Turmeric Flower

Coming to Australia from England, I knew turmeric only in powder form and was really surprised to see the root for sale in local markets (it looks a bit like yellow ginger). About 18 months ago I stuck a piece of it in the ground. It sprouted broad thick leaves and looked fabulous for a while but then just disappeared. I presumed I had killed it but it poked through the soil again in November and flourished in the summer rain during January. A few days ago noticed this fantastic flower.
I'm not very good at learning about all these new plants. I just stick them in the ground and hope for the best. When things thrive and flower, it takes me a bit by surprise!

Is it a bird?... is it a plane....?

This picture was taken on Wednesday morning from Highgate Hill looking west. You can see the Suncorp Stadium, Merivale Bridge, the Sky Needle, the big red church in Red Hill. Also, you might have to click on the picture to enlarge it but one of those balloons appears to be a giant box of Libra (that's a box of tampons).

Billowing Cotton Clouds Skywatch

Tuesday evening, amongst the transmission towers, Mount Coot-tha.

Check out skies across the globe posted today at Skywatch Friday.

Vindaloo Against Violence!

Yesterday was the day many Aussies all over the country went out and had a curry in their local Indian restaurant as a show of support towards the Indian community here. There have been some pretty nasty racially-motivated attacks on Indians recently - including a couple of Brisbane taxi drivers. Not a bad way to protest, if you ask me! With any luck, positive press such as this will rebuild some bridges both here and overseas. Read more about it here.

When your normal bass just isn't cutting the mustard...

This piece is called Nada yang hilang which translates as The lost note by Indonesian artist Rudi Mantofani. It's part of the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Art which runs at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art until early April. It's a great show if you like that kind of thing. I love it.

Shades Of Red

Taken a few weeks ago when the poinciana in full bloom matched the car and the boots.

Q. Can I Take a Gander Round Your Verandah?

A... Only if it's house-trained. (boom boom!)

Queenslander houses are built on stilts to welcome any available breeze. Many have them have these great little verandahs which would definitely the place to be for me on a warm summer evening... perhaps with a nice cold drink and a few snacks, watching the world go by.

Tap!

Spring Hill tap dancing...

Nepalese Pagoda

This is the Nepalese Pagoda at South Bank. It's hand-carved wood and was a gift from Nepal to Brisbane in 1988 when they had Expo here. It's set within a mini rainforest by the river so it just sort of appears. You often hear people who come upon it going "oh wow!". See a detail here and here.

Maybe Brisbane City Council is doing it's bit for the environment but they don't shed nearly enough light on it at night.. This was taken with a 2 minute exposure.

The Gabba At Night

Looking up, outside Wooloongabba Cricket Ground.

Fairy Bread

It's a phenomenon that I only came across when I arrived in Australia and started going to my daughter's friends' birthday parties. Fairy Bread: sliced white bread and butter sprinkled with sugary hundreds and thousands. It sounds absolutely vile and I haven't been game enough to taste a slice to this day but the kids love it!

Some are born into cricket... others have cricket thrust upon them.

...I would fall into the latter category. Did you know Brisbane flooded yesterday? Only very briefly but at around lunchtime we got 90mm of rain in the city in under an hour. Cars even floated down the road in Milton. As I was cooped up at work, I didn't get any snaps and when I emerged into the steamy drizzle, the flash floods had more or less gone. So... no flood pictures; just cricket. See? You can have cricket thrust upon you too.

The crowd was about 20,000-strong which was about half full.
Click on the picture to enlarge it.

And if you really wanted to check out the floods, there are some pictures on the Brisbane Times website here.

Faces in the Crowd

Valentine's Day At The Cricket

I'm not a big cricket fan. The only thing that made me go to this one-day match between Australia and the West Indies was if I didn't, my true love would be heading to the cricket on Valentine's day without me... so I went along grudgingly but ended up having an absolute ball. More cricket posts to come.

Budding Winter Olympians

Skating is not Brisbane's first sport (see picture). But being around 30 degrees (86F) most days at this time of year, it's a real novelty to dress up in warm clothes and actually experience being a bit cold. Walking in from the sun-baked carpark you see people suddenly smile, relax and breathe out...ahhhh! Relief!

Lounging Around In Paddington

Tucked away on Latrobe Terrace in Paddington is this mosaic sofa built on a high wooden deck with a view looking out across the city. When I got there, there was a group draping themselves over it and having their picture taken. It's great! (If only some twit hadn't tagged it)

The piece, commissioned by Brisbane City Council, is called "Lounge Around" by Scott Harrower - you can see more of his stuff and read about him here.

Evening Wisps Skywatch

Sunset clouds seem to spread out like ink in water at this time of the evening and the city is drenched in golden light.

Have a fabulous weekend and check out Skywatch Friday.

Splat Dragon!

Failure To Launch

This "baby" brushtail possum in Mount Nebo was almost as big as it's mum but she still managed to haul it up and down trees and along balconies in search of any food scraps from our table. Poor old mum!

Pillared Pathway

Orleigh Park, West End.

Roadside Waterfall

When Brisbane gets a big downpour, like we did on Saturday night, you get little roadside waterfalls happening. There are plenty of hills and rock-faces around the city to help the water on its merry way down hill. This one on Mount Coot-tha then flows onto the nearby road...which can add a bit of a thrill to the drive.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 40)

Welcome back to the traffic signal box series! This is one of two boxes by artist Mark Makhoul that adorn the outside of the fire station on Roma Street. (See the other one here.)

Shiny Happy Purple

Plants in Brisbane seem to grow right infront of your eyes at this time of year. When the sun shines after the warm summer rain, colours and brightness is exaggerated and everything sparkles!

Moon Aura Skywatch

The full moon on Saturday night lit up the Brisbane sky with a giant aura surrounding it. So big that my lens, a foot off the ground at 18mm, could only just fit it in. I've never really noticed these auras before so went online to try and find out more about them but nothing concrete came up. Does anyone have any ideas on what causes this to happen?

See more skies posted today from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

Places of Worship

Side by side, Christ Church and Suncorp Stadium.

The little memorial garden that I featured a couple of days ago is just behind this church.

The One, The Only...

...imposters beware!

Curiosity got the better of me so I googled this interesting old building on Charlotte Street in the CBD. I Love Brisbane supplied me with an explanation. It seems the "HIMSELF" bit was because John Mills, a printer, had previously been part of a business partnership. When it dissolved, he went out on his own and advertised accordingly.

City Moon Rise

Did you see the moon on Saturday night? It was big and full. It lit up the clouds around it in Brisbane and occasionally peeped out from behind them.

February Theme Day: Wood

There's this beautiful old house in Milton. It's got a wood frame, wood gables, a wood balcony and these rustic looking wood shingles all over it. It stands stoically on one of the busiest intersections in Brisbane braving the weather, pollution, thundering trucks and stadium crowds who file past regularly in their thousands.

This picture is part of the City Daily Photo theme day which happens on the first of every month.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants