May 21. Day 141. Gold digger

On the weekend Musgrave Park was a hive of activity as huge crowds descended on the area to enjoy the annual Paniyiri Festival.
Today a much smaller but no less determined band was in the park picking up where the festival goers left off.
The crows and ibis were in heaven, the rubbish collectors were kept very busy and in the middle of it all was Maurice with his metal detector and shovel.
A relative new comer to metal detecting, Maurice says it's the thrill of the chase that attracts him to treasure hunting in the park. It's something he's wanted to do for a long time but now with a bit of time on his hands he's joined a club and invested $1000 on equipment.
The problem is, he says, the metal top of a soft drink or beer, will give about the same reading as a gold coin.
But big crowds tend to leave a lot behind and one couple had just left the park $100 richer, says Maurice.
Metal detecting has so far netted Maurice about $200 in coins which still leaves him well short of what the gear cost but he's philosophical.
"It will only take a find of one $3000 gold necklace," he says. "You have to hand big items like that to the police but after 60 days if no-one claims it, it's yours."
That would be gold.

May 20. Day 140. Greedy guts

Perhaps it is because it is autumn and the birds are trying to fatten up ahead of winter, but the birds were going off today eating like there will be no tomorrow.
There seemed to be plenty to go around but on my walk I witnessed more than one cat fight between birds each apparently trying to get a better share of the prize blooms.
I love the look of the noisy miner, it's beak still coated with nectar looking for the next flower to gorge on. (I also love the way the angle of the bird and the colour of its bill mimics the petals of the Bird of Paradise. Isn't nature a wonderful thing?)
Frankly, I know how the bird feels. As soon as the weather turns and the mercury drops, the desire to eat comfort food grows. I am sure there is some good survival reason for it, something about building up a layer of fat for when food supplies dry up during the winter.
Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Now where's s sticky date pudding? I'll fight you for it.

May 19. Day 139. Beached

I'm pretty sure it has happened to all of us. You think there is somewhere or something your little one will just adore, a new experience he or she will take to like a duck to water ... and then you realise just how wrong you can be.
That was pretty much the story of Rumple's first trip to the dog beach. In my mind he would charging through the water, ears pinned back creating quite a splash - a bit like Lulu in the first photo.
But it wasn't to be. Rumple took one look at the water and ran the other way. He wasn't even interested in playing his favourite game on fetch on the shore.
So according to the original assessment criteria today was an epic fail. But as this is a piece of self assessment I shall just change the criteria (*note to my students, this is a privilege I extend only to myself. You will be judged by the original set criteria like it or not).
It was an absolutely stunning day. We had a long walk along the beach watching the families with their dogs playing in the water or fishing or just splashing about.
As an added bonus, I also collected a few unusual shells for my shell collection.
While the water wasn't Rumple's cup of tea he did seem to enjoy meeting the other dogs and I was impressed at how well behaved the dogs were and friendly their owners were.
Yep, that's a successful family day out without even getting your feet wet. We'll be back and I'm pretty sure with age Rumple will enjoy actually going in the water. Or not. Whatever. I'll just rewrite the rules.

May 18. Day 138. Just warming up

Eisteddfods were huge when I was growing up, although I never actually competed in one.
My younger sister Lisa, however, did once compete in a speech and drama section and for years she would tell us about getting a little tongue tied so Honey the Sugar Glider came out as Honey the Sugar Glue. I'm pretty sure she didn't enter the following year.
I actually thought eisteddfods had died out, gone the way of the dinosaur. Try telling that to the thousands of dancers who today were competing in the second of six days of dance group and solo competitions.
The dancers have taken over the performing arts centre at my son's school and I was one of a small army of volunteers brought in to help feed them (for such waif-like creatures they sure can knock back more than their fair share of hot chips).
Although I didn't enter the venue it was great watching the girls (and the occasional boy) warming up, stretching and even carting mountains of costumes to and from the venue.
Never have so many sequins, so much Lycra and so many pairs of false eye lashes been gathered in one place.
I felt so sorry for the Mums who stood by hearts in mouths and watched the girls squirting tomato sauce dangerously close to costumes that looked a million bucks (chances are they also cost a small fortune).
What struck me was:
1) that no matter how serious the competition is, the competitors are still having a great time (as this photo of some of the Dance Force dancers warming up clearly shows) and
2) If you want to wear your furry slippers out in public take up dancing. there were pink fluffy slippers EVERYWHERE
And these girls are just warming up.

May 17. Day 137. As good as it gets

It does not get any better than this, it just doesn't. The weather gods got it just right today. Beautiful clear blue, blue skies, warm but not hot sun, clear, clean and a stunning, stunning day.
For city dwellers with time to kill the place to be this morning was South Bank Beach where families were making the most of the day, in the pool, on the sand and  in the aquativity water play area. Why wouldn't you?
The crowd was modest in the morning but grew as the day progressed in recognition of the fact that it's Poet's Day (yep, P*ss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday). Let's  hope the weather gods continue to smile on us.

May 16. Day 136. That's just showing off

If you've got it flaunt it. That makes so much sense but it is a fine line between selling yourself and being totally up yourself.
There's no arguing this bird has it. What an amazing figure the Anhinga novaehollandiae - The Australian Darter - cut at the University of Queensland lakes this morning. All its undeniable assets were on display for all to see.
Must be nice to have that much confidence. I admire those you can put on such a display without any self consciousness. It's not something I'm good at especially when it comes to those "sell-yourself" moments - promotion documents, job interviews Facebook profiles that sort of thing.
Perhaps I need to learn to spread my wings a bit more. After all, as the mother of a teen there's always a voice to bring me back to earth should it ever appear it's getting out of control.

May 15. Day 135. Breaking the fast

Someone was hungry and he was not afraid to let mum know about it. In fact, for such a little chick he was making quite a racket at South Bank this morning.
I know how the little one feels. If I haven't had breakfast I am not a person to mess with.
The funny thing is, it wasn't always like that. Just the other day a school friend sent me an email reminding me that as a teenager I would pour the orange juice, freshly squeezed by my mother, into a pot plant as I walked out the door to catch the school bus.
And orange juice was a compromise position. Mum had given up trying to get me to eat food so thought fresh orange juice was better than nothing. Of course Mum didn't know that nothing was exactly what I had for breakfast.
Parenting can be so difficult some times. You can lead a little one to orange juice but you can't actually make her drink. Sorry about that Mum.
Can I just say you were right? It took me a long time but I now know breaking the fast is vital. Now I just have to learn not to break it with such vigour.