Salamander

2006-02-04T20:02:00.000+10:00

No grapes but the old vine leaves always look good in the wet.

2006-02-04T20:01:00.000+10:00

Heavy rain will not deter these Rainbow Lorries from their dinner.

2006-02-04T19:59:00.000+10:00

The first A380 on the tarmac in Brisbane.

2006-02-04T19:56:00.000+10:00

Typical Queensland view of flowering trees.

2006-02-04T19:55:00.000+10:00

Young magpies can be a pain.

2006-02-04T19:54:00.000+10:00

Sometimes there is only so much a Mother can stand.

2006-02-04T19:50:00.000+10:00

The big cats love water and a bit of fun.

2006-02-04T19:48:00.000+10:00

A feast for a honeyeater.

2006-02-04T19:41:00.001+10:00

Cats like cameras too but are a bit more cautious.

2006-02-04T19:41:00.000+10:00

Another shopping centre dog, but a happy one this time.

2006-02-04T19:37:00.000+10:00

Queensland's flowering trees seem to glow with colour.

2006-02-04T19:36:00.000+10:00

Waiting for his owner at the shopping centre he sadly watched every single person coming out.

2005-10-27T15:10:00.000+10:00

The noisy Mynah is a honey eater and loves our Jacaranda at this time of the year.

2005-10-27T15:05:00.000+10:00

These shining black berries are on a weed in our garden. I can't bring myself to pull them out.

2005-09-01T20:23:00.000+10:00

Today a terrible and beautiful bird arrived in our garden and killed a mynar bird. It was some sort of hawk. Such a beautiful thing but also savage.

2005-08-09T17:23:00.000+10:00

Plain old Lavender.

2005-08-09T17:22:00.000+10:00

Detail of Hibiscus.

2005-08-09T17:20:00.000+10:00

The red hibiscus loves the sun.

2005-08-09T17:16:00.001+10:00

White on white.

2005-08-09T17:16:00.000+10:00

Kurume azalea.

2005-08-09T17:13:00.000+10:00

Australian orchids.

2005-08-09T17:12:00.000+10:00

Don't touch.

2005-08-09T17:10:00.000+10:00

Did a circuit of my neighbours houses and found an amazing variety of flowers big and small.

2005-07-22T13:44:00.000+10:00

A very Irish part of my garden.

2005-07-14T15:11:00.000+10:00

Stained windows and extravagant detail.

2005-07-14T15:08:00.000+10:00

Loverly red brick and fig trees.

2005-07-14T15:01:00.000+10:00

South Brisbane Town Hall appears to be unused at the moment. It is a beautiful building on a busy corner so many people do not get to see it up close. The clock keeps good time and I believe was the first electrically controled clock on a public building in Australia.

2005-06-11T19:58:00.000+10:00

The Station
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision.
We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent.
We are traveling by train.
Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways,
of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazzing on a distant hillside,
of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat,
of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills,
of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.
On a certain day, at a certain hour we will pull into the station.
Bands will be playing and flags will be waving.
Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces
of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle
How restlessly we pace the aisles,
damning the minutes for loitering - waiting,
waiting for the station.
When we reach the station, that will be it !!
We cry, "when I'm 18..." "When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz...
"When I put the last kid through college..." "When I have paid off the mortgage.."
"When I get a promotion..." "When I reach retirement I shall live happily ever after !!
Sooner or later we must realize there is no station,
no one place to arrive at once and for all.
The true joy of life is the trip.
The station is only a dream.
It constantly outdistances us.
It isn't the burdens of today that drive people mad.
It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.
Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the ailes and counting the miles.
Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice-cream,
go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets,
laugh more, cry less, life must be lived as we go along.
The station will come soon enough.
-- Author unknown

2005-06-05T21:31:00.000+10:00

New rice and flowers beside the road in Shuzenji.

2005-06-05T21:30:00.000+10:00

It is even better when you catch your very own trout.

2005-06-05T21:29:00.000+10:00

Fishing is such fun at Joren no taki, a waterfall on the Izu peninsular.

2005-06-05T21:27:00.000+10:00

Wasabi, that hot green stuff you get on your sushi, grows in water in the mountains, it looks like a green river.

2005-06-05T21:25:00.000+10:00

Lunch time bamboo for the praire dogs at the Mishima zoo.

2005-06-05T21:22:00.000+10:00

At Shuzenji this little girl wants to do her own abolutions. The water in this font is actually warm as it comes from a geothermal source.

