Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sparkling morning after rain

Sunlit at Southbank IMG_3064
Melaleuca along a Southbank `creek'

Leaves IMG_3056
The creek on Southbank

We have had several afternoons and nights of torrential thunderstorms. But the morning dawned bright and clear. The Brisbane River is in flood, that is, the water is moving extremely fast downstream and I expect that even the flood tide will have difficulty pushing up river today.

We rowed this morning and finally rowed as an eight. An interesting proposition: the boat rocks and sometimes it's extremely hard to keep your oar clear of the water despite being feathered as you go up to the catch. And when you don't get your oar in square when you push with your legs to pull on the oar, you shoot to the back of your seat long before the rower in front of you who is actually pulling against the water, while you are not. But I managed to be in time most of the time and to pull well on perhaps 2 out of 3 strokes.

The mornings when I row I miss breakfast at the college, and so I breakfast at Poppy's in Little Stanley Street and walk to QUT via Southbank and the Goodwill bridge. Everything was sparkling. Hence the photos.

Coming home, the river had rafts and rafts of vegetation floating down it and they were cancelling the ferries after dark.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Along the river

Mangroves, QUT IMG_2727
Mangroves at the QUT ferry pontoon

SouthBank IMG_2694
Southbank. Bougainvillea, weeping figs & palm trees

State Library IMG_2684
State Library from the river

GoMA IMG_2683
Gallery of Modern Art from the river

Poincianas IMG_2879
Poincianas on the building site. (Gallery of Modern Art behind.)

Cranes IMG_2889
Cranes


Pile driver IMG_2746
Two days earlier. Same site. Pile-driver (yellow) and two cranes.

They tell me Joh was responsible for the Cultural Centre and Southbank. I must think more kindly of him. It is a beautiful place and all Brisbane seems to flock there to barbecue, to picnic, to eat, to swim, to do cultural things and to just enjoy themselves. The people pour off the ferry at the Southbank stop and on again and it doesn't matter what hour of the day or night it is.

The ferry has to slow to a crawl between Regatta and North Quay so as not to disturb the building works on the river. I heard the yellow pile-driver first and then saw it. Amazing that they have built this way since at least the Bronze Age.
See
www.tv.com/time-team/vauxhall-london/episode/450351/summa...

The bridge being built is the Tank Street Bridge
Wikipedia
For the design see
Department of Public Works
I hope it doesn't clutter up the river..

Monday, November 10, 2008

Homeless

Backhousia Myrtifolia IMG_2636
Backhousia myrtifolia, at LonePine sanctuary

Gums at UQ Wharf IMG_2538
Gums at UQ Ferry Wharf, on a foggy morning

UQ Wharf IMG_2542
UQ Ferry Wharf

Ferry map IMG_2546
Ferry Map

Weekends are purgatory. I am without a home.
The river is always beautiful but it is not enough.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Cup day

Lorikeet & Flame tree IMG_2516trimmed
Against the light. Lorikeet feeding in a flame tree.

Banyan structure IMG_2432
Banyan near the Goodwill Bridge

Cup day and maths department party. Before the party I went to some good exhibitions at the QUT art gallery: William Robinson and some lithographs with lovely colour and feeling, and an exhibition called "Replant" where several artists were gathered together on the Daly River to draw, etch, paint, photograph plants.
Some lovely things of Fiona Hall, in particular, Green Ant Nest and Water lilies by Marita Sambono.

(I included the photo of the Banyan, because its structure reminded me of Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia.)

Monday, November 3, 2008

More chirpy

Pandanus IMG_2406
Pandanus. Gorge Walk, North Stradbroke Island.

Casuarinas IMG_2408
Casuarinas. Gorge Walk, North Stradbroke Island.

Pathway IMG_2426
Pathway. Gorge Walk, North Stradbroke Island.

Gorge Walk IMG_2423
Pathway. Gorge Walk, North Stradbroke Island.

On Sunday, I took myself off to Cleveland to get to Stradbroke Island. The train journey was long & tedious (nearly an hour, with the train stopping all stations), and by the time I found myself at the busstop, I was starting to wonder why I had come. But there was a sign at the busstop which gave a telephone number and advertised a free bus service to the Stradbroke flyer.

Well, the next departure for Stradbroke Island was in roughly an hour, but the bus came by and picked me up and it was a pleasant wait at the down-at-heel ferry service. It had already that island air where people busy themselves with island things and tourists are necessary nuisances. No information needs to be given: the locals know and the tourists will find out as the island time and processes take them in hand. (I'll go again, but probably not by train.)

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Blue

Jacaranda IMG_2216
Jacarandas

These are georgeous but I am pretty blue.