Snaps from a Canberra visit

We made a short visit to Canberra this time.  I have just realised that in fact its only 3 full days, plus parts of two others!  However we did what was needed.

For the last few months (since about May I think) there has been activity around the site of Floriade as the garden beds are sort of rebuilt.  I realise that whatever happened there would need to be some work done each year but the amount required to rebuild from scratch is an enormous waste of resources.  Until this visit it has just made the area of Commonwealth Park look messy.  Now however they are into serious erection of concentration camp fencing.  The red line in the map below shows the approximate position of the barricades.
The main problem with the way they have done this is that it completely blocks access to the footbridge over Parkes Way except for the path past the Archbishops Palace (see green line).  So we have had to give up our morning walks in that area. 

I suspect that as well as satisfying the ACT Government's innate desire for social control, this delays the opportunity for people to see how the proportion of the site devoted to floral displays is reduced each year while the number of concession tents increases.  The event is becoming a pop-up retail venture rather than a celebration of Spring!

On the subject of infrastructure I have been intrigued for some time about the appearance of frost around some garden beds below our apartment.  This trip I noticed that the white band was visible at times when there was NO possibility of frost.
 So I went down one evening to look.  To my surprise the whiteness was due to pools of light, rather than frozen water vapour.  However when I got back to the apartment I couldn't work out the source of the lighting.  Down I went again and on looking carefully realised the lights are built into the safety barriers around the garden beds!
As we can't do our normal morning walk we went for a walk in the ANBG one day.  It was very pleasant, apart from a good chunk of the lower gardens being a building site.  I wish they would spend more money of putting visible labels on plants rather than providing income to the building industry.  Here is the route we followed.

I was delighted to finally spot the Owlet-nightjar basking in the entrance to its hollow.
By the rock garden a collection of Gymaea Lilies were getting ready to flower.
Perhaps next visit.
A spiffy sunset, looking towards Black Mountain ..
.. and towards Mulligans Flat (ignoring the intervening Gunghastly).

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