Sunshine Returns

 And winter arrives with glorious weather. Minimums of 9C rising to 19 and 21C. Bliss.

The Gaiter Girls met at 6.30 at Beenleigh's Doug Larsen Park. The sun was still to fully rise, but the sky of feathered clouds, reflecting on the still surface of the ponds, had me clicking furiously.

Logan River scene.

The Hungry Hikers chose a later time of 8 am, to meet at The Wheel at Southbank. I arrived early and enjoyed our lovely river and spotting the setting moon.

Our walk concluded at The Powerhouse, where the World Press Photography Exhibition 2026 was being shown. A very sobering visit as one is confronted by the most compelling photojournalism of life for so much of our 'modern' world. War, drought, wildfire, poverty, greed and climate change.

I took few photos here, but the size of the blue whale trapped in ice, to the polar bear feeding off its carcass, was staggering. 

Winter colour in a street near The Green, as I walked home feeling grateful for every precious moment of my life. 

Our amazing Gaiter Girl Janice is starring as Rita in the musical Tootsie, which has just opened at Beenleigh Theatre. Saturday afternoon saw us watching this fabulous show. Janice nailed her character brilliantly.

I loved this 'cartoon' of the cold in Sydney. Thankfully, Brisbane's temperatures are always warmer.

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A Rainy Week Finding Autumn

 Week - 25 to 31 May

Endless days of rain. Thankfully the heaviest falls not over Brisbane South. The dawn of Tuesday morning was dark and threatening.

Janice and I walked the Corso to the Schonnel Bridge and the University of Queensland. In the heaviest downpour, we took shelter at the UQ bus station.

We laughed at this garden fence sculpture.

A lone autumn tree. The leaves were too damp to successfully throw into the air. We returned to The Green for coffee, a reward for a very damp, but enjoyable 11 km.

The following day, the Hungry Hikers walked from The Green to Stones Corner, to Churchie and on to Mowbray Park. Feet were tired, [12 km] so we took the Citycat upriver to Southbank, for our coffee.

View from the Churchie footbridge back to the city skyline.  We love Brisbane.

We love Brisbane from the Citycat.

One more autumn tree to toss leaves. Again with little success because of the damp.

Our good friend Jan, turned 70. As you know we love to celebrate. A surprise nibbles, pizza and bubbles was planned for late Friday afternoon, in the park below the Gateway Bridge. We had checked out the area a month ago and the view and sunset looked perfect. 

By Thursday morning we were wondering if the rain was ever going to stop. In fact it became heavier and with a thunderstorm or two thrown into the mix.

It was such a relief when we woke Friday, to sunshine.  On reaching the park at 2.30 pm to set up, we were almost blown away by the strong wind that replaced the rain.  We retreated to  a higher concreted area, that thankfully, was sheltered from the strong blast. The concrete hadn't impressed us when we were originally looking, but it turned out to be quite perfect.

Brisbane has a volunteer classical radio station, 4 MBS. Every May they host a Festival of classics. A music spectacular in our City Hall was the finale. This year they celebrated the 100 years of Australia's world reknowned soprano, Joan Sutherland. Just the most sensational afternoon of magnificent voices and orchestration. Many spine tingling, goosebump and teary moments, as we listened to famous pieces of Joan Sutherland's reportoire.

We then stepped outside to a golden sunset and a glowing red City Hall. Our feet were light, as we made our way to the bus stop.

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Ibis and Water Dragons

 Ibis and Water Dragons

Both creatures are regularly spotted when we are out and about. Both were rarely seen when I was growing up. Both have had to adapt to urban life over the past ten years. Their numbers are now quite prolific in suburbia. Sadly, both are spotted scavenging for food in outdoor cafes and parks.

IBIS

Many people intensely dislike the Ibis because it can look very dirty from where it has been scavenging. They are too often found landing on cafe tables or pulling out the contents of open bins. They have been named the Bin Chicken because of this habit.

I feel very sorry for this native bird and am thrilled to photograph them in their natural habitat. This post stems from an April Fool joke that I fell for. It was announced that Ian the Ibis would be our mascot for the Olympics to be held here in Brisbane, in 2032.

Time will tell if the Ibis will claim fame at the Olympics.  During March however, I enjoyed our Roma Street Gardens and spotted the living and non living Ibis.

In the wild.

UPDATE - 27.5.26

The Hungry Hikers walk today, ended at Southbank, where we enjoyed a coffee and toasted sandwich. We had hardly moved from the table before we heard a cluttering noise of teacups. The Ibis, which we hadn't even noticed, had moved in for the crumbs.

WATER DRAGONS

A recent comment from a regular reader of my blog re the Water Dragon, prompted me to include them in this post.

We have many venomous and dangerous animals here in Oz, but the Water Dragon isn't one of them. Yes, he looks fierce and frightening, but he is regularly seen scavenging beneath cafe tables and resting in the sunshine along busy pathways. Spotted unexpectedly they give one a fright, but left alone they are harmless. In the first 2 images I was less than a metre away when I took the photos. They didn't even flinch.

By the sea.

And everywhere in the Roma Street Gardens. I was thrilled that I had brought my camera with me, allowing me to zoom in for these images.

Both such beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.

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