I'm still having problems getting Windows to behave despite reinstalling twice.
So I am still off line, and probably will be for a day or two.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
A Birthday Feast, and Two that got away.
It was my Birthday last week so Deb and I went out on Saturday to celebrate.
Our destination Brandy Creek Winery in Gippsland about an hour and a half east of Melbourne.
The restaurant has a couple of specialities, the one we went for was their ‘Famous Paella Feast’ (their words not mine)
They cook not one but five giant paella’s while their guests eat tapas and make merry.
I think the most visually pleasing was the vegetarian.
The beef and quail egg tasted nice but looked odd.
My favourite was the seafood. 
One word describes the event and that was FUN!
Leaving I had to stop to try photographing a pair of eastern rosellas. They are my favourite Oz parrot because they are so colourful. But they are really shy.
I took this shot from a distance because I didn’t think they would let me get nearer.
Alas I was right this was as good as it got. They saw my movement and fled.
One day.
Now I may be off line for a few days because I am having computer problems. I’m about to reformat my hard-drive. If all goes well it’ll take me a few hours, but I’m never optimistic when it comes to computers.
Next: the waterfall I caught on my way home from our feast.
Our destination Brandy Creek Winery in Gippsland about an hour and a half east of Melbourne.
The restaurant has a couple of specialities, the one we went for was their ‘Famous Paella Feast’ (their words not mine)
They cook not one but five giant paella’s while their guests eat tapas and make merry.
I think the most visually pleasing was the vegetarian.
The beef and quail egg tasted nice but looked odd.
My favourite was the seafood. 
One word describes the event and that was FUN!Leaving I had to stop to try photographing a pair of eastern rosellas. They are my favourite Oz parrot because they are so colourful. But they are really shy.
I took this shot from a distance because I didn’t think they would let me get nearer.
Alas I was right this was as good as it got. They saw my movement and fled.One day.
Now I may be off line for a few days because I am having computer problems. I’m about to reformat my hard-drive. If all goes well it’ll take me a few hours, but I’m never optimistic when it comes to computers.
Next: the waterfall I caught on my way home from our feast.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Hunting part II
Well I hope this isn’t a case of too much of a good thing…
From the Phantom Falls Deb and I went back to the car.
We drove further up the valley. The road (not quite sure it deserves to be called a road) got narrower and muddier, if I wasn’t a ‘bushie’ (a person who grew up in the country) I wouldn’t have dared to keep going without an all wheel drive. We actually drive a FIAT which is better suited to an autostrada than a bush track. But if you are careful and know what you are doing you can take 2 wheel drives to a surprising range of places.
As we drove we pushed into country I haven’t seen before, we saw other wonderful falls up branches of the valley that we just didn’t get to because it was too wet and too late. (I would have had to walk)
About another seven kilometres up the valley (nearly half an hour at the speed the road made me go) we crossed the Taggerty River.
Which cascades out of the forest by the road (this piccie was taken from the road bridge).
Notice the bush doesn’t seem burnt here? It’s a bit deceptive unfortunately.
This is a pocket of true rainforest in the Mountain Ash forest that surrounds it. Mountain Ash forest is a eucalyptus dominated ‘wet sclerophyll’ forest for the botanically minded of you. And like most eucalyptus forests will burn at the drop of a hat.
Proper rainforest like this pocket is usually too wet to burn but in the extreme conditions of Black Saturday in 2009 the crowning fire that raced through the forest around has effectively singed off the crowns of these trees.
Many of the larger ones are dying which is a real shame, especially as many of the trees in this pocket are rare Antarctic Beeches.
Back to my story.
The section of the river that cascades under the road is just the start. To my surprise just off the road is a beautifully built path.
There are a whole series of these lovely stairs that zig-zag through the trees up the side of the ‘Taggerty Cascades’.
The stairs take you past a series of views of the cascades which divide and redivide between the trees and the granite boulders.
This boulder in the middle of one branch of the stream is about eight feet across.
Just below on a smaller branch the water pours through under some boulders.
Then at the foot of these sweet stairs this mini cascade let me get my favourite shot of the day.
A close-up with a very long exposure to compensate for the rapidly fading light.
