Whale walk

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Looking for whales...

I left home before 8am
trying to beat
the school holiday walkers
and the sweaty joggers
on the coastal track
but they had the same idea...

however by the time
I had walked out to Dolphin Point
the crowd had thinned
the day had warmed


See that tiny yacht out there
he knows something
we do not....

can you see it
a faint spout

at least I can now say
I have seen my first whales

walking back
facing the North Shore

I could see
trails of smoke

the night before
returning from the wallum
I noticed this blaze



(as an aside,
those houses
you can see on the river
are found on the back
of the island
where I live)










and hoped it was
a controlled burn

from the river level
near home
it feels closer
but confined to bush scrub
and across the river

back on the whale walk
leaving the coastal path
I decide to detour

through a stretch
of eucalyptus forest
hoping for some surprise birdies
but all was quiet

until I entered the rainforest

and way up there
I heard the eerie cry
of the shy cat bird
who meows
like this,
almost a baby cry










wikimedia commons




the catbird
ailuroedus crassirostris
rarely leaves the safety
of the tall rainforest

and I heard the whip birds
high overhead
whipping and snapping

but I cannot see them
today
and my neck is starting to feel
a little knotted...




so I will be content
with a glimpse of whales
and a glorious spring walk...






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Skies

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Skies

Leopard Tree Sky

Here is the deepest secret
nobody knows

Eucalyptus Sky




here is the root of the root
and the bud of the bud

Bougainvillea Sky




and the sky
of the sky

Fig Tree Sky




of a tree called life
which grows








Poinciana Tree Sky




higher than the soul can hope
or mind can hide

Jacaranda Tree Sky

and this is the wonder

Hurricane Palm Sky

that's keeping the stars apart

Gum Nut Sky

By ee cummings







*

Wren Walk

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A Wren Walk in the Wallum

My Wallum walking friend and I
decide to take some wallum loops
today for a change
and walk through the Eucalpytus forest
before returning to the Wallum












As we enter
the wallum bird corner
a little tweeting alerts us













A Superb Blue Wren
flashes through
the low woody growth
and then another
and another...


The female wren is all brown
and would stay still long enough
for me to
capture her












She is tiny
a mere 14cm in total
6cm of which is tail
so only about 3" long

wikimedia commons




The male Superb Blue Wren
was too elusive for me
so I have borrowed
these superb images
to match the bird

wikimedia commons




The wrens aren't wonderful fliers
they keep to the woodland scrub
nesting near the ground
living in family groups

wikimedia commons

Their diet is mainly insects
and they have a sweet little trill
Listen here for:

song 1 males


song 2 family group


song 3 feeding young

After our excitement
at sighting the little wrens
which are considered rare
we walk on
under the wallum skies

noticing the clouds above
speeding across the blue

while the clouds
show it is windy way above
down below
in the Wallum
in windless still we walk
our footfalls silent
in the silver sand

Banksia wallum skies

we are about to exit the wallum
at Sunshine Beach

by these lilies

in a beachside garden...












Oh windy
and wonderful of days...







*

Notes from My Children

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Notes from my Children...

I have some priceless treasures
in my possession
More valuable than diamonds
more precious than works of art
They are the Love Letters
written just for me,
the notes from my children...











I will translate:

Dear Mum
I love you
and I give you
a big kiss

One day
my Mum was so nice to me
I said thank you
to my Mum

Sorry for being naughty
and I have drawn this picture
for you
because I love you...













Treasure






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Lilly Pilly Walk

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Lilly Pilly Walking
along the river...

The grevillea are now finishing
their flowering
and taking their place
are the Lilly Pillies

One of the most popular plants
in Australia today

the evergreen rainforest plants
have glossy green leaves
often with flushes of colourful new growth
from pink to reddish brown
in colour












The Lilly Pillies flower
in spring or early summer

fluffy white flowers mainly
but the ones I have seen
are red - Powderpuff
Lilly Pilly Wilsonii











and a soft pink variety

The flowers are followed by berries
in red, purple or white

I stopped along the river
to look closely at the pink species

which was being looked at very closely
by another species altogether...


(these bee shots are worthy of enlarging - click!)

hundreds of bees
were enjoying the fresh pollen

of this pretty flowering shrub
which is sometimes called
an Australian Cherry tree

the Lilly Pilly




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