Month: February 2012

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A surprise encounter

Like lots of people I have a love of Icecream and Chocolate but I also have a Love of Lighthouses; last weekend we spent time in Port Fairy here in Victoria and I got to see the one on Griffiths Island. 

Its been there since 1859 – and from 1929 until 1954 Hugh Haldane (see his picture below) was the last last resident lighthouse keeper living on the island making sure the light kept sailors safe from the rocky shore.

It takes about an hour to walk round the island so I was really pleased to see this sign

and a  glimpse of the lighthouse in the distance

When we arrived at the lighthouse I had a great time clicking away and then discovered that close to the lighthouse was an old wooden bench
Another favourite ‘love’ of mine lol
Photos of the lighthouse contain the bench!!

And funnily enough photos of the bench contain a lighthouse!!

And photos of the old wooden bench contained what else
But a view of The Ocean lolThere are more Watery Wednesdays to be seen here

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Weekend Away

We have just come home from a lovely weekend away with friends.  We popped down to Port Fairy which is in the south west of our state.

There I walked along the sandy beaches with no shoes on – talked to a dear friend I hadn’t seen for 12 months who as you can see enjoyed this peaceful time walking the beach and taking in the sea air as much as I didMuch to my delight I got to see a lighthouseWe saw swans we thought were rocks – till they lifted their heads.and a Marsh Wallaby who was totally unconcerned with us walking by whilst he cooled off in the water.

More to come another day

some of these photos are best viewed enlarged

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Block Arcade

I was on my hands and knees cleaning the floor tiles in our laundry the other week and remembered a day Dh and I had in the city shortly after the New Year in 2010.  
After we finshed our business we wandered around going nowhere in particular
and found ourselves in the Block Arcade
We have lots of these really quaint little shopping arcades in the city centre.
Built in the 1890s – supposedly so ladies could shop in comfort (and safety) away from the extremes of weather we tend to get in Melbourne. 
Very hot in summer and quite cold in winter.
Here you will find lots of little coffee shops and and rather expensive boutique type shops 
All very nice to look at – enter if you dare lol
Haighs Chocolates have a fabulous shop at one end of the Arcade
where they sell their very exclusive hand made chocolates 
(just for the looking at in my case lol)
Look at the price of these Quondong filled choccies
$109.00 a kilo (2.2lbs)!!
http://haighschocolates.com.au/our_stores/victoria/block_arcade.html
Look at the beautiful tiled floor below
How would you like to be the nightime cleaner here
Imagine having to keep that floor shiny and clean
Block Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in Melbourne Victoria.
Melbourne’s Golden Mile heritage walk runs through the arcade
It forms a short, narrow laneway, connecting Collins Street  to Little Collins Street in the central business district of Melbourne.
It is also connected to Elizabeth Street in the west, thus, forming a L-shaped arcade and connecting to Block Place through to the Royal Arcade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Arcade,_Melbourne
http://www.theblockarcade.com.au/
http://www.whitehat.com.au/melbourne/Places/Block.asp
To see more of Our World on a Tuesday
click here
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Window Dressing #4 Todays Flowers

This week I picked some unamed Roses
and the easy to grow Buddleja which have decided to rebloom
Now our weather has been so strange this year –
torrential rain storms some weeks – dry heatwave conditions other weeks
its a wonder anything has grown let alone flower again lol
So I tried photographing them this way – but the vases didn’t look right
The colours look too dark yet the camera flash ‘said’ there was enough light’
Trouble is if I ‘alter’ them they take on a very pale look
so here they are ‘as is’
  Tried the vases this way – still don’t look right
Maybe the stems are too long ?
Anyway my smiling curly tailed friend is happy with his new equally rotund friends
Did you know
Most flowers are lavender or purple, but they can vary in colour from white to pink to mauve.
The name Buddleia commemorates a botanist Adam Buddle,
 an early 18th century clergyman born in Lincolnshire.
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Horseshoe Bay near Bowen, Far North Queensland

Its become a tradition now we have finally retired that while we are physically able and also finacially able we spend the winter somewhere other than in the cold of Melbourne.  Not that there is anything wrong with Victoria in the cold of Winter – we just prefer to spend it somewhere else a little bit warmer:))

So we are just beginning to plan this year’s Winter trip.  All being well we are going back ‘up north’ to the warm and sunny climes of Far North Queensland, which is where you will find this tiny beach at Horseshoe Bay about 5 kms from the centre of Bowen which is the most northerly town in the Whitsunday region and where we make our base.                                

This is a special little beach that seems far away from it all yet is just a short drive from suburbia
From the carpark
This particular day we drove down there one afternon and were surprised to see no one there
Too hot, and I think they’d all gone back to their ‘vans to have a little snooze:))
 Looking to the left
And to the right
Below you will see what look like another rare view of the beach – almost empty lol
Taken on a cooler day when we took the walking track to the Rotary Lookout.
A good view of the safe shallow beach and the rocky area which is good for snorkelling.
Also a deceiving view as there were loads of people there –
‘cept they were all sensibly sitting under the overhang of the trees in the shade!!
Do you have any special memories of Watery Places with Watery Views?
There are more wonderful watery views to be seen at Watery Wednesday
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Window dressing #3 Todays Flowers

Tiny little daisies fill the vase this week
 mainly Erigeron (Seaside Daisy) and also some Brachyscome (break o’day)
Do you know the origin of the word daisy?
The origin of the word Daisy is the Anglo Saxon “daes eage” which literally mean “day’s eye”. It was called this because daisies open at dawn as the day just starts to begin.
A Daisy symbolizes innocence and purity. It can also symbolize new beginnings.
Did you notice Smiley with the curly tail has been joined by some new friends
The little one painted in black enamel is covered with daisies:))
Cats among the daisies lol
And here’s a closer look at these many petalled flowers
(Photos can be enlarged with a click)
I’ll give you a daisy a day dear,
I’ll give you a daisy a day,
I’ll love you until the rivers run still,
And the four winds we know blow a-way
Jud Strunk
1936 – 1981
 
Even more Flowers for Today can be found here
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