Remember it was raining and it is winter with short days down this way.
One last piccie to give you an idea of how dark it was under the trees when I finished shooting. For shooting waterfalls you generally want low light so you can take long exposures, but this was getting ridiculous.
So it was back to the car to weave our way out of the valley.
I think I caught my trophies from my waterfall hunt.
The only problem is I want to go back!
From the Phantom Falls Deb and I went back to the car.
We drove further up the valley. The road (not quite sure it deserves to be called a road) got narrower and muddier, if I wasn’t a ‘bushie’ (a person who grew up in the country) I wouldn’t have dared to keep going without an all wheel drive. We actually drive a FIAT which is better suited to an autostrada than a bush track. But if you are careful and know what you are doing you can take 2 wheel drives to a surprising range of places.
As we drove we pushed into country I haven’t seen before, we saw other wonderful falls up branches of the valley that we just didn’t get to because it was too wet and too late. (I would have had to walk)
About another seven kilometres up the valley (nearly half an hour at the speed the road made me go) we crossed the Taggerty River.
Which cascades out of the forest by the road (this piccie was taken from the road bridge).Notice the bush doesn’t seem burnt here? It’s a bit deceptive unfortunately.
This is a pocket of true rainforest in the Mountain Ash forest that surrounds it. Mountain Ash forest is a eucalyptus dominated ‘wet sclerophyll’ forest for the botanically minded of you. And like most eucalyptus forests will burn at the drop of a hat.
Proper rainforest like this pocket is usually too wet to burn but in the extreme conditions of Black Saturday in 2009 the crowning fire that raced through the forest around has effectively singed off the crowns of these trees.
Many of the larger ones are dying which is a real shame, especially as many of the trees in this pocket are rare Antarctic Beeches.
Back to my story.
The section of the river that cascades under the road is just the start. To my surprise just off the road is a beautifully built path.
There are a whole series of these lovely stairs that zig-zag through the trees up the side of the ‘Taggerty Cascades’.
The stairs take you past a series of views of the cascades which divide and redivide between the trees and the granite boulders.This boulder in the middle of one branch of the stream is about eight feet across.
Just below on a smaller branch the water pours through under some boulders.
Then at the foot of these sweet stairs this mini cascade let me get my favourite shot of the day.
A close-up with a very long exposure to compensate for the rapidly fading light.
Remember it was raining and it is winter with short days down this way.One last piccie to give you an idea of how dark it was under the trees when I finished shooting. For shooting waterfalls you generally want low light so you can take long exposures, but this was getting ridiculous.
So it was back to the car to weave our way out of the valley.I think I caught my trophies from my waterfall hunt.
The only problem is I want to go back!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Hunting Part I
Almost twelve months ago I posted about a mountain valley behind Marysville where the forest was destroyed in the 2009 bushfires.
Deb and I went up that way again today
The trees in the Taggerty River Valley still stand like the ghosts they are.
What is changing somewhat is millions of seeds have germinated so saplings are beginning to race for the light between their parents’ skeletons.
We were back because as you know I love photography. One of my favourite subjects is streams and waterfalls.
The drought of previous years is well and truly over and it has rained and rained and rained for what seems like months. The bonus of this is of course waterfalls and rivers are very healthy at the moment.
We wove our way up into the valley along the muddy goat track that serves as a road up there.
It was cold and raining so I was well rugged up. Deb took one look at the weather and elected to sit in the car knitting.
From the valley floor began the climb up this track towards the first waterfall on my hit-list.
You get an idea of how rampant the regrowth is.
In the steeper sections there are well made stairs which make the going easier. I paused on this corner for a breather and a piccie.
I’d just climbed the stairs down to the right and was about to climb the ones to the left.
Further up I paused again to catch the ghosts of the trees vanishing into the mist
(that is the trail and some of the stairs in the right of the frame).
I crossed the stream that forms the falls further up.
It's divided here into multiple streamlets that tumble over fern clad boulders.
To give you an idea of how wet it is at the moment a fairy sized waterfall beside the path.
Then finally I reached my target the Phantom Falls. 
It finally stopped raining as I photographed so I got to wear my hat rather than trying to keep the camera lens dry.
