Nature and the elements create the most beautiful works of art. Over who knows how many millions of years, these stones were fashioned by the same artist that fashioned us. They seem to be conveying a message for anyone who knows how to read it. Whether it is a geologist’s understanding or a gateway for meditation, the patterns on these stones talk to us.
This stone seems to me like some kind of celestial map, charting the flow of energies in the macro- and microcosm.
This one tells a story of life on earth (or so I feel, these are just personal impressions) like a snapshot.
The photos were taken on Killilea Beach, south of Wollongong.
When we were in Melbourne we went to see an old friend who lives in the hills. And while we were there, he took us to see the William Ricketts Sanctuary, a sculpture park, all the work created by the aforementioned sculptor.
William Ricketts spent time with the Aboriginal people of the Australian outback. He credited them with a spirituality lost to the European settlers and found a saving grace amongst them. After he bought this area of land in the Dandenong Ranges, he dedicated himself to sculpting there connection to the land and each other and his relationship with them.
The land is beautiful temperate rainforest, with the great Mountain Ashes, eucalypts that are the tallest broadleaf trees in the world. His sculptures seem to grow out of the land, itself.
He saw both the white and black people as being crucified by what he called “The Brute”:
This character is that of the dominator, seeking to control all the peoples of the earth. I can say that I heartily agree with him. This place is a place to reconnect to the lost spirit of the human race.
Very few people would disagree with the idea that Meerkats are adorable. They are efficient little hunters of insects and spiders and very social creatures.
Whenever the Meerkats are digging about in search of food, one always keeps a watch-out for predators, whether snakes or other ground-dwelling threats, or eagles or hawks flying about looking for their meals.
When all the work is over, it’s time to chill out.
I think part of their appeal is the serious expression on their faces. At least, that how it looks to me. They could be laughing for all I know.
A couple of photos showing stages in a Komodo Dragon’s life:
The young dragon is a lean, quick predator. But as the lizards grow they become the biggest and heaviest in the world, and prey on pigs and deer and are known also to eat people if they get the chance.
They are named after the island of Komodo in Indonesia, though they can swim to other islands in the area.
There has been recent talk that they are also venomous. It was thought that the bacteria in their mouths were what slowed down prey after they had bitten them but new research suggests that there is actually a compound in their saliva which acts as a soporific. While their bite isn’t deadly, they can catch you up while you sleep it off.
‘Twas a public holiday on Monday and I hightailed it to Sydney Park. I haven’t been there much lately and I wanted to see how things were going, there. It was the middle of the day, so not the best light for photography, but anyhow I took my camera. And I’m glad that I did.
I hadn’t been down the little gully for some time, either; and because I’ve had wonderful bird and reptile experiences there in the past, I hoped to again. But any noticeable animal life seemed absent.
There was, however, a plant with enormous leaves which had grown very large in the time I’d not visited. It looked like some alien spawn amidst the conifers.
That is my hand there for comparison.
After walking around the plant for a while, I headed down to the wetlands.
Which weren’t looking all that wet, actually. It hasn’t rained much for a while and the catchments above the two ponds are being upgraded, so they are empty. The ponds have much less water than they’ve had for a while.
This has attracted unusual visitors, though. For one, a Black-winged Stilt which loves to poke around in sand and mud to look for food.
A Black-fronted Dotterel which feeds similarly. I have seen these before when the water was low; they are such timid creatures I could never get close enough to photograph them. Even this one was a mere dot, really, but my current camera has a longer zoom. In fact, all these birds would’ve escaped my camera without it.
And these two, which I believe to be Latham’s Snipes. It took a little bit of searching on Google images to find these. It was also hard to make them out as they blended in so well with their background.
But by far the best thing was the discovery that Eastern Long-necked Turtles lived in these ponds. They feed off of the small fish that also live there. I had never seen them before, but with the drop in water levels they were more exposed.
Two of them wanted to cross the small hill between the ponds to better water.
The first one I just guarded from dogs as it went its way. The second one (above) was more timid and I carried it across before letting it go. They headed for the viewing platform, particularly to the delight of a small girl and her baby brother.
Something of this may be seen on a video that I put together of the day.
I knew that the ponds would be drier than they have been, and I expected to see little of anything. So the day turned out rather well for me. The turtles especially were a joy, though after carrying one across…you know they’re rather smelly.
A black and white selection today from some photographs that I took last weekend.
I had walked through the city, behind the Art Gallery and into the Botanic Gardens realm.
I’m only showing this selection for now because I’m still working through the collection of the day, but after I put these up a theme wasn’t difficult to discern: shapes.
And specifically, levels of comfort with these shapes. The first two, nice and smooth:
Partnering 3
Partnering 6
And the other two decidedly more spiky:
Ladder
Old Dangers
I’ve uploaded these to RedBubble and you can see them there by clicking the pictures here.
Funny, as I sit and type I can smell the gardens all over again.
Well I’ve not been photographing much for a while. I put up some older pics on Red Bubble though, and these two were featured:
Late Afternoon Photography
Nestled
I also added these two other pics:
Hope
Softness.
Actually went out last weekend taking a few photos not too far away in Sydney City. So I will be putting up what I like at a hopefully not too later date.
Smallfox Photos 