Monday, May 30, 2011

The Basin Track

Lambertia formosa IMG_4508
Lambertia formosa

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Acacia suaveolens

Female casuarina IMG_4525
Female casuarina against the sky

E.haemastoma IMG_4580
Scribbly gum, E. haemastoma

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An unidentified flower

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An unidentified flower

Despite the rain, or perhaps because of it, the colours seemed very true for these flowers. The mountain devils were a rare and striking red amidst their soft grey foliage. Coming up the path, the first flower I noticed was a Banksia spinulosa with its lovely black stigmas edging the bright orange of the flower and then the somewhat bedraggled Acacia suaveolens with the rhythm of its phyllodes against the soft white flower heads. Photographing it, you notice that the smooth edges of the phyllodes are translucent.

The red and grey spider flowers (Grevilleas) were flowering and the grey spider flower was striking with its flowers atop its stalks, and there was a hakea, common as dirt, no doubt, but flowering too with tiny flowers all along its stems and huge woody knobbly seed heads.

I put in the photo of the scribbly gum because of the beautiful red of its stalks. It too, was flowering. In the rain, its flowers always remind me of Little Ragged Blossom.

Not surprisingly, I saw two flowers I had never seen before. Never seen before, since in both cases the flower was little more than a simple continuation of the foliage, itself largely unremarkable. And I am assuming I had never seen the reddish one before, since I have probably walked on by thinking that the plant was entirely dead or burnt since the entire plant was orange. So easy to pass by and assume familiarity. And equally easy, in my ignorance, to assume that I have never seen it before as I did with a Boronia which had turned to seed.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Working

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My desk in Anne's office. I look out to the rock-face and Cliff street is three storeys above, but we are at street level on the other side.

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Rice-paper plant in flower at the top of the Whale Beach steps. I see this plant when I walk to the bus-stop to go to Anne's office in Milsons Point.

But the journey by bus takes forever, and the walk to the bus-stop is over a kilometre, and my pack is heavy. I am not sure how to do this, nor how sustainable it is. I need human company and I am struggling to work at home. Palm Beach currently seems incredibly difficult.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tony Abbott













"America's Climate Choices" from National Academies Press.

I should be sending this to Tony Abbott. Perhaps he might get serious about climate change.

Blue

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Colvillea racemosa. In the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane.

Feeling blue. Need some work and more contact with people to drive me to do things.

Checking out some photos on Flickr, I came across this quote "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera" (Dorothea Lange). BrainyQuotes Which I think is spot on.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Still haikuing (& insect haikuing at that) & two books

Spiders' webs IMG_4019
Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach.

Myriads of nets
suspended from power lines
trap the wind-borne flies.

I have finally finished my two Blurb books on Bradshaw, and ordered them for Janie. I have shown them both, although they take up such a monstrous amount of space, as I wanted her to get a chance to see them.


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Submitted (sort of)

Grevillea IMG_3990
Grevillea and seedpods, Artarmon. (Toyota Service Centre.)

Posted three copies of the thesis to QUT today, by express post. With any luck, it should be submitted on the first day of work after Easter... The thesis was in glorious colour, but on paper that looked like loo paper. Anne had run out of paper and I tried to get something close to the same, but failed dismally.

So many things to be done around here and I keep forgetting to get them underway. But I have managed new specs, and today I was chasing my pink slip. However, with the "just-in-time" philosophy of the service centre, they were unable to service my damned car. So back again next week, but that will still be in time for my rego.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

lunch & close to submission

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Andrew heading back to the Starship on Saturday, having delivered us to Careel Bay Wharf, after a delicious lunch

Autumn afternoon IMG_3934
Sea at Palm Beach

Rock pool IMG_3933
Palm Beach Pool & Casuarinas

Turpentine IMG_3922
Turpentine on Whale Beach Road

Turn of the road IMG_3916
Turn of the road

Lovely lunch with Andrew and Vicky and Rachel on the Starship on Saturday.
And today, at midday, posted what is extremely close to being my final submission, to Kerrie. Came home and took a walk and a swim, and now am waiting to speak to Kerrie to find out what I must do next.

Tomorrow I expect to work on something which is not Ph.D. related.