A Good Life.....

The news is full of the latest on Swine Flu. Just listening to the statistics and horrors of what it can do to an individual, and to an entire community, is enough to scare us all, filling us with alarm and dread. It seems that the entire world does not have enough on its plate with the constant news bulletins and updates on the global financial crisis which envoloped the panet, now we have to live in fear of the latest influenza bug. Will the turmoil ever end? The professionals are now saying that this flu has the capability to have pandemic outcomes, what a terrifying thought, a epidemic event in time that would impact the world. Such an occurance is almost impossible to imagine.

I sat thinking about this today and goodness, such an event in time certainly puts life into perspective for us. Good health is paramount to everything else, to all of the materialistic pressures we place on ourselves, to what we consider are the priorities in our lives, even to how simple and stress free we live. I have thought it before and I will think it again, in the end the material possessions we have mean little in comparison to the quality of life we live and the love we experience and share with others. I guess it is occurances such as the threat of Swine Flu, etc. that makes us stop and re-evaluate what matters most. In the end...when you have good health you have the foundations for a good life.

An Afternoon Sky......

This past ten days has been very busy indeed. Between Ms. A's 21st birthday, wet weather at work and travelling between Callala and Sydney, I have had little to no time to walk the beach. This afternon I made my way down there in time to talk a few pictures before the dark clouds completely covered the sky.

I was rewarded with a magnificent array of colours all colliding into one another. To add to the contrasts there was also a mixtures of storm clouds and fluffy white clouds as well.

To the west the sun broke through the heavier cloud covers and at a glance, the setting su n and area around it, looked like a fire ablaze in the spaces etween the clouds.

I looked up many times feeling that I could almost touch the sky with the clouds so low. It was a reviving visit. I hope that you enjoy my photos.

Afternoon Visitors......

This afternoon I had two very beautiful visitors on my balcony, they were a male and female King Parrot.

They were about 45 cms long, the male had a brilliant orangy/red breast and head with with a green body and tail.

The female had a green head with an amazingly bright body and tail. She was sort of the reverse of the male.

I was amazed at their beauty, so very pretty in colour and not the least afraid of me when I opened the front door to go out and take their photos.

The female remained back in the banksia tree clinging to an old cone however the male was quite social and romped along the balcony while I clicked away on my camera.

Apparently they breed from September through to January so I guess these two were simply out socializing.

It seems such ashame that such beautiful birds are captured and kept as pets in cages.

Easter Sunday......

Easter Sunday began as an overcast day but by noon the sun was sining through to present us with a glorious afternoon. It seemed the perfect weather to be out in Jervis Bay watching the dolphins in their natural habitat.

We left the little port of Husskinson and made our way out into the bay. Husskinson is a small township which overlooks the water. The houses sit high on the side of the hills all facing the bay and the wharf. Fishing trallers, large and small motor boats, sailing boats of all sizes and water sports vessels all constantly move about the bay, especially this weekend being Easter weekend and school holidays. It was wonderful seeing so many people enjoying the outdoors.

We motored along the outskirts of the bay past Vincentia and onto an area run by the Navy called HMAS Creswell. HMAS Creswell is a traing college for officers and the lands around HMAS Creswell are absolutely beautiful.

The beaches are white, the waterways clear and the forrests there are very lovely. Up on the hillside we could clearly see kangaroos sitting watching us out on the bay. A small group f dolphins were found here playing in the wtaers and catching fish in the shadows where the hills became cliffs which overlooked the bay.

Apparently dolphins feed each afternoon around this area. The dolphins seemed happy swimming alongside of the boats, keeping pace and entertaining the people. I found it very relaxing out there with the breeze gently blowing, the clouds softly gathering in the sky and an unhurried feel to our sail back to shore. I was extra glad that we had gone when I woke on Easter Monday to find the rain falling.

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summers wave goodbye......

