn here in 1903 :)

Behind the Red Door..

Since I started blogging about Perth, even after living here for many, many years, I am still discovering new things about my city every day. For instance I had no idea that behind the incredibly smart red door of 143 Grand Lane in the city, last seen here is Studio Start Up.. 'a long basement space, with 100 year old rustic brick walls and graffiti art and air conditioning, it’s the perfect spot for a unique art, training, theatrical, business, film or even yoga style event'. I didn't go in but you can see some shots of the space here, so cool! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. Gotta love the green guardian :)

Woah! What's going on here!

I pass the black and white with touches of red mural here every time I go to Joondalup but because it seemed a little awkward to get to have let it go by. Yesterday I discovered the only awkward thing about it was fitting the whole mural in frame. Painted in 2013 at the entrance to an underpass by Perth based artist Woah Jonny, 'best pronounced with a heavy cowboy accent whilst simultaneously slowing down your horse' :) From the heart pumping life into the fantastical other-worldly creatures along the way the details are so cool. I'm pretty sure this one will get passersby talking💓 Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

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

 

Picnic in the park..

A Sunday morning picnic in Hyde Park is pretty hard to beat on a beautiful almost end of autumn day. The shadows from the tall trees, the autumn colours of the plane trees around the lake and the delicious aroma of coffee and pastries from Chu Bakery. Can you see the crowd on the corner below right, if you pull it in you might see P waiting to pick up our breakfast :) Btw the green Doc Martens above are Aimee's.. in case you were wondering 😉 In the last shot some of the pretty cottages alongside the park, what a lovely view they have. Hope you had a good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stay safe..

Live purple..

Mixed food reviews excellent reflections :) in the harbour-side windows of the Purple Goat Cafe. I remember having a meal in the Purple Goat before it moved to this super new location but can't remember if it was either particularly good or bad.. which in itself is probably not good :) Next time we visit Hillarys Boat Harbour might have to get a definite opinion on that 😉 Have a super weekend, take care and stay safe..

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

It's a bird, it's a plane.. it's not superman!

No Andrew, it wasn't a streaker running merrily through the fruit trees, that would have been a bit of a laugh :) What are your feelings about drones? It was wonderfully peaceful walking around Raeburn Orchards on Wednesday, the birds singing, the bees humming.. that was until the humming became a persistent buzzing and the drone, see it there above the smaller tree, came much closer than the 30metres allowed in the 'Drone Laws in Australia'. In fact so close at one point I was seriously tempted to clobber it with my camera bag :) A young couple looking for more than gorgeous shots taken from ground level, unaware that they were being a pain in the neck. I imagine the residents in Kingsley weren't too amused on Tuesday evening when a drone caused a blackout.. 'owning a drone does not a pilot make'. I know they have their uses but in the wrong hands a nuisance they can be. Happy Friday, take care and stay safe.

Autumn.. 'Poetry in the air'.

'Autumn, when every leaf 

is a flower' 🍂

A second visit to Raeburn Orchards yesterday was so worth the drive. A month ago when we were here searching for autumn the leaves were just turning yellow, a month later they are molten gold. I took so many shots it was hard to cut it down to the few here. It was a glorious sight marred by only one thing..tell you about that tomorrow :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.. P.s. Just made it before the official start of winter in a few weeks :)

Fascinating fungi..

Walking under the trees at Perry Lakes Reserve a few days ago I spotted the huge fungus 

high up in a eucalyptus tree. Fungi are fascinating.. and slightly gross at the same time :) I searched to see if I could find a name but the kingdom of fungi has a cast of millions. Has anyone seen anything like this? I love walking around the lakes and bush areas.. where there are trees the air smells so sweet and fresh 🌳 Hope you are having a good week, happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. 

Pushing my luck..

I hope I'm not pushing my luck with three bird posts almost in a row :) I really wanted to share this uniquely Australian experience with you. Sitting outside on my patio a few days ago I was joined by Mr Kookaburra who sat looking at me intently as if to say 'I've heard you feed all the stray cats in the neighborhood, and the seed eating birds.. so come on it's our turn'. He was joined by Mrs K and their two offspring. Laughing kookaburras are carnivorous so I thought they might like a bit of roast beef, they did, eating it almost out of my hand. They weren't bothered about me taking close ups at all..

Perched on top of the swimming pool umbrella they looked down at me as if to say 'the rumours are true, we'll be back tomorrow for more'.. and they were :) It's not a habit I will get into though, I'm pretty sure a diet of roast beef might not be a good idea for wild birds, a bit like junk food, a little now and then won't hurt. Their comical close-ups are pretty cute though :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe..

Shady lady..

Aka 'lemon tree girl'. Found this gorgeous piece yesterday by Perth mural artist and illustrator Paul Deej on the wall of a home in a shady tree lined street in Cottesloe. The last time you saw lemon tree girl was here (you will have to scroll down) in Mount Lawley. Could she be puckered up here in the hope of a princely transformation :) Hope you had/are still having a fab good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stays safe.. P.s. makes me wish I had a wall and a lemon tree out front :)

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

Seven little ducks sitting in a row..

Seven sweet little ducks with their upside down reflection in Herdsman Lake, close in above and the bigger picture below..

You find out the most amazing things when you blog! I'm not making fun of phobias, believe me I have sooo many, but this one made me laugh out loud, although not a laughing matter to those that have it I'm sure. Anatidaephobia, the fear that somewhere in the world a duck or a goose is watching you, not attacking or touching, just watching. That's almost as ridiculous, apologies to anyone reading this that has this particular phobia, as my fear of bike helmets, not the wearing of them, that's a necessity, just the look of them.. I know right, nuts 😉  Happy weekend, take care and stay safe.. P.s. As I clicked the shot below five ducks turned to watch me :) :)

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

A bit of a show off..

Always looking for ways to keep up my step count, at least 10,000 or more each day, so I hope you are up for another walk with me, this time around Herdsman Lake, a 15 minute drive from home, a really pretty walk. The Australasian darter, although a common sight around lakes and wetlands, is hard to resist when they spread their wings to dry every time they see a camera pointed in their direction.. or so it seems :) The male darter above with his black and gold plumage has a bit of an Egyptian look about it don't you think. I took these shots a few days ago when the skies were blue, yesterday they were grey for the day.. that's autumn for you! Happy Friday, take care and stay safe..