The Playground Redux

The little playground under the fig at Moffs has been renovated, using the same footprint, but the pirates and whales have gone and a surfboard climbing wall is back.

The kids all have a great time, but there are notably few places for their guardians to perch while they ostensibly oversee the goings on.  If that was deliberate to encourage cross generational participation it seems to be working.

Moffat Beach


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Walking to the Post Office

It's not the prettiest bridge in the world, but we forgive it because that little boardwalk underpass takes us to the Post Office, and the Bakery and the Doctor, oh and the beach, without having to cross the busy little road that connects us to Caloundra.

Dicky Beach, looking across the creek to Moffat Beach

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Friend or Foe 2.

 I have my friend Gerry to thank for this fine clump of what he calls "Coolum Library Grass" by our front path.   It looks lovely, but it's just a little voracious.  Those furry little flowers are actually seeds ready to fly off and strike a new clump wherever they land, and there don't appear to be any losses.    Perhaps I have inadvertently planted a monster!

Dicky Beach

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Friend or Foe?

The Golden Cane Palm  Dypsis lutescens comes from Madagascar and is sold as a potted plant or a neat little edge palm.  The trouble is that it grows, if you read the fine print to a fine little 12 metre high hedge, and it keeps on growing, sending out suckers in all directions until it becomes a thicket fit for hiding tigers.    Then it starts to drop fronds, just enough so that they don't fit in the wheelie bin at the end of the week.

Sigh, it looks good though.

Moffat Beach 

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By popular request

The station wagon in yesterday's photo was a 1966 "VC" Valiant made by Chrysler Australia.  It had a different body to the American Valiants, much smaller I think.   

This one had those cool stainless steel dust deflectors, which apparently allowed only the merest whiff of carbon monoxide into the cabin should one which to drive with the rear window down.   

Surplus stocks of these things went on to be sold as vegetable slicers I'm sure.

Moffat Beach

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Salt

There's something about a rusty station wagon, windows coated with the grease of the sea, and a surfboard lying on a sleeping bag, that brings back fond memories of the good old days, when my hair was much longer and a few shades lighter, or to be accurate, when hair grew from my head.

Moffat Beach

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Night Shopping

We're in a strange nowhere time of year at the moment, the holiday crowds are still here, and everyone else is back at work, so the roads are a bit busy.

Even though most shops are open on a Thursday evening till eight, by seven the traffic is light and there's this weird aura of impending evening in front of the television.  Does that sky look balmy?  Try twenty nine degrees in the evening's cool!

Thankfully I was able to buy another thousand nails ready for a new day of banging them in.

Kawana

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A long weight.

I should be grateful I suppose that I can cross the line in the rain without getting wet, presuming all the while that I was in the stairwell when the rain started, and will leave the other stairwell after it stops, for there is a bit of an odd sprint to the next bit of shelter.

This is symptomatic of Queensland Rail I'm afraid.  A company which spent several decades planning and building a new line only to find when it opened it, that it had forgotten to hire the three hundred new drivers it would need to service the line.

I shouldn't complain, at the speed at which our trains travel, our fares are probably the most competitive in the world in terms of dollars per hour spent aboard.   In days of old the railway workshops used to initiate young apprentices by sending them to the stores for a "long weight (wait)", now they just give them a ticket to somewhere.

Landsborough.


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The romance of steam.

Landsborough station harks back to a time when things moved at a slower pace, when trains were powered by coal which sent romantic wafts of searing steam into one's ankles as they passed, and spat cinders in one's eyes and choofed and puffed and kept one awake at night.

Ahh for the good old days.

We are still there in a sense, with a rail system that finds getting out of bed in the morning something of a challenge, and running consistently on time something of an anathema.

That's not poorly exposed shade beyond that window, it's the black hole into which timetables disappear.

Landsborough.
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Look very closely

If you are to see what you need to see, you will have to click on the photo to view it full size.  What looks like a flower with the stem growing through it is actually the red stamen of many small flowers, their small cream petals are just visible at the base of all that red.   

Down there in the heart of the flower, the black dots are ants feasting on the nectar, getting sticky from it, and carrying pollen as they go.

The true beauty of it all lies beneath that glitzy red exterior.  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Dicky Beach

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Beach

Actually it's not really a beach, it's a building quite near a beach,  but I suspect it wasn't quite tall enough to fit "Quite near the Beach" down the face of the lift shaft.

I've changed the colour a little because Maroochydore isn't quite up to the "white" thing that the rest of the coast is comfortable with, and we thought this would work better as a duvet cover in our guest bedroom.

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International Standards

I've been in those meetings, the ones where the designer proposes a neat cover over the pipe controls and the owner says he'll plant something in front of them and no one will notice them.

Usually we do.

Particularly when they must be painted according to international standards to signify they are carrying potable water.   Which begs the question - why does the little yellow label on the tap announce that it is not potable?

Surely it's not to stop passers-by having a quick refreshment on their way home from the beach?

Maroochydore.

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Dotty.

Spotted by a seagull?

Maroochydore

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Random street scene.

I suppose there is a certain third world charm that results when palm trees and power poles are juxtaposed.