2005-06-05T21:20:00.000+10:00

In the afternoon sun the flower arrangements are there for all who care to see.

2005-06-05T21:19:00.000+10:00

Amongst all the Japanese graves shines this beautiful statue.

2005-06-05T21:17:00.000+10:00

The Aoyama cemetry is a beautiful place to visit which many long time visitors to Tokyo have never taken the time to go to.

2005-06-05T21:14:00.000+10:00

My 88 year old father in law pours me out a shin nama Asahi beer when we had lunch recently.

2005-05-22T21:18:00.000+10:00

A lizard's eyeview of our cat.

2005-05-22T21:14:00.000+10:00

He looks so proud of himself.

2005-05-22T21:12:00.000+10:00

The clever lizard at our house can climb trees.

2005-05-20T18:35:00.000+10:00

When the seed pods burst they send out these silky paracutes.

2005-05-20T18:33:00.000+10:00

Strange grass seed bulbs growing in the bed of the reservoir.

2005-05-20T18:30:00.000+10:00

This little bird was more interested in looking for something to eat.

2005-05-20T18:26:00.000+10:00

2005-05-20T18:24:00.000+10:00

The huge black swans would not let me get near them.

2005-05-20T18:22:00.000+10:00

Took the afternoon off and went for a long walk to a reservoir near Brisbane. This year our water supplies are the lowest for years. It is strange to be able to walk where it is normally metres underwater.

2005-05-07T22:24:00.000+10:00

I just love that face.

2005-05-07T22:18:00.000+10:00

It was a great day out for everyone.

2005-05-07T22:15:00.000+10:00

His sister was all dressed up but he thought the whole thing was a joke. Odawara castle park where people pay to get dressed up. She loved it.

2005-05-07T22:10:00.000+10:00

My best photo on my last trip to Japan, this was on a freezing cold morning in the teramachi of Takayama with no people around. I was happy with it because the bands of light and the branches at the bottom look like a signature of sorts.

2005-04-30T19:32:00.000+10:00

And finally more of those luminous lanterns.

2005-04-30T19:30:00.000+10:00

In the background my current university QUT and the famous Brisbane Citycat catamaran river ferries.

2005-04-30T19:27:00.000+10:00

The Buddahs were very bright and colourful and seemed to be enjoying the attention.

2005-04-30T19:24:00.000+10:00

There was a rock band there, which seemed a bit incongruous but the young people did not seem to mind.

2005-04-30T19:22:00.000+10:00

Today they celebrated Buddah's Birthday on the Southbank of the Brisbane river with food and decorations from many Asian countries. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining through the lanterns.

2005-04-25T19:59:00.000+10:00

To eat it you use a wooden fork with a hand lashed handle and a perfect laquered spoon. The means sometimes surpass the ends.

2005-04-25T19:55:00.000+10:00

The simple beauty of Japanese cusine. This is a single tomato marinated in white wine. The bowl is hand made resting on a beautiful indigo cloth. How wonderful.

2005-04-25T19:51:00.000+10:00

Bamboo in the hills above Odawara castle, this lot had almost engulfed an old house where nobody lives any longer.

2005-04-25T19:48:00.000+10:00

Cherry blossoms can also look good in black and white. These were at the Nakain in Kawagoe north of Tokyo.

2005-04-21T13:05:00.000+10:00

Back in Australia the camera shy ginger cat who lives over the road finally let his guard down. He did not stay around to see the result.

2005-04-18T20:35:00.000+10:00

I think he got a good photo.

2005-04-18T20:34:00.000+10:00

"Now if you just stand a bit to the left I can get you and the moat and the cherry trees in the frame."

2005-04-18T11:32:00.000+10:00

"The wind is too strong.If you could just hold that branch still please, so I can get a photo on my mobile."

2005-04-18T11:30:00.000+10:00

The monkey certainly captivated this young fan's attention.

2005-04-18T11:28:00.000+10:00

The perfoming monkey at Yasukuni Jinja must have had his largest crowd for the year thanks to the cherry trees.

2005-04-18T11:23:00.001+10:00

Then I saw the sign!!

2005-04-18T11:23:00.000+10:00

They looked so hungry so I gave them some of my lunch.

2005-04-14T22:38:00.000+10:00

This old chap not only looked like a film director but he had all the gear as well. Just how close you can get to cherry blossoms was being explored when I took this.

2005-04-14T22:35:00.000+10:00

How many millions of digital images were taken last week in Japan?

