Wild and wooly winter

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Bondi Beach in the middle of winter

Whad-ya-rekon ... ?

... should we tell him?

Winter on the harbour

A long bow, I know, but still officially winter even though by our topsy-turvey reckoning the seasons change next week. We don't go for that solstice muck, but change our seasons by the calendar. I will irritate you northern-hemispherers further by claiming that our weather has been like this for most of August.

WinterFest 2 - Birds of Prey

This Band of Merry Men took to the field with four birds for a constrained display. It was a pea'n'thimble commentary which took one's attention from the paucity of bird knowledge and training. The birds were quite magnificent as were the costumes. A lot of sizzle, not much sausage, I am afraid.


Two Kestrels were paraded first. The second one was let go and did a magnificent loop above the field, but then disappeared. I have no idea if he returned. They said he would as he was hungry. Then came a Barn Owl who was tempted with a 'rabbit'. Finally, they trotted out a magnificent version of the Wedge-tailed Eagle. However, as a show, I much prefered the one outside Darwin last year, but it was all about the birds, not about the status they conveyed in Medieval times. A mismatch between me and the entertainment, I guess.

In Winter, a week is a long time

Sydney is blessed with a mild climate. Which I am about to whinge about!

We don't get snow; not where I live. We don't get frosts; not where I live. We get very few days above 30. We get exceptionally few above 35; where I live. I keep putting that, because I live within cooee of the coast and the weather is ameliorated by onshore breezes. Sydney is a bit of a sprawling city and other residents have their own story.

Living close to the coast, though, means that we get more than our fair-share of rain.


And the last week or so has seen a fair bit of rain. Firstly, it swung up from the Antarctic via Tasmania and along the SE coastline. That was blowy and cold. Now we are having a dose of the sort of rain that just sits there. This lot came down from Queensland, it gets so far and is stopped by the stuff coming up from the south. So it dumps its lot. As is the way with these things, us city slickers get our stockings wet when the bus flicks up gutter water. The poor blighters on the land get swamped, with farms inundated and stock moving to higher ground. Towns on the north coast of the state are cut-off and water-logged.

We are lucky where I live. Throughout it all, the temperatures ranged from about 12C to about 17C. Come the weekend, I note the forecasts have been adjusted to make the minium about 9C for about a week. Must be the guvments fault; they orta do summat.

My World - Opera Bar

Basking in the warmth of a 19C Sunday afternoon on Sydney Cove, soft rock coming from a live trio, swirling a cab/merlot around the glass, I watch as P&O's 'Pacific Jewel' glides between Bridge and Opera House. I take a sip ... and then another ...


So why the foot?

I have recently contributed to a new site called 'Toemail', which is looking for submissions of toes from identifiable sites around the globe.

Go on - give it a try!


A new member of the My World Tuesday community.

On the banks of the mighty Fitzroy River ...

A winter's morning rises over the sleepy hamlet of Fitroy Crossing in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.