The House(s) of Fran_mart

As the wind was unfierce for most of the morning we took the kayaks down for another pedal.  This time we went upstream to Mullet Creek.  I was feeling more confident this time so whipped out te phone to take a few photos.  This proves both kayaks were out there!  A relaxed Frances trotting along!  Nice real estate in the background. We got slightly bogged on an unexpected sandbar but were able to get off with no problems and toddled on, having a pleasant conversation with a couple of guys in paddle kayaks.  They thought our propulsion looked easier!  Apparently they are contemplating getting Outbacks. A few birds were seen, of which the best were 2 Caspian Terns . By the time we got back to the fishing jetty the wind had got up somewhat and buffeted my kayak just as I was completely off balance getting out of it.  A double gainer with pike into the water for me.  As it was quite warm and a good breeze blowing my strides were pre...

I said in a recent post that we had gone to Merimbula.  The reason for that is now resident in our garage. These are Hobie pedal kayaks, which we decided to buy to explore bits of the Inlet.  ' Some neighbours have bought clones of these which are a LOT cheaper but we decided that we wouldn't trust devices that have been reverse engineered under unknown quality control.  I'd hate to be out in the middle of the Inlet and find that the pedal mechanism has reached its use-by date.  There are paddles as back up but it would be a major grunt getting back with them. The purchase process turned out to be quite interesting.  There is a Hobie dealer in Merimbula but they hadn't run any demos recently so we spoke to the dealers in Canberra, who invited us to a demo on Lake Burley Griffin.  It then turned out they are both part of the same organisation and the guy who demonstrated to us us in Canberra was the one we dealt with in Merimbula. (When his name got m...

The Phloriade site still looks very like the detention camp site on Christmas Island.  On asking when the fences will go down I was told "Not for a while there is going to be a concert and they are keeping the fences up for that,  Probably after November 13th!" Hmmm  .... the only "concert" I can see in Commonwealth Park is the Spilt Milk rubbish on 23 November.  Presumably they will need the fencing for pill testing?  However that adds another 2 weeks to the period in which Canberrans will not be able to use a large proportion of this Park. As far as I can see, the only reason for not running Andrew Barr out of town on a rail is that the Leader of the Opposition is worse. Here is what the Floriade site looks like now.  At least someone is doing some work!  It is interesting that the huge Ferris Wheel packs down on to 3 very large trailers.  I wonder how much fuel gets used up lugging that around the country?  And what QC is employed...

11 members gathered at Gambles TSR on Sutton Rd where the coordinator had great trouble in counting same - not aided by one member walking across the  circle.   The entry to the Reserve is a bit tricky as the gateway is narrow and hard to see from a road with 100 kph speed limit.    Here is the route we followed. The Reserve is however well worth a visit.   While the understorey has been overgrazed in much of the Reserve there are many magnificent eucalypts which were proving good habitat for a wide range of bush birds. At one point we found a strange deposit in a hollow in the rocks.  Members with a long memory said this was an after effect of  something called "rain". As we set off early sightings included White-plumed, White-eared. White-naped and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters.  In the same family, but somewhat larger Red Wattlebirds and Noisy Friarbirds were seen and heard.  Also heard were several Rufous Whistlers ...

We arrived in Canberra just as Floroade was finishing for the year.  Unfortunately, in the same way that vampires rise again at nightfall if not well staked down, it will re-emerge from the crypt next year!  It will be interesting to see if Commonwealth Park is available again on our November visit or if the temporary fencing is still in place. On the subject of fencing there is still an interesting specimen at a memorial (possibly Merchant Navy) near the Carillon.  This has been there for at least 5 weeks and seems to be protecting workers cleaning up the memorial.  There were about 6 blokes there today and very busy so I don't know how it is taking them so long!  ( NOTE from the futur e: the fencing ad all gone by the morning of 18th.  There was still a security dweet there and one fundi-with-a-shovel attending to a tree, but basically the work was finished.) On the subject of workers this lot all seemed to be leaning on the railings of Commonwealth ...

We have been a tad short of nice sunsets in Mallacoota for a while (either too much cloud or too little) so it was good that Bunda St fired up well on the 13 th .  Looking out to the East there were some unusual stripey clouds, together with a rising full moon. After dark the high clouds gave a nice corona. Sunrise on the 14th wasn't too bad! Zooming in on the aircraft.  The sun finally appears. Its full moon time (no wonder I need a haircut).  I couldn't get a decent shot of the moon from our deck, so I took this out the window while sitting on a lounge. Not quite moonrise but a couple of interesting stormy evening scenes from 17 October.  First a squall moves across the City.  The sun disappears behind a cloud band.