Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #176




Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Patterns in Nature
A Brown Kurrajong leaf, half in sunlight showing the veins
Another Brown Kurrajong leaf a bit worse for wear
When the log was a tree, insects burrowed under the bark and chewed their was along creating patterns
A close-up of the trails
Jo’s Monday Walk
Not done a walk yet for Jo, but yesterday I did have a roam around South Grafton waiting for my car air-conditioning to be serviced. I guessed it was about time as I hadn’t had the cars air conditioner touched since I bought my ute in 2007. It does get a good work out in Summer living here.
I dropped the car off and headed off to a nearby cafe for a coffee and to think about where to go for the morning while waiting. The cafe I was in was one I used to part own many years ago. One event that we put on was a Music Cafe on a Friday night. Local musicians would put their name on a blackboard, younger readers can ask their parents, and the food was a set small menu so it was affordable and fun for us too. It is good to see the new owner bring the Music Cafe back.
I walked up the road to the river to see if there was any water action happening. Above me I could hear this bit of soft chatter. Looking up I saw two Little Corellas sitting very close, warming in the morning sun. It is a pity one turned around as they looked a sweet couple together in the tree. Little Corellas are typical parrots and will partner for life.
This is looking upstream at Susan Island in the middle of the Clarence River. I have been on Susan Island but only allowed a short distance from the end you can see, into the islands vegetation. Most of the island is a Womans Place. One thing I do know is there is a very old fig tree which is known as the Birthing Tree.
Heading to the bridge, I walked over the eastern side to see how the new bridge looks from this side. There wasn’t as much traffic as I would have thought for the time of day. The old bridge was a constant rumble over head.
I considered crossing the bridge but then decided that I haven’t really looked around this side of town. I headed down to the railway station. The Grafton Bridge is rather unique as it is a double deck bridge. The lower level is where the train line runs and the upper deck is the road. The walkways are level with the train line.
A sorry thing is that there has been a demise of rail networks throughout the whole of Australia. This is at the side of the station where busses park. These busses take passengers to where the track no longer is usable or has been removed. Some have become rail trails. The bus looks like it has taken a bit of a hit. Good on the repair shop having an almost matching colour duct tape.
While I was there I asked what time the next train was due. It was forty minutes and I didn’t feel like hanging around. The station has been modernised and no longer has that charm I remember.
I had to walk back the way I came as the road I would have to cross is very busy and is only for the very brave or foolish. Anyway there was a few things I spotted walking back that I didn’t really notice before. How could I miss a bit of my favourites – rust.
I can’t help myself getting a perspective photo when I am on the bridge
I had to walk under the bridge and there has been a bit of street art around. I liked this one
This one made me laugh
This more than a photo fetish – perspective and rust, there is a story. Remember that the train was going to be a long time coming. In order to get this I had to reach above my head and try to get it right. My camera has a flip screen that can rotate 360 degrees. The original photo was crooked I have straightened it as I could hear the train coming.
I had no chance but to just shoot without doing anything else. As you can see I had to lighten the photo otherwise the train was too dark. I am lucky I was at the start of the walkway and didn’t have any pillars in front of me
So here’s one for our resident trainspotter Martin at Images from Finchley.
I guess this is the 2014 from Casino to Sydney XPT
On the way back I went through a little kids park. That’s over at Terri’s Sunday Stills if you want to have a look. All looked quite in the fire station. They had a big training exercise on the weekend. That’s why the hoses are hanging out to dry.
Of course I spot the wildlife no matter where I am. I used to watch the Square-tailed Kites hunt around town. My office was on the riverbank in Grafton with a view over the river. That’s right, it was hard to take. They sometimes work in pairs and swoop the bridge, scattering the hundreds of pigeons that sit there all day and night, and then dive into the confused flock of pigeons.
This is one of the Councils garden beds they have on the roadside at the entrance to the bridge from the south side.
While I was taking photos tramping around in the garden bed, my phone ran to say my car was ready. Thanks for coming a long.
Terri’s Sunday Stills: Appreciating our #Pets and #Playgrounds
It was serendipitous that yesterday I was walking about and went down to a wonderful kids playground in South Grafton. It was early in the morning so there wasn’t any one about so I could take photos and not be seen as some weird old bloke hanging around a kids playground taking photos 😂 Once a car parked I just went off else where. If you want to see where else I went, pop into my Monday Walk. The park has a Pirate theme
These spring loaded whatevers seem so crazy when you get some kids on them. Here is a Seahorse
A bewildered but happy fish
There are also musical instruments to play. There wasn’t a stick around. As it was one of the neighbourhood dogs kept barking every time I moved. Playing a tune would have driven the dog crazy
I did have a soft thump on the drums
The front of the Pirate Ship and up the ladder
and down the other side
The stern was a climbing paradise
Pets bit. I guess there has been a few around but not many photos or they were taken on an older camera or photos lost in an old computers demise. When one of the last cats was getting old I said no more cats as they are so bad in the bush. One night a tiny baby kitten arrived much to my dismay. My eldest daughter bottle fed it so there was no way that black cat was going anywhere.
Benny, named after Benny the Ball on Top Cat, younger readers ask their parents, as he had a big round head and small ears. My fears were well founded as Benny became a very big cat, I called him the Jackadgery Panther, and was a killing machine. He used to hide in the garden and when the youngest was out playing, he would pounce from the bushes and chase her around the yard. Even local dogs were scared of him. I saw him chase the German Shepherd and a Kelpie up our drive and out the fence, walking back smugly.
It was ironic that the person who had a love/hate relationship with the cat was the only one left at home to become responsible for care and feeding.
After Benny finally had to be put to sleep at a grand age, the lizards and skinks have tails, small birds are in the garden and small mammals are happy to enjoy the garden too.
He used to drag that dog/bear toy all around the house. It would turn up anywhere. Benny used to look embarrassed when caught with the toy
Clares Share your Desktop – May 2023
I have been looking at some of the older abstracts I have in my folders. This one is from 2017 before I started out on what I am creating now and is just the original photo as taken.
Reflections on a wet road at night
Lens-Artists Challenge #249: Art in the Park (and other places)
A few bits and pieces from a recent trip to my daughters place in Toowoomba in Queensland
This face is just one of many in a group. Maybe they represent local identities
A bit of fun in the park. Maybe he could stick his head through a hole
Some of the street art is rather large
Toowoomba has a Japanese connection
“A formal sister city agreement between Toowoomba and Takatsuki was officially established on November 13, 1991. The Declaration of Friendship agrees to deepen the relationship through mutually beneficial exchanges in the educational, cultural, sporting and commercial arenas.”
There is a Japanese Botanical Garden that has featured in past posts.
And some of the street art is rather small
Many sculptures are scattered throughout the city. In one section of a park is a First Nations exhibition area. The local people have made some fabulous sculptures.
There is also more modern pieces. Toowoomba has a floral festival every year and these flower sculptures are dotted around Civic Park.
A memorial for “Puppy”, the mascot for the Toowoomba Thistle Pipe Band from 1948 to 1958
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