Work has been very busy but well organized, in the time since I last wrote about it. The morning air has become very cool all of a sudden this past few days, nippy enough for my lungs to know it. There is crispness about at present, which reminds me that winter is not that far away. I guess by now that the leaves on the trees at home would be changing colour. This morning as I opened the shop I realized that I was looking forward to the place warming up. I switched on all of the cooking plates and ovens and welcomed the breakfast chores as a way to heat up the air. Last night was the first night that I slept with a doona on the bed, and I could feel the crisp air on my face. Goodness, how cold will winter be this year? The sun rises into the sky later and later as each day passes and I am amazed at how early it will set. It seems that only a few weeks ago everyone was hot and complaining about the summer weather.

Mind you in saying all of that, I did go for a swim on Sunday afternoon. The water was so inviting, turquoise coloured and although it is cooler now, it was a pleasure to take a quick dip. Callala is certainly feeling like home, I like the quaint feel to our little house and I enjoy coming home each evening to relax to the sounds of the beach. Some days at the change of the tide one cannot hear a sound, the bay is waveless (if there is such a word) the waters calm and silent. Other times (usually when we least expect it) the waves come crashing down and can be heard everywhere, especially if there is a king tide. There is a sense of freedom here that cannot be found in the big city although likewise, there are many benefits to living a city lifestyle as well. I enjoy a walk along the beach each evening and notice the difference to my fatigue levels should I miss it at all.

A neighbour told us that people can become sadened during the autumn here because they know that their therapeutic walks and afternoons spent in the sun and surf are numbered. I accepted that comment as a sign that I have adapted to life here and that I am indeed, dreading the winter to come. I have wondered how the fishermen keep warm during those colder months. Next time that I am in Sydney I shall hunt out my thermal underwear which I used when working in Canberra.

Speaking of fishing, Mr J and I are looking forward to Easter this year. My gorgeous friend Merry, is coming and so we are planning to stay down here and relax. Our weekends have been constantly filled with visitors and working since moving, which we have enjoyed however, this weekend we plan to do nothing more than fishing and some photography. I am reminded that it is only six weeks until whale watching season begins…..stay tuned as I have my trusty camera handy.
I hope that everyone has an enjoyable and restful Easter. I have often wondered why Easter is so close to Christmas but over the years (yes I know it is based on the moons and historical data) although I have come to realize that it also occurs at a time that reminds us to slow down and enjoy the year ahead rather than rushing our way through it. May this season fill us all with peace and gladness to be a part of life.

Stay safe everyone......

The Most Amazing Tale....or should that be tail

The most humourous moments in one’s day can be the ones that appear when we least expect them. Today I was talking to a man who had dog trouble and as a result, had to front up to the local police station in his home town for a “please explain”. The man detailed with cheeky pride how his fox-terrier had taken a naughty but playful, liking to a blow-up doll, normally found in an "adult’s only" store, which was on display at a local markets. Apparently the doll glittered with sequins and shiny buttons on her whip and hand cuffs and was attached to the side of a display stand. The little dog barked several times at the life-sized doll however, the stall vendor was too busy to stop what she was doing to investigate.

A number of minutes later the little dog had caught the doll by the leather whip that she was holding and was frantically tugging at it until the display stand gave way and collapsed. Horrified the stall vendor and customers climbed out from under the booth’s roof (seemingly made from shade cloth) to find the dog dragging the sex aid through the market place. Bystanders and other onlookers responded with a mixture of laughter and embarrassment, some pretending not to notice the incident at all, other simply stepped over the dog and doll and made no eye contact with anyone else as they hurried away lol.

The man who told us the story, was with his wife looking at goods in the market stall next door when this all happened and was at first aghast when he realized what had transpired. Though when he realized that his dog was being chased by a group of people he was quick to spring to the dog's rescue. Eventually after being caught, the man pried the deflated blow-up doll away from the dog and offered to pay for the damages. The stall vendor was outraged and called the police who now want a “please explain” from the dog’s owner as to why the animal was unleashed. Fair enough I thought although it did take me some time to stop laughing. I wondered why the stall vendor simply did not accept monetary compensation from the dog’s owner rather than dragging the law into it, maybe, just maybe he was a tad embarrassed lol.