2005-04-14T22:32:00.000+10:00

Up close the blossoms still look good.

2005-04-14T22:30:00.000+10:00

Just last week in Tokyo, the cherry trees were at their maximum. My red jumper was not approved by all the locals.

2005-04-12T21:16:00.000+10:00

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. There is another way to view the blossoms and also avoid the crowds.

2005-04-12T21:14:00.000+10:00

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. Some clever people sit and enjoy the cherry trees, while most others are compelled to keep walking.

2005-04-12T21:08:00.000+10:00

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. When the weather on the weekend is perfect and the cherry blossoms are at their peak the life of a Cherry Blossom Policeman is not an easy one.

2005-04-12T21:04:00.000+10:00

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. Perhaps her husband also bought her icecandy years ago?

2005-03-28T11:36:00.000+10:00

The mock orange (Murrya particulata) with its strong fragrence, before the fall.

2005-03-28T11:27:00.000+10:00

The mock orange flowers do not last long then they drop into our birdbath. What a luxury for the birds today?

2005-03-15T20:31:00.000+10:00

There are bird wars every evening when we put out the bread and honey for the coloured birds. These three are Scalys (Scaly breasted Lorikeets) who are forced to play second fiddle to the Rainbow Lorikeets who are bigger and quite agressive. In the end these little birds wait for the bigger ones to finish then go in and clean up. You can see they are very attentive.

2005-03-13T11:20:00.000+10:00

2005-03-12T17:33:00.000+10:00

Our local reservoir at The Gap (8 km from Brisbane) is under the protection of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, so this pair of wild ducks feel safe and came just within range of the 432mm lens.

2005-03-11T10:31:00.000+10:00

My father in law in Tokyo sends us Birthday, Christmas and New Year cards every year. He hand paints them and are almost invariably of the flowers he loves. Jichan was 88 this month.

2005-03-09T19:57:00.000+10:00

Haru Ichiban

2005-03-09T19:56:00.000+10:00

Japan is experiencing the first strong winds at the end of Winter. These are called "Haru Ichiban". Haru is Spring and Ichiban is number one. So it is the precurser to Spring. The last two days the weather has warmed slightly in Japan so the predictions for the cherry blossoms will soon start. It is the only country in the world that publishes the predictions for the flowering of fruit trees on the front pages of the national newspapers. The character for Haru Ichiban is shown here.

2005-03-09T11:47:00.000+10:00

We thought the fruit bats and the possums were eating our mangoes, then one morning I caught the real culprit.

2005-03-08T13:09:00.000+10:00

Even a bowl of instant noodles for lunch can be a work of art.

2005-03-07T09:53:00.000+10:00

Monday Morning, time to clean the pool, but sometimes the leaves can look quite nice, so I think I might leave them there for a while.

2005-03-06T10:12:00.000+10:00

Possums in the back yard.

2005-03-05T16:44:00.000+10:00

Here is me again in Japan having a cup of tea at Amanohasidate you will notice that I ordered coffee but it came with a complimentary cup of tea and of course you always get a glass of water in Japan.

2005-03-05T14:37:00.000+10:00

2005-03-05T14:20:00.000+10:00

2005-03-05T08:57:00.000+10:00

Your host the Golden Salamander

Photos

2005-03-05T08:50:00.000+10:00

Sill trying to work out how to put photos on, but bear with me. Brisbane Australia dawns beautiful again 24C at 8.30am and 33C to look forward to.
Currently getting a grip on the Internet telephone system and in the process of finding a good USB phone to improve the reception. Currently I am using a head set with microphone which has a lot of echo and that is not fair to the people on the other end.
There is an element of competition in setting up this Blog as my younger brother (you wouldn't think so if you saw him) is also starting out on his Blog career.
You can see his Blog at:
http://www.tarilta.blogspot.com/
It is good for a laugh, but he is trying.
Time for me to go to the shops and get a newspaper and a lotto ticket.
Thanks to anyone who has looked in.

Small beginnings

2005-03-04T18:43:00.000+10:00

Rather than continuously send emails to friends who may or may not wish to receive them I have decided to explore the use of a Blog.
With such and instrument I will be able to have a home to display photos which I have taken for anyone interested enough to look at.
The subject matter will be whatever is of interest to me from day to day and will vary wildly, so be warned.
The good thing is you do not have to look in again if find this stuff uninteresting.
I rather feel a Blog is a latter day diary which is open to the world community.
Please bear with me through the setup stage.