Today we decided to paddle instead of pedal, following the North Pine River downstream to some places you don’t get to see on a bike.
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Category: Lawnton
Hays Inlet
Hays Inlet is a swampy wetland area on the south-west of the Redcliffe Peninsula. Today we decided to see how our bikes would cope with its soft mudflats.
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Butcher Bird
Here’s a few photos I took of a juvenile Grey Butcher Bird (Cracticus torquatus) sitting in a tree at our place this morning.
They have a beautiful song, and are quite agressive in the nesting season. Birds often attack cyclists in the nesting season. A Plover will scream madly at you until you go away (they nest on the ground, and have a lot to lose if thet don’t chase you). A Magpie will give you a warning cry before attacking, and will often snap their beaks close to you, to scare you off. But a Butcher Bird will slam into the side of your head without warning, and then warble happily about it afterwards, as though she was laughing at you: “Gotcha, you nasty cyclist. Stay away! Don’t come back!”.
For the rest of the year they’re fun to watch, and to listen to…
DID YOU KNOW that there was a vindictive court case in Brisbane in 1882 (Spry vs Minchinton) about the theft of a Butcher Bird?
Suburban Wildlife
A koala gatecrashed our Friday drinks on the deck this afternoon.
He quickly scrambled up the paper-bark tree then jumped into a neighbouring eucalypt before munching on some gum leaves.
When I took this picture he was probably less than a 2 metres away.
While I was leaning out taking photos of a Koala I didn’t realize how close I was to this golden orb spider. Looking like a strange little potato with spindly legs, these little creatures can be found all over our garden
It’s wonderful to get such amazing visitors.
Bearded Dragon
This little fellow and his friends visit our place regularly. Sometimes before I can drive up the driveway, I have to get out of the car and shoo them out of the way.
This afternoon he was checking us out, so I snuck up on him with Liz’s camera and took a few shots.
Liz’s camera is much easier to take good photos with than my mobile phone!
North Pine River. Then and Now.
Local historian and friend Leith Barter recently sent me a copy of a photo taken near the bottom of my street around 1930.
The footbridge was built to allow local children to get to North Pine (Petrie) State School school on the other side of the river, without having to go all the way down to Gympie Road and back again.
Harrison and I went out exploring today to see if we could find where the photo was taken so we could get a “then” and “now” photo.
The Llawnton Llama of Lleis Park
We saw a couple of kangaroos while we were out cycling this morning, but this Llama wins the prize for the most unusual animal we’ve seen today.
He was just trotting around Lleis Park at Llawnton today (pardon the double LL’s but when you see Llama it affects your spelllling).
He had decided to wander off from the circus that has set up camp in the park.
No one was harmed, and he eventually went back home to the circus.
Everyday Beauty
I see this Eucalyptus Tree every day from my front deck, and never grow tired at looking at it. I’m very grateful that we have such beauty at our front door – literally!
What amazes me is how the same tree can seem so different each time I see it
