Tonights Sunset



I just stepped out the house about 6pm to take Lady the dog for a walk just had to go back for the camera when I saw this sky

How beautiful!!

Stunning, Gees!

Now the crocuses and primroses are out, a reminder of notsolongago...

This is the clock tower at the University of Western Australia - it's a very well known landmark in Perth. Last March we had a terrible hailstorm and the area around the university (Nedlands) was the worst hit. Many of the windows in this building were smashed by the hailstones (which were as big as golfballs), hence all the scaffolding you can see in the picture as they repair the damage. Regular visitors to this forum may recall that I used to work nearby and that my car was also severely damaged in the storm. My windows were broken and the body of the car resembled the lunar surface with hundreds of small dents. My daughter nicknamed the car "Dimples" - the insurance companies were mostly just writing off the thousands of damaged cars but I am happy to say that my insurance company paid for Dimples to be fixed. After two accidents (not my fault) and the hailstorm, all within six months, I now drive the most expensive Nissan Pulsar in town.

One of my little jobs online is to help look after the pre-Worboys (ie before 1964) UK sign pool, and part involves deciding which signs are actually eligible or not. Not remembering more than half myself, as although they were discontinued then many remained well into the 80s before they started becoming rare. This is a perfect example I stumbled across today, and bear in mind despite its almost perfect condition it's at least 46 years old.

I look at a number of preliminary criteria which instantly disqualify it if wrong, the font and design. This one reaches stage two, it's either made nationally so passes, or privately or by the local council in which case it still fails as they made signs in the style of the time but not the format. This sign is on a public road, but as it points to a private garage tells me the owner applied to the council for a sign as people kept parking in front of it and they allowed it to be made. It's still a beauty but would be nice if it scored another official point as well.

Spent the day at the lake today again. With this year being such a good one with the rain and the season there is an abundance of insects. I've never seen so many dragonflies and here is one that came very close.

Great shot of the dragonfly!



Shrimp Plant

Before I carry on with the San Francisco area, a quick trip to my home town with a ship arriving at the Port of Timaru.

or maybe not as the photo is not showing so I will try again later.

MG, I was looking up Sevilla, Spain for a tiny item I will post and I was interested in the Cathedral I visited when I was there. It has a tower made over from the original minaret of the muslim mosque which was on the site (Christopher Columbus is intered in the Cathedral! REM Sevilla is one of the world's largest inland ports thanks to the very navigable Quadilahara River) Anyway, your clock tower looks as if the design was based on the Cathedrals bell tower/minaret.
I'll share the image of the small thing here rather than the fortnight. While we were in Sevilla, the Festival of Semana Santa (Holy Week) was going on. Being from America, I wondered what had drawn all the KKK members to Spain while I was on vacation. It wasn't that group at all but Catholic penitents of various parishes donned in their particular colors in a native costume. The worshipers all carry candles. But rivalry between villages tends to transcend the observance so Diputados are needed to keep peace. They are identifiable by their different arrangement of color and that they carry staffs. I purchased this 2 inch plastic souvenir from that visit. Maybe Spanishliz or szabs can verify or correct that blah blah blah? Sorry about the focusing, the thing is tiny. You can just make out the eye holes cut in the face area.

Not a brilliant picture, but an unusual subject - a two-toed sloth...

There have been two hotels (originally called road houses) on these sites on the A41 in Watford for as long as anyone remembers, my grandpa used to play the guitar in the band there regularly as many other locations in and around London, this is one of the current occupants, I think it's this one I went to a wedding at about 20 years ago.

Herschel Building Newcastle University



The last building I worked in before retiring built in the 1960s now to have a new building built in front of it

Another view of the University of Western Australia.

I shall try again with the photo of a ship arriving at the Port of Timaru in New Zealand.

I spent a pleasant couple of hours this afternoon sampling several of the soups entered in the contest mentioned on the sign. This one was very good, but didn't actually contain groundhog This was part of a day called Savour the Chill, designed to get people downtown instead of always heading to the mall, and was pretty successful by the look of the crowds.

A seagull at the Santa Barbar beach. The seagulls seemed bigger than the ones here but god knows why?

Another straight road in Ashford

After a wet and humid summer this poor gardenia has developed a fungus.
It also needs a good feed of Blood and Bone with a hint of potash.

My Gardenia has responded well over the years using pickle juice (After you've eaten the pickles of course) and a good dose of Palm fertilizer. Gardenia's like acidic soil and those two provide a fair quantity of acid and nutrients. The necrotic coloring of the leaves (pale yellow) indicate it isn't getting the nutrients it needs even though they may be there. Even if you do the bone and potash, the soil ph is looking like it needs to be lowered. I think it's the vinegar in the pickle juice that does the trick. Maybe dilute some white vinegar and wet the soil with it. The palm fertilizer (depending on the mfr) usually contains some rare minerals that help too like manganese and magnesium.

The cable car up to Taronga zoo

What is this building?



It is the new station for Metro System(the station itself is underground) in the Haymarket in the centre of Newcastle

Not many flowers out at this time of year, not sure what this one is but is climbing all along a fence and in among other plants.

mehaul, I don't buy commercial pickles, but I'd be wary of putting the juice of my home-made pickles on the garden because of the salt content. Interesting theory though!
Howie, because of the season and because it's a climber, I think your plant may be one of the large-flowered Clematis. Just a guess though.

An alpaca with a rather cute hairstyle...

Aww, that's adorable!