ooo summer rain (29)

i have had belinda carlisle's 'summer rain' in my head for weeks now, thanks mainly to the lead-up to and then post-concert last weekend, but also because it has rained so much here in canberra over the past few months. it has been a wet steamy spring and summer. it has rained so much that all the dams are overflowing. for the first time since i moved here over a decade ago, the dams are full and there are no water restrictions. the greenery throughout the city is something new and wonderful to behold, not to mention the amazing growth spurts observed in our plants in our courtyards. there are mostly camellias which were here when we bought the place. now i know they're hardy plants but between the ongoing drought and the fact that both mands and i are rubbish when it comes to gardening, they've been lucky to survive - in fact only one out of about ten has died. however the difference in them now is amazing! i would say that they have grown as much over the last 6 months as they did in the entire 5 years preceding that. that's how much rain we've had. mands doesn't like the camellias (not sure why) but i have a soft spot for them. my sisters and i used to use their leaves for 'money' when we played shops on our bmxes in the driveway when we were growing up. they're a sentimental plant for me, not to mention i admire their resilience.

final walk through this door of history

goodbye poppy.

unfinished sympathy

massive attack at the royal theatre in canberra, from a couple of months ago. it was nearly 20 decades ago i first heard and loved their music. yeah that makes me feel bloody old.

no sign of miranda

an outing or event that fulfills a lifelong dream or wish is always charged with some excitement or emotion. i finally got to walk around and up into hanging rock in victoria last year. and the sight of it struck a real chord in me. it felt truly truly eerie. so quiet, no noise except the wind through the trees and an occasional bird. we were the only ones there at the time. it was easy to imagine being a schoolgirl wandering through the ancient rock formations....

up to date with the tetanus shot, no worries mate

a more positive (well to me) shot of barb wire. this image is very australian to me, a segment of a rusty old leaning fence with long dry grass in the background. i took this the other week walking along the bay of fires with mands and my parents. we were all a bit scared there might be some snakes in the grass. i even jumped at a tiny lizard scurrying off the path at one point.

country comfort

i grew up living pretty much in the country, and while not strictly on a farm, our house was surrounded by paddocks and animals. this photo was taken on a roadside on a drive from hobart to lake st clair. even though it was already mid-morning there was a misty fog sitting on green gently sloping pastures, with a herd of cows quietly grazing, and the weak sunlight (it was close to the shortest day of the year) was enough to illuminate the fluff (seeds) on these bullreed stalks. it was pretty and serene and reminded me of my childhood. imho this photo is worth clicking on to bring it to fullsize.

canberra has lots of lovely trees

this is a tree (well one of a whole street of them - ijong street in braddon) which i walk or cycle past nearly every day while going to or from work in civic. it is a fine looking strong tree, which when i looked up it thusly the other day, i thought that looks like it would be awesome to climb. i used to love climbing trees when i was a kid. indeed when i took this photo i thought i might climb this one one time on the way home from work to relive my youth. and if i fall out, well that's what private health insurance is for.