Maroochydore

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A pox on them!

 

A marketing chap once told me (and I have reason to believe him) that branding is everything, that branding on wrappers spread the word subliminally to keep one's product at top of mind, even as litter.

I decided then that I would put off buying a product by a day for each branded wrapper I find on the street.   

My next hamburger purchase will be in January 3017.

A pox on them, their packaging, and all who fling it on the street!

Maroochydore.

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Drip

One drip a minute from the beach shower head, adds up to quite a lot of water wasted over a year, and quite a lot of cost to our Council.   That's probably why they don't do Christmas decorations!   To be fair, the beach showers are a great facility, no matter what the cost to residents.

Maroochydore.

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Sand Flats

Low tide at the mouth of the Maroochy River

Maroochydore

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Sub Tropical Getaway

It could be an island anywhere in the Pacific, but it's not.   Welcome to Cotton Tree at Maroochydore, at the edge of the caravan park, where the river meets the ocean.

Maroochydore


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Photo of the Year

Now this is becoming a bit odd.   I decided that I would select my photo of the year by "popular vote", simply by choosing the most visited post of the past twelve months.    Ironically perhaps, this shot of a lorikeet feasting in our callistemon tree was last year's photo of the year.   

I tossed up whether or not to use it, but I do quite like it, and if it gets enough views it may end up as the photo of the year next year too!

I hope you have a great year in 2017, and thank you for your continued support of both City Daily Photo and this site.  Don't forget to visit this link to see what many other City Daily Photo bloggers have chosen as their photo of the year.

Dicky Beach

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Happy new year!

Is it proper to wish everyone a happy new year on the eve of the new one?

I'm not sure, but I know that tomorrow's photo is also from our yard, although from the front not from the little bit of bush that's starting to appear at the rear of our place.   It's quite satisfying watching all this stuff grow from the tiny seedlings we planted a year ago, but now we are at the point where some serious gardening must begin!

Dicky Beach

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No rain, no lily

Rain Lilies (zephyranthes) can be tricked, I have discovered into flowering.   All it takes is a dry patch of weather, followed by a day or two of intense watering.

They will only be tricked once though.   I did post a photo of them in flower last year, you can find it here.

Dicky Beach

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The back yard.

It's early days yet, given that it was bare earth just a year ago, but if one hides under the passionfruit vine and squints a bit, one gets the feeling that the back yard is coming together.   It will be a very pleasant alternative to the beach in a year or two.

Actually it already is.

Dicky Beach

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Not really wanting to mix it with the crowds in all that heat and sunshine, we thought it would a be a perfect time to see how things are going in our own back yard.    

Clearly, the passion fruit vine is about to explode, which is very pleasing, since it was planted as a seedling just a year ago.

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Beach Holidays

No one is at work today in Australia, well that's not true, essential services are still available, things like ice-cream and wine and fish and chips.

Everyone is at the beach, which gives me an excuse to post this little part of a mosaic mural near the shops at Dicky Beach, which perfectly captures the essence of the beach.

Dicky Beach

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Chillin'

There's probably no one at the beach right now, because they are all hanging in their hammocks, lying in the shade, relaxing perhaps after a touch of over-indulgence at the dinner table yesterday.   Yes, it's one of those oddities of life, that despite temperatures hanging in the early thirties, we still mostly cling to that old British tradition of taking part in a monster baked lunch on Christmas Day.

Why do we do that?

Probably so we can do nothing on boxing day and feel quite good about it.   "Where are the people" you ask, "Surely if things were as crowded as you suggest, there'd be people in this shot - you didn't take it earlier did you?"

Umm.. you've got me there.   I did perhaps prepare this one a day or two ago, but I can say with confidence that the scene probably looks like this today, because, well, they'd all be at the Sales wouldn't they?

Cotton Tree
Maroochydore

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Have a Merry Christmas

Santa, presents, reindeer, snowflakes and a couple of Christmas trees (sans decoration), in a summer wonderland.  It's a bit difficult to find any symbol relating to the actual reason for the celebration, well there is star in the East when viewed from a certain direction, but it's all OK.  

This is Australia, where regardless of one's personal belief, it's still called Christmas, a time for Peace on Earth and good will among men (at Christmas it's OK to refer to the human race as "men" too).    

Here's wishing one and all a very Merry Christmas from the Sunshine Coast, where the chance of snow is about the same as the chance was of a reindeer landing on my roof last night!

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I hope he's not delayed!

If Santa arrives late at your house, you can blame the twilight markets in Caloundra and all their distractions.

Caloundra

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The calm before the storm.

In the caravan park at Cotton Tree, the early arrivals have their tents pitched, the decorations up, the kids are already at the beach.  Things seem nicely quiet and relaxed.  All that will change in just a few days of course, when for many our summer holiday period begins, and the population of the town and the caravan parks will explode!

Cotton Tree

Maroochydore

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Well done you!

 

A silent protest hangs in a window of a high rise apartment block - I'll bet the rules prohibit owners from "lighting up" for the season!

Disclosure: - for reasons that revolve somewhere between protracted absence from home and having the place in pieces renovating when we are there, we don't actually have anything in the way of decorations visible this year either.