These falls are hard to photograph because to see them you have to get really close. But I think I have done them justice.
Just to make sure a close up.
Deb and I went up that way again today
The trees in the Taggerty River Valley still stand like the ghosts they are.
What is changing somewhat is millions of seeds have germinated so saplings are beginning to race for the light between their parents’ skeletons.We were back because as you know I love photography. One of my favourite subjects is streams and waterfalls.
The drought of previous years is well and truly over and it has rained and rained and rained for what seems like months. The bonus of this is of course waterfalls and rivers are very healthy at the moment.
We wove our way up into the valley along the muddy goat track that serves as a road up there.
It was cold and raining so I was well rugged up. Deb took one look at the weather and elected to sit in the car knitting.
From the valley floor began the climb up this track towards the first waterfall on my hit-list.
You get an idea of how rampant the regrowth is.In the steeper sections there are well made stairs which make the going easier. I paused on this corner for a breather and a piccie.
I’d just climbed the stairs down to the right and was about to climb the ones to the left.Further up I paused again to catch the ghosts of the trees vanishing into the mist
(that is the trail and some of the stairs in the right of the frame).I crossed the stream that forms the falls further up.
It's divided here into multiple streamlets that tumble over fern clad boulders.To give you an idea of how wet it is at the moment a fairy sized waterfall beside the path.
Then finally I reached my target the Phantom Falls. 
It finally stopped raining as I photographed so I got to wear my hat rather than trying to keep the camera lens dry.These falls are hard to photograph because to see them you have to get really close. But I think I have done them justice.
Just to make sure a close up.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Progress on two fronts
My new job is simultaneously hard work and very relaxing. First being a government job there are substantial differences to anything I have experienced in the private or community sectors. Things are quite simply more bureaucratic and every second word seems to be an acronym.
My new job is a reasonably senior position so there is a lot to get on top of as quickly as possible. So all in all it is quite tiring.
Now here is the good bit. The job is in other ways also very relaxing. As difficult as it might be I am not dealing with desperate people in extreme circumstances. I am not having to be continually on my toes to monitor the risk of violence to myself, my staff or the people using my services. The reality is people in extreme situations sometimes behave unpredictably, add in issues like mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse and you had to be careful. Always.
Having said that working with the homeless you more often see the best of people. But you have to be ready to deal with the worst.
So I am really enjoying the change of pace in that way. Also I seem to have landed a great team to work with: friendly, welcoming and helpful to the newby!
Now to my WIP, as I said I finished a first draft. This week I’ve been sorting all the sections written in different POV into order. I can’t help myself I sometimes get distracted and begin rewriting some sections as I go, but all in all the shuffling process is going well. I hope to be finished with that stage early next week. Then I will sit down and read the whole thing start to finish to see which sections need the most work.
Can you stay on task when it comes to writing, or are you like me and sometimes get led astray by the text in front of you?
Now finally a quick word about last weekend. As I said Deb and I went away, well we spent the weekend at Phillip Island which is about two hours drive from home. I say drive because although it is a real island it is connected to the mainland by a bridge. As you saw if you caught my Monday post we managed to cram an awful lot into two days.
One of my piccies was of a bird.
He was a Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) or to be precise gander, a member of the only ‘true’ goose species native to Oz. They were quite endangered in the 1970s but have made a comeback thanks to conservation efforts. I am talking about them again because I had to share some piccies of some goslings.
Just as a reminder here is another piccie of dad.
Now mum with some of her brood
Some cute fuzzballs 
And some more
My new job is a reasonably senior position so there is a lot to get on top of as quickly as possible. So all in all it is quite tiring.
Now here is the good bit. The job is in other ways also very relaxing. As difficult as it might be I am not dealing with desperate people in extreme circumstances. I am not having to be continually on my toes to monitor the risk of violence to myself, my staff or the people using my services. The reality is people in extreme situations sometimes behave unpredictably, add in issues like mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse and you had to be careful. Always.
Having said that working with the homeless you more often see the best of people. But you have to be ready to deal with the worst.
So I am really enjoying the change of pace in that way. Also I seem to have landed a great team to work with: friendly, welcoming and helpful to the newby!
