Movin' On

Tomorrow, we leave Toowoomba and Queensland for points south. Our house sit here has ended and we start a two-day drive south to Lemon Tree Passage.

At the Movies

Went to see Dr. Strange at the cinema. It was a fun ride and Benedict C. did a great job. I thought that a time or two the special effects were moving so fast across the screen that I was going to loose my lunch. But the story was fun and it is clear that several of these are in the works.

A Drive in the Country

It finally warmed a little and we had ourselves a bit of a drive in the country side just outside of Toowoomba. Just south of town on the New England Highway is a turnout from which it is possible to look south and east across some truly wonderful farmland.

Shopping

Mozzarella cheese in Australia is very different from what we are used to. I thought that all mozzarella was made from buffalo's milk since this is all that we get in the US. It makes a creamy white cheese with a distinctive but subtle flavor.

Tasmanian Devils May Save Us

Great article from New Scientist today. The lede says:

Milk from Tasmanian devils could be used in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, new research from Australia finds.

 Worth a read. Here I thought that everything here was designed to kill you. Here's one that may save us from ourselves.

I'm just disappointed that the real Tasmanian Devil is not really a whirling dervish as I first learned from Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Retrospective

A few minutes to look back at our trip in August this year. I thought a few of the images would work in B&W. This one is from a clearing in the Bunya Mountains gives a view of the valley beyond and some nice clouds floating above.

The Beach at Noosa Heads

In a cove protected by the headland is a beach facing north. This beach is paralleled by the town of Noosa Heads...a place filled with all the usual beach-type of places.

Backyard Visitor

Since spring is well underway here, it the time of year to watch for those winter-sleeper, reptiles and amphibians. We recently found a Common Blue Tongue lizard in the backyard - also known as a "bluey".

Yummy Face

Here's a commercial that is now playing on Australian TV. There's just something about the "yummy face"  that cracks me up.

I'm expecting that new grandchild to be making yummy face all the time.

Australia Zoo

While visiting Noosa area, we also made a visit to the Australia Zoo. This is a place made famous by Steve Erwin. He grew up in Queensland not far from Beerwah where the zoo is located.

Performers at the Eumundi Market

Music and street performance was a constant theme at the Eumundi Market. Some stalls had vendors who made musical instruments such as this fellow who made didgeridoos for others to use in making traditional music. Others also make drums.

People watching II

At the Eumundi Market, there is plenty of food to be found. Much of it has an Asian theme. This fellow is cooking skewered chicken.

Announcement!

We are proud and pleased beyond words to publicly announce that we are about to be grandparents! Our beautiful daughter, Anna, is expecting in April.

People Watching at Eumundi Market

We visited the Saturday market in Eumundi. It is really, really, large. It's yuuuge, and the best ever (Sorry, too much of American politics is leaking through to us).

Dispossessed

The closing on the sale of our house has happened. We have now officially cut our property ties. We have a few things in storage but the stuff we use routinely fits into the back of our truck. We live now on four wheels.

A Visit to the Beach

What would a trip to an Australian beach be without a visit from a bluebottle? I don't know...safer maybe?

A Brief Interuption

We are off to Noosa Heads for a few days with friends visiting from home. I should have some fun to report by the time we get back. Don't go away, we'll be back in a few days.

The Time Change is A'Comin'

Here are the time zones in Australia. When standard time is in effect, as indicated above, we are between 8 and 10 hours ahead of UTC (basically London with Daylight Savings time off there).

Retrospective

A visit to the Taos Pueblo in northern New Mexico back in 2009 finds a study in color contrasts and textures.

Insects in the Backyard

We were visited by some manner of critter in the backyard here in Toowoomba. the video doesn't show anything but bush, but the noise is certainly loud and persistent. Of course, given the reputation Australia has for deadly things, I choose not to stick my hand in to find him.

After talking with our neighbor about what this might be, he went out and caught one cause this is what Australians do. It is a Bladder Cicada. It is about two long with large green wings. It looks like a leaf, hence the reason they are so hard to see. With vibrating diaphragms on both sides and the large bladder in the back to resonate the sound, that certainly are loud. You can read more about them over at the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

South Brisbane Cemetery

Time for a visit to another cemetery.

We've seen lots of things in cemeteries, but this is first time that we've seen socks and shoes left as a memorial on a grave.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary II

One of the two largest birds in Australia, the Cassowary (the heaviest of the two), is a significant carnivore and, by all reports a nasty tempered critter. As you can see there is a fence between us and this old bird has learned to be calm with all the humans walking about

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

In a dimly lit room with very large aquaria along one wall, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary has several platypus in captivity. Here is the best shot I could come up with. The ISO was set to Hi2 on my Nikon D800E and the Aperture was open all the way to f/1.8. No flashes were allowed. There are much smaller animals that I imagined - perhaps 15 -18 inches long. They are busy swimmers.

Brisbane Botanic Garden

Earlier, we visited the Botanic Garden in the City of Brisbane. It is located on the river surrounded by the CBD. There is a larger one at Mt Coot-Tha.

Brisbane Pet Sit

We are taking a break from our house sit in Toowoomba to do a pet sit in Brisbane for a few days. We are taking care of Jazz, a yellow Lab, while her mum and dad are away. We took her out to the local dog park for some off-leash time with a tennis ball.

A Ride Through the Country

The sun finally came out and we took a bit of a ride though the country. Out past Spring Bluff where we gave up in the rain before, we went down to Murphy's Creek.

Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery III

There are come very interesting graves in this cemetery. This one, made of brick, give the odd appearance of a barbecue.

Spring Bluff in the Rain

We're having a spot of weather here. You may have heard that a big weather system moved through South Australia the other day and that entire state lost power. We have been getting rain, although clearly not of that magnitude. One day clear, the next soft.