The Beauty of Creation

Fancy a walk up a mountain meadow, with spectacular views as your reward? 

After a warm walk through a tropical forest, a waterfall to with a soothing sound and a cool swim.

Riding on a paddle board to say hello to some visitors, before enjoying some fresh tropical fruit.

Admiring a Monarch butterfly in your garden on a warm summer's day.

The final creation and the most beautiful of all.

Ideas On Places To Travel To

                                                               If you like green countryside, here's an idea. Greenland!

They say Chile is a cool place to visit. 

I enjoyed my time in Greece, especially the takeaways. 

Russia is always worth a quick trip. 

I was able to garner some woven kente in Ghana.

Turkey is a fascinating place but wouldn't get my vote at Christmas time. 

I'd only go to Korea if it was a career move. 

Yap is a nice place to go to if you don't mind small dogs barking. 

If you go to Laos, watch out for parasites.

Not sure if my wife wants to go to Alaska, but I'll ask her.

I couldn't get a flight out of Iran, so I ran. 

I was disappointed with Wales. I didn't see any. 

Apparently, singers are not well paid in Singapore.

I've been into Benin.

Watch out for the 'flu in Germany.

I perused Peru. 

Take your appetite when you go to Hungary.

Whitebait

New Zealand whitebait are very young fish that are caught during their migration into freshwater rivers after their larval stage at sea. They are caught near the mouths of rivers using a large, hand-held net. It's a seasonal activity with strict periods allowing the more common fish to be caught while sparing the less common species.

I recall as a child watching them being netted around jetty piles on the North Shore of Auckland. presumably prior to their returning to a freshwater river. There were so many of them, they were very inexpensive. Some would catch so many, they couldn't eat them all so would dig trenches in the garden and put them in as fertiliser. This was a practice that disgusted my parents, who felt it was wasteful and disrespectful of this bountiful resource.

Today you wouldn't see whitebait in anywhere near the numbers that were back then. It is now a delicacy and commands high prices to the point that when available it is the most expensive fish on the market. Many make quite a financial bonanza out of selling them. We know someone who catches whitebait but doesn't eat many nor sells them but occasionally passes some on to a few close friends. We happen to be of that number.

My wife turned our gift this year into fritters for a nice lunch treat. Below is a picture of that. Yes, we did enjoy them.

The Beauty of a Tree

Sunset

Why I Don't Live In Norway

When my parents had decided to emigrate from the UK, one option was Canada because dad had a brother who had already gone there with his wife. My mother said if she was going anywhere, it had to be a to a warmer climate than Britain. No flies on mum.....until we got to Australia.

Anyway, I have a friend who lives in Norway. She sent these pictures to show me what it is like in winter time. I don't like hot weather but then I'll take that over freezing any day.

Last Of The Cactus

Our cactus plant gave us beautiful flowers...

....but was hard to see from our house, even from a ladder...

...it was also taking a lot away from surrounding plants so it had to go. It wasn't that easy taking it out due to its location and myriad of small roots, but down she eventually came. They were surprisingly heavy, full of water...

...and is now being used as a border at the edge of our (dry) property (above). Below is what was underground.

A smaller plant's root is behind. Sad to see it go but necessary.

We Will, We Will Rock You

Antelope Canyon, Navajo Reservation, Arizona

Zhangjiajie National Park, China

Hopi Reservation, Arizona

The Giant's Causeway, Northern Island

Bryce Canyon, Utah

The Kuril Islands, Russia 

Wave formations, Northern Arizona

Amazing Facts

Avignon, France

Many moons ago, I visited Avignon. It was once where seven successive Popes resided. It is a pleasant city to visit with World Heritage sites such as the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon.

Avignon at night

The Papel Square at night...

...and in daylight

Bridge Of Avignon

View form the Pont Du Gard Aquaduct 

World Trade Centre

Back in 1994, I went up the Twin Towers with my wife and took in the amazing sights, albeit a bit hazy. They were very impressive. In the previous year a bomb had gone off in the basement but it didn't have the intended effect. As we know another attempt in 2001 did. All that remains of the buildings are the photographs people took. Here are mine.

The lobby 

The 107th floor viewing platform

The Hudson River

Brooklyn & the East River

Manhattan East

Amazing Natural Things

A molten crater in Ethiopia. Anyone got marshmallows?

The Northern Lights from space. Probably better viewed from earth

I'll take the muscle thanks

A cancer cell magnified. Sobering

The human tongue surface likewise magnified

A geyser about to burst forth

Amazing Man Made Things

The conclusion of the Great Wall of China

Inside a cargo plane. Hello, hello, hello

Nordlingen, Germany. Built on a crater

Genghis Khan's monument, Mongolia. Huge

The largest land vehicle in the world. I dig it

Car tyres! Can we do better?