TOP MARKS

For some time Tony has been interested in photography but recently this interest has grown and, with the purchase of a new mirror-less camera and his participation in a photography course at a TAFE College, his photos are really going up a notch or two.

He has been experimenting with low light photography so his outings have been largely just on dusk.

Recently he drove down to Cleveland Point late in the afternoon to take some sunset photos.

When he arrived he found that he was not the only one with this idea !!

The resulting photos are lovely. 

You can see why the spot is so popular with photographers.

I really love the colours in this one

On another expedition he set off for Southbank in the heart of Brisbane

travelling into the city on our beloved CityCat ferry.

 Southbank Parkland occupies the former  site of World Expo 88 which was held in Brisbane in 1988.

It is a delightful area and greatly loved by the citizens of Brisbane who make great use of its cafes, picnic areas, free BBQs and playgrounds.

One of the major attractions is the free public "beach" - a huge free swimming area with a sandy bottom and beach 

Just the place to cool off on a hot Summer night.

Finally I'll finish with this photo taken just on nightfall while we were recently in Hervey Bay

He is showing considerable talent don't you think ?

Cheers.

SUNDAY DRIVE

The hot weather we have been having makes me just want to stay inside in the cool of the air-conditioning but today we decided to get out and take a drive ( in the cool air-conditioned car !!) to see the sunflowers.

They are growing in the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane and about 2 hours later we came upon this field.

As you can see it is very dry and the poor flowers on the edge of the field were showing the lack of water.

You can see how withered the leaves are and the background is pure country Australia - grey-green and brown.

 However as you move further into the crop it gets better and soon there is a sea of happy yellow facing the sun.

 Such a pretty crop.

We were a little early as this was the only field properly in flower.

The rest will probably burst forth in the next two weeks.

On the way home we passed this pretty house in Gatton.

It is built in the typical Queensland style,

set high off the ground to guard against floods but mainly to catch any breezes that may be around.

Wide verandahs and a central hallway leading past a bedroom on each side at the front  to a "lounge" room (living room ) and dining room with kitchen and bathroom in the enclosed part of the back

 verandah.

A very practical design for our climate. You will find many of them in any Queensland country town.

You may remember I posted about "Old Queenslanders"   here  way back in 2010. 

It has been one of my most visited posts over the years.

We were home by 4:30 and it is finally cooler than the 32 degrees it has been all day so I'm off for a cool Aperol Spritz which is our drink of choice in the heat.

Cheers.

PUZZLED

Once upon a time I did the crossword in the daily paper "The Courier Mail" religiously every morning.

Worked on it through breakfast and most days managed to complete it.

However these days we no longer have a daily delivery of newspapers. Tony happily reads many online and I read none! I am very disillusioned with the written media and find reporting inaccurate and often untrue so I'm content to get the news delivered via the television several times a day accompanied by visuals.

Sorry I got a bit off topic there !

So now I solve puzzles on my phone and ipad.

I used to play a version of Scrabble against several friends and relatives all over the world. It was called "Words with Friends" but the time waiting for the other person to move and the ability for them ( and me ) to use an ap to help them with moves soon made it lose it's appeal especially when lots of very strange words began to appear from obscure languages.

This one is my newest favourite called "Word Brain" and I love it because it is just me progressing through the levels . No opportunity to cheat and no way of progressing until I get the puzzle out.

The only help you get is every 15 minutes spent on the puzzle earns you a hint

of a single letter at the beginning of each word so you do eventually get there.

As you find  the words they are eliminated from the puzzle till all the letters are used up.

It's been very quiet around here since Christmas so I thought a jigsaw puzzle might be an activity that we could all work on.

I chose this one of one of my all time most favourite paintings by Van Gogh.

I thought it wouldn't be too difficult. 

Wrong !

Lots of variations in colour there …..

but after a WHOLE DAY we had only done this much!!

and there was one piece missing !

We searched and searched and finally it was located !!

Since then Sally and I have spent many hours on it.

My back  aches and I'm seeing spots before my eyes .

We're not making very much progress.

So frustrating.

Not one of my better ideas.

Cheers.