MtLawleyShire sees Dolphins at Matilda Bay

So there we were, my friend and I, at our favourite table overlooking the Swan river with uninterrupted views to the city on this hazy, humid afternoon.  The boats in the yacht club against that sky were intriguing with the heavy shadows and the bright light:

 

Then the surface of the placid river was disturbed

 

Was that a fin?  No!  Two of them!

 

Dolphins!

 

I like this one:

 

And here – you can see a face 🙂

they were rounding a shoal of fish and the birds were there too:

 

 

It seems to me there was a little argy-bargy going on every now and then:

Then they were swimming away and out of sight:

and the birds followed them

I wish Id had my zoom lens on but there wasn’t time to change.  Damn it.  But it was lovely and such a special experience 🙂

Next: birds

MtLawleyShire at Matilda Bay

An afternoon at Matilda Bay with a dear friend – not a cloud in the sky but, thankfully, it wasn’t too hot.

The light through the trees on the banks of the Swan River was magical:

 

trees on the edge of this vast expanse of the salty river always intrigue me:

The Matilda Bay Cafe isn’t just a haven for humans – the ubiquitous inhabitants, the seagulls.  Squabbling, fighting, flying, thinking – I can’t help liking them:

 

and they are beautiful, like all birds, in flight:

 

 

 

and there was another in the skies:

 

We were blessed by a glimpse of the endangered and beautiful Black Cockatoo.  They have come up to Perth as their remaining habitat is destroyed by logging and a drying climate:

 

just a glimpse of the pretty yellow bottom of a wattled honey eater:

and the river was graced by its most dignified inhabitant:

  

What magical moments will my next visit hold…

MtLawleyshire visits wintry Matilda Bay

Well – *I* visited Matilda Bay, not all of MtLawleyshire, but you know what I mean.  Last month, July, was wet and cold – in the depths of a beautiful winter.  And what a day.  They were forecasting rain, but what happened was a cloud descended.

This photo shows the city – not in focus because I was focused on the 3  flying corellas.

In fact, it wasn’t raining when I arrived.  There were crowds of corellas:

flying:

and feeding on the foreshore of the Swan River:

 

There were swans:

 

even grooming swans have a certain elegance:

then, in the cafe, I watched the city disappear

and then it was gone. I looked out over a river that vanished into infinity:

 

the cloud covered all – the view from the cafe was made magical by a cloud taking a break on the ground:

slowly – very slowly, it lifted and the city began to reappear:

 

the clouds passed to the west:

& the sun came out. Everything was covered in gems!

 

 

the corellas basked in the light

finally – my favourite photos of the visit.  A companionable little willy wagtail who sat beside me outside the cafe.  He didn’t mind me pointing the camera at him.

 

and in one shot – between pressing the button and releasing it, he opened his beak.  He looks angry, as though he’s squawking all sorts, but no.  Almost as though he was yawning, maybe asking for food.  I can’t believe I got the shot!

 

I hope I haven’t overloaded you with photos – & also hope you enjoyed these snips from a magical day for MtLaweyshire at Matilda Bay

🙂

Out of MtLawleyShire: Matilda Bay & apologies

This will probably be my last post for another little while – so much study, and I am getting there!  And then I will spend happy hours catching up with all your posts.  There are so many I wanted to look at but they come so this and fast!

But this was a visit to Matilda Bay this week – the day after I went to Kings Park and the weather had turned gloomy and colder. There were almost no flowers, just these – a white non-native where last year there had been massed ground covering Grevillea. Very sad to see places fall into neglect.  And the flowers of the cape lilac tree, filling the air with subtle perfume.  These trees are also regarded as ferals, but they are delicate additions to a landscape of leaves.

 

There don’t seem to be any cygnets on the Swan River this year, but the family from last year is still here.  I have played with these photos – I might use them as cards.  What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

I caught a raven, on the grass, then in the huge old cypress, cawing to other members of his family:

 

 

and trees: the contrasts with brilliant Spring leaves of plane trees against the native greens in the darkening day,

 

 

 

And here are clouds gathering across the Swan, and a rain cell dumping its load over South Perth and parts east towards the hills.

