Walking along the River

One early morning

I opted for a change of walk venue

taking the riverside path

opposite my home

The Noosa River

a sedate old lady

makes her way to the river mouth

and ocean

the mighty Pacific

weaving its way down from the Lakes

Cootharaba, Cooroibah

Como and Cooloola

originating in the Great Sandy National park

in the Wahpoonga Range

Loggers floated their booty

down her flanks in the 1860s

Richard Branson purchased 

her island Makepeace

near Tewantin township in 2003
A small 9 hectare heart shaped island
originally called Pig Island
as pigs were once quarantined there
You can stay the night
in luxury for only $9000.00
without the pigs...

Though they grow well, the coconuts

that sway and rustle 
along her shores never bear fruit

the climate not warm enough

The white cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets

have left their roosts for the day

thousands upon thousands of them

rising circling screeching

except for a few stragglers

high in the gums

leaving the trees for the mourning doves

the fig birds and the noisy miners

The river is a place for meeting

for families and friends

for fun and water activities

for relaxing and cooling

the Illawarra flame tree

Brachychiton acerifolious

a kurrajong - a genus of about 30 species

drops its leaves in early summer

and flaunts her beauty

of tiny bell shaped flowers

which sprinkle the lawns and sand below

like hundreds and thousands

maybe you know them as non pareils 

or sprinkles

that cover a child's sandwich treat

called fairy bread

The name Kurrajong means fishing line

the tree's bark was used by the Aborigine

to make fishing lines 

the early morning sunshine

is like the Dreamtime 

like the rainbow serpent

conjuring elements and images

form and shape

from another world

a world of water and light

and colour
and even perfume...

An Old Jetty

An old jetty

is a fine place to stop

and rest

watch the changing patterns 

of the sunlight and ripples

 on the riverbed

beside the mangroves

and enjoy the fishing antics

of a pelican pair

Blessed be solitude

Crab Walk

*

Crab walking...

I took myself
down to the river
for my daily constitutional
to tease out
those tricky little tendons
and ligaments
around my ankle

and came across
a young man loading
many crates
of these red-orange beauties
into his van

only a few crabbing boats
and prawn trawlers
come into the river
the bar is too shallow and dangerous
to foster a fishing industry base
on the river foreshore

these are Spanner Crabs,
which are found
on the east and West coasts
of Australia,

with the scientific name
of Ranina Ranina







Photo from rawfish.com.au




they take their name from their first legs
which are spanner (wrench) shaped
while the others are flattened
and have numerous short bristles


Unlike other crabs
who move sideways
the Spanner Crab
moves forwards and backwards

The crabs are found in sandy bays
in intertidal waters
to a depth of 100 metres
They eat worms, fish, crustacea,
molluscs and sea urchins
and are often found where there is prawn fishery
suggesting that they also eat the discards
from the trawl as part of their diet

Turtles in turn feed on Sand Crabs

Most crabs are exported
to East Asia, particularly Taiwan
They weigh 900gms
and the carapace measures 150mm

The pigeons
have also got food on the brain

and battle
with a large crust of bread

I wander on
looking at the colours
of the hire boats
at this time of day

and thinking of crab

and my stroll ends at the red
of the giant Terminalia Tree
which are found
all around the shores
of the islands of Hawaii





and I still think of crab...





Photo from spannercrabsnoosa.com



This is the lovely couple
who have the spanner crab stall
at the Farmers' Market




Crab Stuffed Avocado Salad

Ingredients:


3/4 lb (340 g) lump crabmeat, or cooked shrimp, chopped if large
1/4 cup (60 ml) mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp (22 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh Italian parsley, tarragon or dill
Salt and pepper to taste
6 oz (165 g) mixed salad greens
1/2 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
Lemon wedges
Drizzle of olive oil
2 large firm, ripe avocados



Method:


Pick through the crabmeat for cartilage, setting aside a few legs to garnish the plates.

Gently fold together the crabmeat (or shrimp), mayonnaise, lemon juice and parsley.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Distribute the salad greens among dinner plates and top with the cucumber slices.
Drizzle some lemon juice over the greens, then drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits, then carefully remove the peel.
Place a half avocado on each bed of greens and pile crab salad in each cavity.

Garnish the plates with the reserved crab legs.




Delicious




*

A Hidey Hole

*

As part of my rehabilitation
I have taken to walking
along the Noosa River foreshore
in the late afternoon
just before sunset

Sometimes I walk alone
other times with my walk buddy










There are many birds
to be seen
along the way
especially the vast flocks
of rainbow lorikeets
that come into the gum trees
to roost for the night

as we walked past this
old gum tree
I spied a pair of rainbow lorikeets
sitting on a ledge
made from a sawn off tree
in front of the gum
and only
a metre from the ground

as I approached they turned
and scooted
inside the tree
a secret hidey hole

so I peered inside
and could only see
the green tail feather
of one lorikeet,
can you see it
right at the back...

at that time my friend
unbeknown to me
knocked on the tree trunk
and whoosh
they flew past me
at the speed of light
and all I saw
was green feathers...

they alighted
in an adjacent gumtree
and complained bitterly
of their plight

and watched us
as we watched them

until we left them
to move back home

and saw the sentry guards
at T boat hire

looking very officious

the jet skis
have been put to bed for the night
under their blue blankets
as the sun
is now falling fast

and we join the others
on the foreshore
to watch
the day
slip into dusk





*


Post script



On the Road Again...







late yesterday
I met up with the plover family
when a neighbour and her dog
split the family unintentionally









and this little fellow
appeared frightened
and
disoriented









but was rescued
and cuddled
by Dad





Today
I have only seen
one parent
and hope
the others are resting
somewhere safe...





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