Perhaps Council will give us some sort of award for conformity!

Maroochydore

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I found it!

It's been like a treasure hunt this past week, trying to find some sort of token seasonal decoration on behalf of the Council, but I kept persisting in the face of all odds and look what I found!

Yep!  For reasons that are not entirely explicable, other than perhaps it was left here from last year, or perhaps someone snuck it out in the dead of night, I found a banner that distinctly reads "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year", right there in Maroochydore.

I'm a big fan of minimilism (even if I can't spell it), but usually I make exceptions for Christmas decorations!

Maroochydore.

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Starburst!

 

Racing skis in lie their racks at the Dicky Beach Surf Club waiting for the holidays to begin.

Dicky Beach

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Lovely.

It's almost Christmas, so let me indulge in a small grumpy whinge.   In some countries (hi Denmark!) overhead electricity lines are not just frowned upon, they are banned outright.

How monotonous must the view of their sky be without something to break up the foreground?

Of most concern though; what happens to Christmas if Santa gets snagged on one of these things?

Dicky Beach

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Bunbabah Creek

How can I have lived here for so long and not known that the little creek that runs beside between the  Dicky Beach Surf Club and the Caravan Park has a name?

Dicky Beach

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Summer Shadows

It's the same old recurring theme; beach house, a bit of rust. a lot of texture and some shadow to make it all worth while, but its the pink 'feature' wall on the verandah that sells it for me.

Dicky Beach

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I can't let it go!

Christmas Ligths in Bulcock Street, Caloundra's main thoroughfare.  Apparently the Sunshine Coast attracts eight and a half million tourists each year, and it does that perfectly well without the need to spend a cent on silly things like creating a holiday atmosphere.  

If you have a tinsel allergy, this would be the best place in the world to do your Christmas shopping!

Caloundra

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Drifting

Watching the sun go down while being slowly swept out to sea.

There are less pleasant ways of meeting one's end.

Caloundra.

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Swanning about

Black Swans are just as happy eating chips as seagulls are.   They aren't terribly common around these parts, but every now and then one turns up and acts like a local.

Bulcock Beach

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Felicity Park

A week or so ago I promised I'd be back to see what they looked like after dark.

They look like this, and Council's Christmas Tree is quite splendid as well, albeit a little off the beaten path at this time of the evening.

Caloundra

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Lights!

Which came first the crowds or the lights?   I have whinged before about the absolute lack of effort that our Council makes when it comes to decorating for the Summer Holiday Season.

This is a nice try, and look, there's another one up the street!  Now if only there was something in between, perhaps the crowds would have reasons to gather!

Caloundra

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The problem with being at the beach at sunset.

The problem with being at the beach at sunset is that the photographs are just too pretty to discard.

Sigh.   Be prepared for a day or two of photographs with a lovely pink hue!

Bulcock Beach

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As the sun goes down.

The light is fast fading which may or may not be the best time to be trying one's luck, but it's certainly a great time to be simply drifting around watching the day come to its logical conclusion.

Bulcock Beach

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Transition

One week since this month's theme day photo, and the market in Bulcock Street is back sprawled over the full width of the street.

Those newly planted trees peeking over the tents will take a little while to reach the shade-giving proportions of their predecessors though.

Caloundra.
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Poffertjes

One doesn't need to fly to Holland for one's Sunday morning dose of Poffertjies, a wander up Bulcock Street will solve the problem.  I think that the art of turning them using a pair of skewers is one of the great culinary skills!

Caloundra

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The Cruise

Cruise liner poking its head round Moffat Headland just after sunset. Moffat Beach ©  Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

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When a simple graphic might be better.

Often, the more complex the description at communication the less clear it becomes.

How does one become the owner of a defecation one wonders.  One's mind boggles.  

Is this a not very subtle way of preventing political speech?

Caloundra.

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Sub-tropical response.

We are in the grip of the next heatwave of summer, temperatures are hitting forty plus in some parts of the state, but we are settling in to a more comfortable thirty-something.

Cheap air conditioning units like these are called "window rattlers" in the trade, but I shall give no hints as to why.

When all else fails, we can sit under a palm tree.

Caloundra

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Wheel of (mis)fortune!

It could be some sort of television word game.   If the "n" was actually locked on, perhaps it was picked.

Caloundra

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A really nice try at gardening.

Remember the days before artificial grass?   Some thought if you just painted concrete green they'd get away with it.

Not sure if they did, even with the visual distraction of the planted feature, but it's tidy enough and a good try.

Caloundra

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Pandanus as street planting.

Nice!   But the verge needs to be wide enough to cope with the aerial root mass.

Caloundra

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A Street in Transition

It's a bit of a challenge, holding a market in a street which has disappeared for half of its length, but the traders and customers all seem to be taking it in their stride.  I'm guessing that the work won't be finished in time for that all so important Christmas trade which will be quite a blow for the shops in the street which rely on that annual surge.

It's a street in transition, which is a not so subtle reference to today's City Daily Photo time theme day.  For lots of different interpretations of that theme check this link..

Bulcock Street
Caloundra

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