Walking Through this Week....

It has been hot in Noosa

too hot to walk once the day warms up

so I ventured out one morning at 5.30am

walking from the beach

into the National park

on my well beaten track 

along the coastal cliffs

Only a handful of people

walked or ran 

so it was peaceful and cool

looking through the curtain

of Casuarina tassels

I was surprised to glimpse

sparkles of dew

A spongy moist fungi growth

on a tree trunk caught my eye

A baby brown snake 
lies on the track
this one left 
for the Great Rainbow Serpent 
in the sky

The Rainbow Serpent
is one of the great spirits of creation
who inhabits deep permanent waterholes
He descended from the dark streak
in the Milky Way

  Tobwabba Collective Art


and reveals himself as a rainbow
as he moves through water and rain
In Aboriginal legend
the Rainbow Serpent moved over 
the flat newly formed earth
creating deep valleys and rivers
nourishing the planet

the Macaranga flower that I showed you

a week or more ago

now looks like a medieval mace

the flower turned to seed

the sun creeping around the points 

along the walk

painted the rocks and grasses

in a different light to usual

the grasses glowed with rust and tarnish

the bright blue sky

held stark old trees in contrast

another blessed day has begun...

Walking Through the Week

The creeping crawling and climbing critters

are out and about

scampering, slithering and sunning

my walks along the coastal tracks

and over the hill through the forests

and banksia wallum 

don't seem complete without ~

a critter or two

this well camouflaged fellow

is a small frill neck lizard

keeping absolutely motionless

in the first picture 

you almost miss him in the twigs

look at the fine detail

in his suit of armour

without ~

a wildflower or bunch

I thought this butterfly

was a moth

until I learned that moths 

are mainly nocturnal

that they rest 

with their wings flat open

and they never ever have knobs

on the ends of their antennae

so those facts would determine

that this creature is a butterfly

see his long proboscis

sucking, straw-like,

the nectar from the flower

The flower

is a Long Podolepis

without ~ a splash of green 

today from the Livistona fan palm

in the rain forest

and without ~
an obliging bird 
even if that bird
is just a humble pied butcher bird
with a lovely trill...


camera critters

Sunday Walk

Today's Sunday walk

yielded, up close

one kookaburra

two goannas

 wikimedia commons

one Rufous fantail

and some fluffy ornamental grasses

On our return from Sunshine Beach

we followed a large goanna

a lace monitor

who seemed unaware of our presence

he swung his large bulky body

in a lumbering gait

rollicking from side to side

as his front right leg

plodded forward

his shoulders and top half of his body

swung to the left

and then to the opposite side

he only noticed us when we were quite close

and he stepped off the track into the bush

he has large ear holes

no ear auricle

and doesn't seem to hear very well

when I uploaded the images

I noticed the reason 

for his head swinging actions

he is using his long extended tongue

to detect, smell and taste the air particles

his forked tongue allows him to determine

what direction a scent is coming from

he can detect the scent of rotting carrion

from as far away as 9 km

that's about 6 miles

This lace monitor

is dark grey with numerous 

scattered cream spots

and black and cream bands on his tail

He was thought to be non venomous

and infections from bites 

due to the bacteria in his mouth

but it has been recently found 

that he is mildly venomous

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri 1932—21 June 2002 

The goanna features prominently 

in Aboriginal mythology and folklore

as well as in their art work and diet

He is considered a high risk 

but tasty meal...

From Sunshine Beach

Dull and cloudy but warm today

I left from Sunshine Beach village

and walked the high tide mark

until I reached the headland

then climbed up the dunes

and entered the windswept wallum

gnarly and bedraggled

but as I slipped over the high dunes 

I entered a sanctum

the path was wet and soft

from last night's rain

the roar of the ocean subsided

and the forest stood still

waiting

I too stood still and watched

looking above me

in the eucalypts and melaleucas

I see a native orchid flowering

and another

I observe the tangles

of interwoven branches

The hanging nest of leaves

which is a spider's web

It is silent

no birdsong

I wait 

and wait

like the web

stillness hangs in the air

so I move along

deeper into the bush

where the wallum is more protected

from the coastal winds

a tree of blossoming tiny white bellflowers

drops a carpet over the sandy track

and I take a path 

winding further into the forest 

still listening for birdsong

I hear wrens and sweet singing

and above the canopy

I hear the wail of the black cockatoo

crossing the little bridge 

I climb higher into banksia country

and stop to note the colours 

on the forest floor

the rust of old banksia flowers

and the greens of mossy growths

the texture of the knobbly banksia trunks

and begin to make my way into low wallum

where the banksias are more stunted varieties

mindful of anything buzzing

I know the march flies are out today

and they nip

I catch the silhouette 

of a tiny splendid blue wren

with a bug in his mouth

and listen to his family calling him

in such a gentle sweet song

near my exit I stop to look 

at the bent flower stem of the grass tree

as it begins to flower

attracting little native bees

to do their work

in this beautiful and tranquil environment 

Oh Peaceful Day...