TV Reception

Wouldn't you think the TV arial would be pointed towards the transmitter? Perhaps living this close there's no need to even turn on the set!

Montville

Gnomette

I seem to have taken a few photographs of late, of inanimate objects trying to be animate. In the good old days, garden gnomes were painted red, went fishing, and if they had girlfriends, they were at home doing the washing or something, not frolicking in the woodchips.

Montville

Phone Box

Sadly for Superman, the door is screwed shut. This Box is kept as a historical artifact, although it's quite badly rotting and probably won't last another decade. It's a nice touch having it under the lines though.

Montville

Sleeping Frangipani

The Frangipani sleeps through winter. This one, a well fed and gently aged example, has no shortage of branches on which to grow new foliage in spring.

Montville

Pastry Chef

There seems to be a rash of small models parked outside various stores of late, last week it was a shark-waiter, this week a fat baker or perhaps a well-endowed baker. I am not sure why, surely the contents of the shop window are enough for the illiterate to work out what goes on within, but they are good for lazy photographers!

Montville

Reflecting

An elderly lady waits for her pie, reflecting in the Bakery window. Perhaps ruminating on what life was like before she was confined to her wheelchair, but more probably just wishing she could light a cigarette!

Montville.

Out of Africa

It seems to be rather discordant when in the hills behind the Sunshine Coast, to enter a shop called "Everything African", but that is the reality of the modern world in which we live. There is no longer a need to travel for souvenirs!

Montville

Psychic Readings

Tomorrow you will upload a picture taken in the town in which you live.

Montville

The Longest Shadow on the Shortest Day

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, so I went off chasing poetry, but all I found was my shadow just before sunset. My shadow is usually pretty long anyway, but today it appeared to be running towards the sunrise!

This is my one hundredth daily photo, which is something of a milestone as well I think, and it's sort of nice that it's marked by the winter solstice.

Kings Beach
Caloundra

Wings

So many buildings pretend to look light by adding a light roof structure. Many fail, but this one seems to allude to the kite surfers who regularly ply the waterways it oversees.

Kings Beach
Caloundra

Kings Beach

The Kings beach parkland comprises a number of elements, including a road which is distinctly for motor vehicles. Beside it is a large sloping amphitheatre, with this structure providing a visual spine to the beach, separation from the road, and shade from the western sun.

Kings Beach
Caloundra

Gotcha

The fountains have a number of routines, but by far the most popular is the angled one at the perimeter! Kids can play in the water all day long when conditions are too rough to use the beach!

Kings Beach
Caloundra

Wet Park

The former Caloundra City Council provided a wonderful wet park for kids at King's Beach.

Guymer Bailey Architects
Kings Beach
Caloundra

Maitre de Mad Fish

At the Mad Fish Cafe at Kings Beach, the Maitre de is a maneater.

Kings Beach
Caloundra

Time To Go Home

The Surf Skis get a wash in fresh water before packing them away, as the last light disappears.

Alexandra Headland

Fish and Chips

A slow night at the Alex Fish and Chippery.

Alexandra Headland

QCWA Welcomes You

The Queensland Country Women's Association is by all accounts a friendly group, but the hall in Cooroy would do a secret men's society justice. Doesn't it just make you want to go inside and swap jam tart recipes?

Cooroy

Beach Houses

We'd all like beach houses to be brightly coloured like this pair, but the reality is that most are drab and uninteresting. The nice thing here is that the new house on the left has adopted much of the "traditional" detailing of the older neighbour, and there's nothing subtle about the their street presence either!

Alexandra Headlands

Pumping Yabbies

Yabbies are a small crustacean, similar to a shrimp, mostly living below the sand. A small hand pump is used to catch them, so they can be used live for bait.

Here a fisherman tries his luck, readying for the night.

Maroochy River
Maroochydore

Boat House

The sun sets beyond the boathouse, which means I really should get there a lot earlier if I want to get a picture of it with a bit of light on it. Nice arial roots from the mangroves though.

Maroochy River
Maroochydore

Magic Carpet Ride

And a final shot from the flying RIB's, because I couldn't resist a picture of what travelling in one is really like.

Dicky Beach
Caloundra

Dicky Beach

Dicky Beach was named after the ship the "S.S. Dicky" the wreck of which lies onshore, and depending on the stage of erosion is either completely covered by sand, or partially exposed as here.

I thought there was something poetic in all the rescue craft snuggled together in a wreck.

Dicky Beach is a few hundred yards north of Caloundra, just south of Currimundi Lake.

Caloundra.

Racing IRBs

Surf Lifesaving uses Inflatable Rescue Boats where ever possible to ensure a speedy and safe recovery of swimmers in trouble. It's winter now, and with the exception of one club in Australia (good on you Alexandra Headland!) all volunteer lifesaving organisations are on recess.

That means their Rigid Inflatable Craft are available for RACING!

This weekend the State IRB titles are on at Dicky Beach, with boats racing out to a bouy, picking up a "patient" dropping them at the beach, repeating the process before crossing a finish line.

Despite it being winter and the overcast conditions, water temperature is about 19° and air temperature in the mid twenties.

Dicky Beach

Norfolk Pine

Norfolk Island Pines are natives of Norfolk Island, but some time a hundred years ago or more, someone decided that they'd make a perfect Australian beach tree, and so they became part of our beach vernacular.

They are quite large, iconic trees, but pale into insignificance beside some of our man-made icons!

Pt Cartwright

Flower of unknown origin

Perhaps someone with more knowledge of botany can assist in identifying this flower. I believe it is an Australian native, if not it's done a remarkable job of cropping up in the scrub.

This one was growing in a heavily shaded piece of bushland, and was kind enough to have it's flower in the only bit of direct sunlight for hundreds of yards.

Pt Cartwright

Jet Pilot

When I last looked, real jets had bigger wings. The pilot was no doubt in the surf below, catching the last wave of the evening. The view is facing North East, and no that's not where the sun sets in the Southern Hemisphere!

Pt Cartwright

Surreal

Minutes before the sun goes down, the beach glows orange, and the water seems to turn fluorescent.

Then in an instant it's gone.

Pt Cartwright

Frangipani

This frangipani is the only deciduous tree we have in our garden. The yellow, dying leaves somewhat symbolically catch the last rays of the afternoon sun.

Mountain Creek

Footprints

The only thing you should leave behind are your footprints.
The early morning light highlights the footprints left behind the day before.

Posting this picture today is a little ironic, as we've had 160mm (that's over six inches) of rain overnight and we'll probably get another four today, so it's safe to say that there even aren't any footprints left today. Not much beach either!

Mooloolah River

Mountain Creek

Alex Convenience Store

It is there somewhere! This one is probably worth the effort of clicking on the picture to see a bigger version.

See the sign that says "Alex Bar and Grille"? Well the convenience store is sort of to the left a bit and behind a car.

Perhaps I'm cheating by not showing it in all its glory, but really it's all a bit boring, our local shop, devoid of character, no cigarette advertisements (illegal here, as is displaying lots of them for sale), but the sunset gives it a bit of a lift don't you think?


Alexandra Headlands

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