 

 

Now this guy? Not hovering over Matilda Bay – he’s hovering over the roofs of MtLawleyShire, near my own little house, reminding me to get back home and onto the computer and WORK! A sparrowhawk. Not a great photo, but still – I am happy with it. He wasn’t just hanging there!

I hope you enjoyed this little excursion.  I will be back, and looking forward to catching up with you all.

🙂

Out of MtLawleyShire – an afternoon at Matilda Bay

An afternoon too hot and time poor to wander too far, with the river unstill and sparkling in the endless sunlight.  But it was nice to stop for an hour, have a coffee with a dear friend, before we both went back to our respective work.

There were so many swans!  On the ground in front of me on the path I took towards the tea rooms.  They have very big feet!  The second of these swan photos (it’s the same swan) paused at the foot of something larger:

 

A large, graceful paperbark:

 

& its flower:

A plane tree, leaves burnt by the long heatwave, and the same damage can be seen in the leaves of the flame tree outside the tea rooms:

 

& this one: I am fascinated by its knobbly trunk and the way its branches have grown:

A cormorant on a post in the river & later I caught him just coming up from a dive:

 

Swans on the river:

 

 

I think this is the River family all grown up:

 

& sometimes the ubiquitous gull makes a statement: on the beach & against infinity:

 

There were ravens – the 2nd photo is definitely ‘quothing’:

 

The city from across the river: that infinite blue sky speaks of the heat:

 

Wider views towards the hills, with little bits of wind calligraphy & the long tidal ripples in the river:

 

 

Through the doorway of the tea rooms: it looks so invitingly green

         

My favourite cedar: foliage & trunk with a patch of sunlight:

 

Foliage:

& at work, in the small gardens on the corner of 2 busy roads: a bush with tiny white flowers – & a bug!

 

Finally, home later at night: the moon:

Hopefully, there will be a gradual cooling.  & hopefully next time I am there, I will have more time.

No sunset photos tonight, as the sky is clear, but I will be able to shoot the moon 🙂

I hope you enjoyed my little afternoon out before work.

Out of MtLawleyShire and back for Sunset: river, trees and birds

These are from a trop to Matilda Bay and back again, a quick walk around the streets, then a snatch of sunset and the moon.

First – birds: a quickly snatched shot of a wattled honeyeater in the fully leafed flame tree – it’s not on the right setting, but was this bird going to wait?  Uh uh.

The others are the ubiquitious seagull, but such clear shots against the river, including wind-ruffled feathers.  And they are attractive birds – in appearance.  Habits? Not so much – & getting aggressive too.

   

Left from a magpie lark, I think.

the wonderfully knobbly trunk of a plane tree, and the massive trunk of a moreton bay on the bank of the river.

  

Back in MtLawleyShire – this beautiful tree is in someone’s backyard.  Envy 🙂

I don’t normally like these, but the way the red caught the sun was stunning.  I almost caught it.

Dunno what this is either, but it’s pretty.

Early moon.

ah – sunset – snatches of golden sky

 

from a  distance, the colour is small and slight in a sea of infinite blue

closer the colour is more vibrant, deeper

 

& it really is the middle of suburbia – inner city suburbia at that.  This one looks like it’s out in the middle of nowhere.  Well, I suppose it is Perth…

a hint of rays

 

the moon partly obscured by clouds tinted by sunset

the sky darkens and I alter the settings on the cameraL moon waxing towards full:

 

The real distance of it

I like this one 🙂

but I like this one too 🙂  The second of these the camera was totally on the wrong setting so she comes out as a glamour-Plush 🙂

 

I hope you enjoyed my little afternoon.

More soon

🙂

 

 

 

Matilda Bay this week

 

Yes, I know, I should be studying, but I’ve just finished hours of lesson planning so thought I’d do a little more sharing.  I had the chance to go to Matilda Bay this week – the first time in ages!  And the day started out calm, and getting hot.  When I got there, the first thing I saw was the Swan River family:

The cygnets are much bigger than the ones in Hyde Park (will post soon), & all untidy with feathers growing through their fluff.

