Spring in Weipa?

Well Winter has gone and now its supposed to be Spring??? Weipa really heads straight into Summer but the wild almonds actually felt Winter and their leaves changed to Autumn colours dropping to the ground. Its too hot to walk the beach in the midday hours now so morning and afternoons see lots of dogs and their mates walking the beach. A resident croc has moved in and he often pops up to say hello.


Fires are always a sign that the cooler weather has gone and we have had some unseasonal rain last month - seems a lot of the state had unseasonal rain - so grasses grew that extra little bit and now fires are taking hold. This one was over towards Andoom and with the heavy cloud as backdrop and the dying sun peaking through made for a pretty impressive view.


I couldn't resist this little bit of seaweed weaving - strange how work mimics nature. I love the grass woven baskets and have been throwing some porcelain forms with minimal weave marks. I want woven handles with the found soft coral I incessantly pick up while walking so this little image really struck a chord. I would have missed it had I not been down trying to capture the waves rolling around the oyster covered rocks. There is something special getting close up views of the shoreline and this proves it.

I have been rearranging my files and came across this old scanned image of my mum and I in Babinda with Cassie, our pet cassawary. He loved the big skirts worn at the time as he used to nuzzle mum so anyone visiting was greeted with this determined bird wanting to get under their skirts. Needless to say it had mum's friends yelling from the gate. Dad came home with Cassie one night - a little chick Dad caught after the parent was hit by a car- and Cassie grew and grew - he could swallow whole apples in the end and we were sent up to the Azanarri's shop to buy speckled fruit for his food. In those days speckled fruit was cheap, sometimes given away! Cassie's colours were impressive, his neck irradescent greens, purples and blue, and equally impressive were his feet. He never seemed a threat but didn't much like our dog Whiskey and always attempted to stomp him if he came near. Our chooks accepted him as a strange bigger cousin but in the end he was too big to keep so went off to Hartley's Zoo in Cairns. Apparently he lived a long life in complete comfort and I am sure had lots of attentive tourists. These wonderful birds are endangered and often fall victim to cars as they cross the roads. Habitat is dwindling so how special to think I actually watched Cassie mature in my own backyard. Thanks Dad. xxx