season changeover

sunset flags

autumn has fallen

coldness comes

Tonight Jill and I walked down the end of our street, through the Sandringham shopping centre over Beach Road and across to the cliffs anticipating an interesting sunset to farewell the last day of Autumn. We were not disappointed however the sun was so intense behind the thin cloud layers I struggled to focus the surrounds having to keep the lens back near 35mm as in the first image, then a rare one worked on 250mm as in the second shot.  We are lucky to witness scenes like this within 10 minutes walk from home.

I am sure Ronovan was trying to lure me away from sunset images/haiku with this weeks challenge however I was up to it. RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 99 Flag&Fallen where haiku poets from all over the world unite in creativity.                                                                                                                              To be seen at https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-99-flagfallen/

door of mysteries

from the past

door hiding secrets

to share now

These images show Black Bock House in Black Rock a suburb on the SE of Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne. Thomas Ebden and his family were the earliest European settlers in this part of Port Phillip way back in the 1850’sand established Black Rock House as their claim on the land. There are a number of mysteries surrounding Ebden and what went on in this early days. He was from South Africa and probably brought fixed ideas on how to respond to the original occupiers of this land. He also took up control of quite a lot of land around Black Rock and also central Victoria, (then called Port Phillip) There are certainly unanswered questions about the actual original reasons for building  a stockade as seen in the third image. Who was he going to resist with this? There are no mysteries about the Moreton Bay Fig Tree  seen in the second image, it is old and large. These trees are native to the more tropical climate of North east Australia and was introduced here as a seedling.

Some years ago Jill completed a landscape master plan of the grounds of Black Rock House for the City of Bayside. You can see the fruition of aspects of her work in these images.

This is my door contribution to the 52 week photo challenge ( this week DOOR) accessed at https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/photo-challenge/  where you can see some fascinating CHECK photos

communicating

seagull flock 

in a cloudless sky

writing words

Many weeks ago Jill and I composed two versions of this haiku when we watched seagulls flying everywhere in a cloudless sky. Unfortunately neither of us carried a camera.

All this time we have waited and seen plenty of seagull flocks but not backdropped against a cloudless sky UNTIL today. I was walking around Ricketts Point with my telephoto lens and mono taking shots of young Pacific gulls messing around in the shallows.

Suddenly  in the distance and very high up I could see a large flock of seagulls flying back to Mud Island in the bay from the interior waste tips. Thanks to the zoom I think I have captured the essence of the haiku. What do you think?

food check

rein them in

when birds quest for food

emus win

The Emus at Tower Hill are top of the pecking order when it comes to food. This Game reserve near Warrnambool and Port Fairy in Western Victoria Australia is a series of puzzles.

First it is one of 2 examples in the world of a volcano that has re exploded and blown itself to pieces. There is a huge inner area surrounded by the rim of the volcano, there are large waterways enclosed within this rim and a central peak like an island. Known as a nested maar it is the largest extinct volcano in Victoria. This makes it rare.

Secondly a succession of state governments have invested in the re vegetation and restocking of native fauna in this reserve. You would expect them to be safe.

People would expect to discover this park would be a national park or even a heritage site given the geological rarity. But it is not.

But no, this place is a state game reserve which means every year the state government allows people, (basically men) with guns to come here in the duck season and blast this peaceful place in their pursuit of killing ducks.

The duck season is a hang over from the colonial past when men with guns could freely shoot and  and try to kill living creatures, usually ducks.

Why people want to have guns and shoot to kill living animals intrigues me. I think basically it is license to practice the art of psychopathy.

This is my contribution to RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 98    Rein & Quest where you can read haiku by gifted poets from all over the world by clicking on

https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-98-reinquest/

And it is also my contribution to the 52 week photo challenge ( this week CHECK) accessed at https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/photo-challenge/  where you can see some fascinating CHECK photos

nature’s way

I watched this Great Egret hunting for frogs at Karkarook Park in a neighbouring suburb last Sunday. It walked around the fringe of this reclaimed quarry (now a nature reserve/park) carefully and patiently seeking out a frog. I kept snapping away as it came closer. Suddenly in one second between me snapping images the bird darted its head under water , came up with a frog and swallowed it.  At my local bird group monthly meeting the following Wednesday I heard copperhead snakes were seen on the pathways in this park the day I had been scrambling around in the reeds by the water. Copperhead snakes love to quietly lie in the reeds beside the water waiting for frogs. Last weekend was not a good one for the local frogs.

focussed eyes

sudden movement

frog for lunch

目を据えて　す早く動き　カエル食う

snake care

taking care

snakes so fragile

watch your step

Our local council has been putting up these signs at points along our coastal walking paths. Across summer Tiger Snakes have been spotted at a number of locations. This natural element certainly adds to the excitement of a stroll along the bushy pathways that wend their way for kilometres along our local coastline. We do get many international tourists who come to the bay for the sights and may think snakes such as this cute little Tiger snake are another tourist attraction to look for.

 

Charlie’s frivolity

frivolous

new day every day

why worry

Charlie enjoyed life and was looking for new adventures, sometimes very silly ones, every day. The first image shows her playing grab with a fisherman’s glove  picked up on the beach. She would collect and bring home an array of items such as this glove and especially fluffy and other abandoned pram rejected toys . The second image has her learning petanque a game she adapted to quite easily but soon tired of and the third picture demonstrates the intensity of skink hunting at Bendigo, a pursuit that could occupy her for long periods of time. Skinks are small lizards about 3-4 centimetres long and .5  wide. I cannot remember her ever catching one but that did not detract from the pleasure of the game.

This is my contribution of FRIVOLOUS images in the 52 week photo challenge , to be accessed at https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/photo-challenge/

magic formula

glimmering

magical partners

sun and sea

Five different late afternoon images from Ricketts Point as the setting sun threw its light out across the bay to glint and glimmer. Images just waiting for  RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 97 Magic&Glimmer where haiku poets weave their magic and share their glimmer of artistry across the internet. To be seen at https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-97-magicglimmer/

rain coming

 

drought breaking

storm clouds bringing rain

and lightning

Over the last 5 days across Victoria we have experienced rain, storms and then more rain. Winds over 100 K have been common with 7 metre swells in Bass Strait.  Many towns and farming communities have been living with drought conditions , dams were empty and water and feed was being trucked in. There has been a reprieve but more is needed. These images were taken on May 7th from the Black Rock cliffs not long before sunset. Then the storm arrived.

This is my contribution to  RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 96 Lightning&Rain  A weekly haiku challenge inspiring haiku poets around the world to be creative. Visit the site here https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/05/09/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-96-lightningrain/ 

fiery sky

sunset like

layered dragon breath 

invites awe

This was  a beautiful sunset I was lucky to capture at Port Fairy a couple of weeks ago. Down in the town there was no indication of the colour that was unfolding. Luckily I drove up to the beach at Pea Soup and this spectacle unfolded.  Why the dragon fire colours in the first image? an astute observer may ask. The answer, my camera flash popped up  and I took that photo  then closed the flash and kept shooting.  Port Fairy is a wonderful place to capture both sunrises and sunsets. On the East Beach sand dunes a view across the bay towards Warrnambool is flanked by Tower Hill and surrounding rises. Across at Pea Soup one looks West along the coast towards Yambuk.

The haiku and images are my contributions to RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 95 Dragon&Invite to be accessed at https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-95-dragoninvite/

And the 52 week photo challenge (LAYER) to be checked out at https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/photo-challenge/