 

This swan was only a little out of frame.  They all stayed together.

From where I was sitting, the angle afforded this view:

& I loved the bark of the cape lilac:

And I can never resist this ancient-looking cypress:

 

a young magpie (its parent was very close):

and then – the clouds rearing up behind the city into the clear blue sky:

They were so magnificent – not that we got a drop of rain or anything from them – & it’s been the same all week!  Maybe 10 drops of rain, but nothing else.  Some wind,, just cloud, build-up and it all dissipates.  The same thing is happening today as well.  It’s infuriating!

I played with the photos – so there are black and whites of the same shot:

different treatment which gives different atmospheres to the same shot:

 

but I just love the clouds:

In this one, a plane is escaping what looks to be wild weather:

More play – I just love how the clouds diminish the city:

& this one – massive flat plane of shadow pressing down on the spread out city.

If only it had rained, or stormed, or something….

 

Misty Matilda Bay

Yes,I I’ve been working, but I thought I would post some photos.  Only one day at a time though.  & I need to get more space!

So hopefully, I will get time to do another post soon.

 

 

First of June, first official day of winter – cold and wonderfully misty.  The city is obscured. Mist is very rare here, and it stayed this way for most of the day.

 

Things too far away are obscured: St George’s College (attached to the University of Western Australia) looks very un-western Australian 🙂

 

Trees were fine though – as beautiful as always

 

 

Unexpected beauty with the cape lilac trees

 

And a wonderful eucalyptus, white against the green

 

 

and boats on the still water

 

I will post some more.  Yes, I have been quiet, but not my little camera 🙂

I have taken some wonderful photos of clouds as storms slide away – soon, I will post them soon 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Unoffical Weekly photo challenge: Summer

From Alisa at where’smybackpack comes another unofficial weekly photo challenge: Summer.

http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/05/18/summer/

No – there are no trees in this photo.  Summer in south west of Western Australia is  not a great time.  I did not go to where 400 year old trees died in 2 weeks from the heat – approx 20,000 of them.  I did not go down south where bushfires decimated the karri forests of ancient trees – wiping out the homes of the very endangered black cockatoo, wiping out their food.  They come up here, eat the wrong food and die.  I don’t usually take photos of flowers burnt by the sun before they’re fully open.

So, there are not many photos, but some:

smoke over the river, shrouding the city during the south west bushfire:

and the sunset the next day:

The ponds in the park drying out as the ground water levels drop, causing salinity to rise, which slowly kills the great conifers in the park:

Then there are the sunsets: magnificent – burning with red heat:

or malevolent, heavy with threat, trapping the heat and the rain intimated by the clouds never comes:

 

and there is nowhere cool in my house at night – she spreads herself on the kitchen floor:

No – I don’t enjoy Summer in Perth.

There weren’t many entries listed in zemanta so couldn’t find many to link back to 😦

Related articles

• Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer (robertjhorton.wordpress.com)
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More Trees around Matilda Bay & the University of Western Australia

I had 2 trips to the University of Western Australia and Matilda Bay this week, and this 2nd trip – I had more time.  So – more trees.

It’s was a strange day and although the river wasn’t glass-like, the reflections of the city are clear, like great pylons sinking down as they spread support beneath the flat plane of earth the skyscrapers rest on:

 

and the rest is trees:

The flame tree growing outside the cafe.  We sit beneath it and in Spring/Summer, the flame-like, flame-red flowers drop without warning into our coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wattled honeyeater high in branches:

In the University grounds:

a dead tree surprisingly beautiful and a long tall tree of grace, made of light dappled with shadow:

 

I don’t know what this tree is but it is impossibly tall and straight:

This tree is coming back from illness and the other is a flame tree in the quadrangle by the Arts Department:

 

The space between the university & the road:

I found a scribbly gum.  I just love the bark.

 

But it’s got a freeloader!

This tree has a lovely shape, and so has the other:

 

So tall:

a gathering of trunks:

A detail of bark & a b&w paperbark detail – with a tiny surprise.  Can you spot it?

Then to my astonishment, I found an oak in the midst of all the natives!

I hope you enjoyed all these trees!  🙂