June Theme Day: Shadows and HIghlights

Here's my take on the City Daily Photo theme Shadows and Highlights. Morning breaking through the kitchen windows at work. Plenty of shadows and the prospect of food which, for me, is always a highlight.

To check out what other City Daily Photo bloggers have posted for this theme, click here.

Owl in shining armour

This plastic owl is supposed to keep the rest of the birds - especially kookaburras - from swooping on to the balcony at work and stealing the lunch from our forks (it has happened!). Mostly it seems to be working but there are a few magpies who have cottoned on and are happy to peck at the crumbs.

Practice practice practice

This Sunday is the start of Bike Week in Queensland. The flagship event is the Great Brisbane Bike Ride which includes cycling up Mount Coot-tha. OK, it's less of a mountain and more of a 2.5km hill so we're not talking Tour De France or anything but it's challenge enough for your average everyday cyclist. This week there have been lots of cyclists squeezing in some last minute practice each morning. The light here at this time of year is beautiful and all you can smell is eucalyptus forest and all you can hear are birds and the sound of your own gasping and wheezing. Sublime.

Reward

Yesterday morning's fog draped over the city as seen from the lookout at Mt. Coot-tha. It would have been a better shot if I had been bothered to lug my SLR up the hill but it was hard enough on the bike without it. This was taken with my phone camera. Pretty lovely anyway and a nice reward for getting out of bed at the crack of dawn and hoisting myself up the hill.

Canopy

At the back of Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens.

Cane Toad Trap

Floating around in the beautiful back lake at Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens are a few of these things:

They're floating cane toadlet and tadpole traps! Apparently there are loads of cane toads breeding in this lake but these traps are proving to be very effective. They've only been in for a couple of months but they've already been able to remove 45,000 of them. They contain a pheromone lure derived from the toad that draws them in and then they can't get out. They need to manufacture a garden pond version.

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie!!!

It's been a long time in between drinks but I thought I'd better check in with you and let you know how things are going from my point of view in Brisbane at the moment.

 As you may or may not know, we're bracing for another flood thanks to Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald. The peak is expected tomorrow but we've already seen plenty of chaos due to roads blocked with trees down, debris all over the road and power lines scattered everywhere. This shot was taken outside where I work up in Mount Coot-tha. Luckily for us the tree fell towards the road, otherwise it would have been curtains for the security guard!

We think the peak down by the river will be significantly less than in 2011. For me, personally, that means water in the carpark but not in the flat - whew!  But watch this space - I'll keep you updated.

Oh yes - happy Australia Day holiday!

Somewhere under the rainbow

Yesterday's rainbow over Mount Coot-tha taken from the canteen window at work. People actually left their desks and went and had a look. I love that!

I think it's still Friday in some parts of the world so this one is taking part in Skywatch Friday.

Morning Shadows

Being from a part of the world where you learn to make the most of every drop of warm weather, I still find it a bit unnatural and wasteful to join in with the widespread glee that summer is over for another year. Having said that, autumn is a beautiful part of the year to be in Brisbane. The humidity lifts, the clouds disappear and we get glorious sunshine during the day with cool enough nights to (almost) pull a cover over you.

Today's picture was taken yesterday morning on my way to work at about 7.45. The Mount Coot-tha lookout was mobbed with cyclists who had finished their morning climb and were looking at a downhill stretch all the way home.

March Theme day: Electricity

Today is the first of the month which means it's theme day for those of us in the City Daily Photo gang. This month's theme is Electricity. So being storm season in Brisbane, my intention was to get out there and get the classic shot of lightning over the city but I always seemed to be working or in bed, or very comfortable with a glass of vino when the electrical storms passed through this past month. So I have gone for a shot of the generator at work which is at one of the TV stations up in Mt. Coot-tha. At this time of year with the weather being so charged with electric storms, and with a giant transmitter tower sitting on top of the building, you have to factor in the possibility of being struck by lightning. In the 5 years that I have worked in the building, we have been hit several times and each time this enormous generator keeps us on the air. We run it every time a storm passes near Mt. Coot-tha. It's about 2 metres high and 5 metres long, burns 9 litres of diesel an hour and is very, very noisy.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Mt Coot-tha Lookout Skywatch

It's funny - where I grew up in London, if you looked out of the window and saw this sky you'd be grabbing a coat but at this time of year in Brisbane, a break in the rain often means the humidity rises, the cicadas hiss louder and things get a little bit sticky.

Part of Skywatch Friday

Rise and Shine Skywatch

This was taken by my colleague Adrian on his phone while at work early one morning last week.
It's from the top of Mount Coot-tha looking north-east-ish towards the glinting ocean and Moreton Island beyond.

Does having a heavenly scene like this to look at make up for having to be in work at that un-godly hour? It's a close one.

Part of Skywatch Friday.

Working on a Sunday

I haven't taken any pictures for days and it's surprising how that creeps up on you. I had a bit of a panic moment yesterday while I was at work. I know. Working on a Sunday really is very unsociable. I was wondering what on earth I was going to post today so I had a quick glance around the half-empty newsroom and this is what I've come up with: The vision mixing desk in the control room where they make the news.
Thanks to Troy for being the hand model. 

Cat in a Hot Tin Roof

There were reports of Miaoowing at work the past few days. There was some confusion. We are a TV station at the top of Mount Coot-tha with no houses for miles and plenty of bushland in between. Not a very convenient place for a domestic cat to get stuck. At first we thought someone was editing a tv show starring a very upset cat... but then we would hear it in the engineering area, in the canteen, near the manager's office, in the toilets. Well... it turns out it was a domestic cat. How did it get here?? Who knows!

She was de-sexed, well looked after but didn't have a chip. Surely she couldn't have come all the way up the mountain?? I didn't meet her in person (thanks to Dave for the photos) but all reports are she had a beautiful calm nature despite her ordeal. One of the editors has taken her home to be looked after properly. If this is your cat and you want her back, get in touch!

I've been given a new place to park my car at work: under one of the transmission towers in Mount Coot-tha, which is about as high as you're going to get in Brisbane... even without taking a step onto the tower. If you were allowed to climb it - which I'm not- it would be a 202 metre climb to the light-bulb at the top.
The view, I've heard, is stunning. The Glasshouse mountains, the sparkling Pacific, Stradbroke Island, the Gold Coast and everything in between.

A Coiled Spring

 

The news chopper on one of the helipads at the top of Mount Coot-tha, ready to spring into action.

River of Rain

I know... more rain photos. But I wanted to show you what is normally a dry creek bed at the bottom of Mt. Coot-tha. It's been raging for days with our recent rainwater. Luckily Brisbane has been relatively spared so far and we haven't seen anything like that freak deadly flood in Toowoomba yesterday. Most houses remain dry so far and fingers crossed that's the way it's going to stay.

At The Top of Mount Coot-tha

Canteen Blues

The view from the Channel Ten canteen at the top of Mount Coot-tha looking east and slightly north towards the Port of Brisbane, Moreton Bay and the faint blue haze of Moreton Island on the left.

Floral Gems

Winter blooms amongst some bare branches at the Botanic Gardens in Mt. Coot-tha. If you are in Brisbane, it is such a great place to relax. It's open every day.... and it's completely FREE.