Now to my WIP, as I said I finished a first draft. This week I’ve been sorting all the sections written in different POV into order. I can’t help myself I sometimes get distracted and begin rewriting some sections as I go, but all in all the shuffling process is going well. I hope to be finished with that stage early next week. Then I will sit down and read the whole thing start to finish to see which sections need the most work.
Can you stay on task when it comes to writing, or are you like me and sometimes get led astray by the text in front of you?
Now finally a quick word about last weekend. As I said Deb and I went away, well we spent the weekend at Phillip Island which is about two hours drive from home. I say drive because although it is a real island it is connected to the mainland by a bridge. As you saw if you caught my Monday post we managed to cram an awful lot into two days.
One of my piccies was of a bird.
He was a Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) or to be precise gander, a member of the only ‘true’ goose species native to Oz. They were quite endangered in the 1970s but have made a comeback thanks to conservation efforts. I am talking about them again because I had to share some piccies of some goslings.
Just as a reminder here is another piccie of dad.
Now mum with some of her brood
Some cute fuzzballs 
And some more
Monday, July 18, 2011
Despite the weather
I didn’t manage a post over the weekend because despite wintry weather Deb and I went away for the weekend.
I won’t say much because I’m only just home from work.
However I will promise more in the next few days and say our action packed weekend featured:
Verdant but windswept islands.
Unique Aussie wildlife.
Glorious sunsets
Quiet walks
Pounding waves
And mountain streams.
Stay tuned
I won’t say much because I’m only just home from work.
However I will promise more in the next few days and say our action packed weekend featured:
Verdant but windswept islands.
Unique Aussie wildlife.
Glorious sunsets
Quiet walks
Pounding waves
And mountain streams.
Stay tuned
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Brrr.
I posted about snowfalls in the mountains around Melbourne on Saturday.
I’ve mentioned my new job before, my new office is on the 12th floor of a downtown skyscraper. Well yesterday the snow was a bit closer to home. I happened to glance up from my desk to see heavy snow falling past my window.
Now it snows in the higher hills around Melbourne every winter, but it basically never snows in the city which is essentially at sea level. So I was really surprised to see snow falling downtown.
I got up from the desk and looked out the window. I saw something I have only seen in the mountains before. Snow falling past me and turning into rain below. I had forgotten I was a third of the way up a man made mountain! So if I grumble about the cold please forgive me. This Aussie thinks it is a miserable winter.
On a less gloomy note, we have begun walking Lilli. We aren’t really trying to train her to walk to heel yet. But we are going to have to. As you can see from this pic of Lu setting off with her on Sunday she is getting to be a big puppy.
She’s only twelve weeks old and already weighs 10.1kg (22.27 lbs). The vet she saw today for immunisation and micro-chipping says she is going to be a big girl.
On our walk we spotted some galahs feeding on a lawn
(yes I do take my camera almost everywhere). These pink parrots are really common in much of Oz.
As I snapped away two more swept in to land.
Then after walking only a few blocks it was time to head for home because puppies get tired quickly.
I’ve mentioned my new job before, my new office is on the 12th floor of a downtown skyscraper. Well yesterday the snow was a bit closer to home. I happened to glance up from my desk to see heavy snow falling past my window.
Now it snows in the higher hills around Melbourne every winter, but it basically never snows in the city which is essentially at sea level. So I was really surprised to see snow falling downtown.
I got up from the desk and looked out the window. I saw something I have only seen in the mountains before. Snow falling past me and turning into rain below. I had forgotten I was a third of the way up a man made mountain! So if I grumble about the cold please forgive me. This Aussie thinks it is a miserable winter.
On a less gloomy note, we have begun walking Lilli. We aren’t really trying to train her to walk to heel yet. But we are going to have to. As you can see from this pic of Lu setting off with her on Sunday she is getting to be a big puppy.
She’s only twelve weeks old and already weighs 10.1kg (22.27 lbs). The vet she saw today for immunisation and micro-chipping says she is going to be a big girl.On our walk we spotted some galahs feeding on a lawn
(yes I do take my camera almost everywhere). These pink parrots are really common in much of Oz.
As I snapped away two more swept in to land.
Then after walking only a few blocks it was time to head for home because puppies get tired quickly.
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