The photos are of some hermit crabs. There are always dozens and dozens of them around the beach here and they can be fascinating little critters to watch. Some are very sociable creatures and will crawl on your hands and others prefer to hide inside their shell until the coast is clear or bury themselves in the sand.

The Clouds and I....

Clouds fascinate me. I often walk to the beach after work and look up to the open sky. Its vastness also intrigues me, it appears eternal some days and yet on other days the sky seems heavy and angry as though it is going to fall in on us. I shot these photos one evening last week prior to the storm warnings being posted up and down the south coast here. The skies slowly filled with heavy nimbus clouds that broke and rained for days on end.

This afternoon in exactly the same area I shot these photos. It is hard to imagine that I was standing in exactly the same spot. The whispy clouds danced through the sky like soft fluffy cotton wool; the background such a pretty shade of blue. It almost looks like a painting, how clever is Mother Nature, how artistic she is.

We have entered the second month of autumn and still the weather is beautiful, although it has rained some, the skies are still fascinating. They change from day to day, colour to colour, shape to shape.

My eyes turn toward the sky at all different times of the day not finding much amongst the steel, concrete and dirt of a construction site however, sitting next to the ocean here it rests gently overhead with so much to offer and entertain one with. It is hard to believe that they are nothing more than a collection of tiny drops of water and ice that are held in the air and when you stop and think about it they also support all forms of life on this planet.

Mind you, they also bring destruction in the forms of severe storms and hail too. I think that it is because clouds constantly change structure and colour that they then become so fascinating, some heavy cumulus, some stormy nimbus, some explosion -shaped cumulonimbus and some whispy. I am constantly intrigued by the changes; these past few days have been a carnival of clouds and storms out here on the beach.

One afternoon I captured a lightening bolt. The clouds seemed to crash into one another producing electricity and the most amazing electrical show. As I darted home those very same clouds chased me as though to say I had no right to photograph them hence, I got soaked lol. I hope you enjoy my photos. Sweet dreams J wherever you are.

The Clouds'

(A Reply to William Wordsworth's Daffodils)

“Lonely as a cloud”? Exception!Mr Wordsworth, sir,

we must as clouds correct your misconceptionto “content as a cumulus”.

Praise not earthfast daffodils

but Hosts of Silv’ry Celestials.

Golden blooms stretch’d along a bay

might present an awesome sight.

Yet all ten thousand, come what may could never,

breaking free, take flight.

Gaze above you. Reward your glances

with our infinite, shape-shifting dances.

Poets, artists, photographers too,

seeing layers, heaps and curls of hair

enrich their souls with what we do

-bunching, swirling in the air.

Those daffs outdid the waves? The dolts.

Let ‘em try Kelvin-Helmholtz!

Sir, when on your indoor couch reclin’d

(A habit too often indulg’d?)think cirrus, floccus - much more refin’d.

Enlightened, your inward eye will bulge.

Then your heart with pleasure fills

and soars amongst celestials.

© Julie Elizabeth Smalley. March 2008

A Saturday Afternoon Walk......

I finally have my computer back and working well again. It took the experts one week to identify the problems and even though I was not online during that week I was busy discovering the world and taking pictures as well. My sister came to visit for a few days and together we found some wonderful gardens and the native species living in those gardens.

This is a very beautiful Banksia whose flowers caught our attention.

Upon closer viewing the flowers were occupied by a number of bees that were collecting pollen. I loved every minute of standing there shooting pictures of the tiny workers. I never tier of looking at the beautiful colours that swirl and highlight the stamens and petals.

If you enlarge some of the photos one can imagine the paintbrush of an artist picking up the glorious array of colours that fill our gardens and national parks. How lucky are we to live in communities where we can find such beauty.