Rose - mere

Just back from what I can only describe as an amazing day in the country. Our destination was Rose - mere where a group of us had volunteered to help the wonderful Laurel prune some of her roses. There are hundreds of them, in between nasturtiums, buddleias, stephanotis, bougeanvillea and lots lots more. A gargantuan task that Laurel meets every day with her good humour, positive spin and kindness, but on this day it was in the company of some imperfect but oh so eager pruners who armed with secateurs and some gloves launched into some of the bushes. I lost my hat, got tangled in the branches, got stuck by their thorns, had to extricate others from their thorn prison and generally spent many pleasant hours chopping, gathering  and getting rid of the cut off rose branches. Did we achieve much - maybe a tenth of the overall garden but we laughed in between learning, we sweated and smelt the sweet scent of heavenly roses. 

We finished up with a lovely picnic lunch under an enormous tree and Laurel noted we were lucky nothing had fallen on us today. The expression dragged through a bush backwards resonates to sum up our dishevelled but happy faces. 

A kitchen table with not one but three vases of scented and beautiful roses and a couple of pot plants. What every kitchen table should look like. 

Back at the Radio Station

This week was the first week I was back at the Radio Station. 4RPH is the only Reading Radio station in Brisbane. There are similar Reading Radio Stations all over Australia and they are largely community run radio stations.

Elaborate but necessary regulations were in place to register digitally, wipe down the benches and cover the mikes with replaceable and washable tops. All reading had to be done from tablets.The end to all paper subscriptions. A good thing. I was there with a lovely colleague and we have been doing the morning shift for a fair while but this morning we were finding it difficult to find our place or more accurately keep it from disappearing before our very eyes as wandering fingers triggered full screens or no screens, half the text or a shaded one. There were some long pauses, some bloopers, a few hiccups but we managed it and had a good laugh at the end - my mother used to say learning and unlearning are next to one another. Well we have some learning to redo but it was good to be back there.

I had a choice going home. I could take the bus. I was equipped with mask and sanitiser if needed.

Or I could walk. I chose to walk in the sunshine. And on the way a bounty of the most amazing bromeliads and crazy coloured plants, pools of water nestled in their centres nurturing their very existence. 

 Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe and don't drop your guard. 

North Stradbroke Island - Part 2. The beaches and the lakes.

There was so much to see - so many parts of the island to explore!

Driving on Main Beach watching the oyster catchers pulling out the cockles from the sand.Walking in the sand dunes and finding interesting prints which made us wonder what animal made them. Beautiful shells and sun bleached wood, fishermen fishing and miles and miles of uninterrupted views. Waves crashing on a white sandy beach that squeaked when we walked on it.

Goanna perhaps ? 

The oyster catchers, always in pairs, feasting on the cockle shells. They were so efficient at pulling them out from the sand and opening them with their beaks. 

We visited the two lakes, The Blue Lake, Karboora a sacred sight for Aboriginals, and Brown Lake, Bummiera and we remembered our first visit to the island a number of years ago when we could not see them as 2/3rds of the island had been ravaged by forest fires. Now the grass trees and banksias are back in force, the forest is wonderfully diverse with broad leaf tea trees, many types of eucalypts and colourful banksias. It was full of birds and bird song.It is only the second time in Queensland that we spotted glossy black cockatoos.  We walked to the Blue Lake and then continued in the National Park which was a round trip of some 8.5 kms. Magical views and a forest bursting with life. 

Banksias everywhere. 

The unmistakable and amazing Grass Trees which take 20 years to sprout above the ground and then produce these flowering stalks. We found one with a distinct bend to it and we wondered how that happened. 

The views from the top of Neembeeba Lookout looking back onto the south island and mainland.

Brown Lake was more easily accessible and is a perched lake you can swim in. A totally serene setting. While we did not swim we enjoyed a picnic on the sandy beach and a walk to explore the many birds in the area. 

 

Finally onto to Amity Point, a great fishing and camping spot where the sand is red and the sea turns golden. We saw a lot of fishermen catching bonito, a type of tuna, and were amused to see these two waiting for their lunch. 

A short ferry ride but a world away- North Stradbroke Island -Part 1

North Stradbroke Island is a short ferry ride from the mainland but the island is a world away from the city and has so much to offer. The wintry sunshine warms us all as we set off to rediscover the island. Straddie as it is called is home to the Quandamooka people. It is the second largest sand island in the world and was named after The Earl of Stradbroke the father of Captain Rous who first sailed into Moreton Bay in 1827.

We have visited several times but this time was quite special, not only because it was our first outing in Corona Times but because we were also accompanied by our two sons who I have not seen since January. We could not believe the wildlife we came across but we all agreed that our top moment was this encounter with mum and bub as she was searching for some fresh eucalyptus leaves. 

We saw four koalas - two on the first day and this mum and babe on our last day - but that is not all, though I have little to show. Kangaroos bounced along or took siestas under the trees.  The whales breaching and beating their tails in the water were plentiful as were the schools of dolphins frolicking around. The Fish eagle sitting and waiting for a tasty morsel of fish. 

The bird life was nothing short of sensational and as we walked in North Gorge we listened to calls and song which competed with the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. Fryer birds, fig birds, ospreys, drongos, butcher birds, kookaburras, honey eaters, cat birds, oh the list is long.Best sighting of all were the glossy black cockatoos in the National Park.

The sunsets captured the serenity and beauty of this setting. 

More on the beaches and lakes in Part 2. 

Camellias and Aspasia

A morning in the Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot Tha introduced me to the extraordinary qualities of camellias, their colours, varieties and sports – yes, nothing to do with kicking a ball or exercising. This is a new word in my lexicon to denote mutations of a patterned camellia which are genetically unstable. 

Camellias are revered flowers in Asia - that is where they come from. Introduced to the west in the 1500s by Portuguese traders but in Australia not till the early 1800s - the Macarthurs, John and Elizabeth had a lot to do with their introduction but it was their son William, a botanist who really got involved with the growing and cultivation of camellias in Camden Park in Sydney. Most of us know of the Japonicas, with broad leaves and beautiful formal double flowers, the lesser-known Sasanqua variety produce smaller but more prolific flowers and bloom for longer. We ALL know camellia sinensis because we drink it every day - it is of course tea. Here are but a few -

The Camellias are blooming at the moment in the Botanic Gardens so if you get a chance go for a walk. Enjoy bushes which show more then one colour of flower, look at the beauty of the anthers and stamens on the big flowers, admire the very delicate scent of some of the smaller flowers, as they are rarely scented. For me the best part of this morning was making the acquaintance of Aspasia Macarthur. It is the first significant Australian camellia and one of the most enduring.

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This immediately spiked my curiosity. It’s a Greek name and one of my nieces is called Aspasia. I wondered who in the Macarthur family was called Aspasia but it turns out that William loved Greek History and Mythology and named a lot of his flowers after ancient Greek goddesses and characters. Aspasia is the first Australian camellia and in later years was combined with the name Macarthur to differentiate it from a European Aspasia. So this blog is dedicated to my niece Aspasia, her namesake camellia and the Ancient Greek world to remind us of the beauty they bring to the world. 

Mangrove Madrigal

Sunday's outing was to a favourite destination. Nudgee - that corner of the coastline which is half river, a lot of mangrove and a favourite with birds. It is an area of tidal flats, mangroves, salt marshes and grass lands as well as some forest trees. There were very few birds on this visit. There is always a lot to see so we enjoyed the boardwalk and the views. We kept hearing one bird in particular. Finally we were able to get a good view and a good listen to this brown honey eater. 

The day was drawing to a close but not without giving us a spectacular sky to go home to.