The River Loop

There are thousands of cyclists in Brisbane. It has the perfect climate for it. The majority of Brisbane's cyclists choose cycling for fitness but the level of cycling commuters would probably shoot right up if it was safer to ride in and out of the city. Each candidate for the recent mayoral elections promised better cycling infrastructure but unsurprisingly that's all quietened down now that the elections are over.

One of the most well-trodden bike routes is called the River Loop and snakes around dedicated bikeways and streets on a 30-40km course (depending which bridge you cross) roughly following the river. If you live on one of these streets and are up before 7am, you will know all about it either from the whizz of bikes flying past at high speed or the seemingly too-loud conversations about bike cadence or how the stock prices in Woolies are looking.

Having said that, it's a great ride. If you can't beat em....

Traffic Stopping Art (Number 61)

Having taken a three year break from this lark, there are LOADS of new traffic signal boxes all over the place that I can show you. This one is by Dominique O'Leary in Fortitude Valley.

If you are curious about the traffic signal box project, check out the Urban Smart Projects website.

The More I Think About It....

You're gonna need a bigger rod...

After a major rebuild, Shorncliffe Pier re-opened to the public at Easter. It stretches 350 metres into Bramble Bay and, according to Brisbane City Council website, has

• four fish cleaning stations
• four water fountains
• 20 light poles
• seven bins
• six safety ladders
• four benches
• fourteen seats
• two picnic tables
• a flag pole for yacht races.
• a concrete and steel substructure
• timber joists, decking, handrails and rotunda
• a larger rotunda
• a larger hammerhead at the end
• a lower platform at the end of the pier.

I'm not so keen on the idea of a large hammerhead at the end. I hope it's friendly.

Dog Food Cake With Brain Icing

We had a bit of a neighbourhood party on Sunday - which co-incided with one of the local dog's 10th birthday. We told the kids it was a dog food cake with brain icing. In the end their curiosity got the better of them!

Canopy

At the back of Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens.

May Theme Day: Smell

Living in the city, sometimes you need that extra boost in your garden. Late last year a group of us clubbed together to get a truck load of the most rotten, stinking manure you can imagine delivered from the farm to my door. It worked out at A$3 per bag which is a bargain! This was one of the bags that wasn't crawling with maggots - the farmer proudly told me that it was from the bottom of the pile and as stinky and rotten as I was going to get. The garden LOVED it!

Check out other posts for today's City Daily Photo theme here.

The Writing's On The Wall

The changing face of graffiti...

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.

Real Australians Say Welcome

I thought in the light of the closure of the refugee detention centre on Manus Island and yesterday's horror story from Nauru, it might be worth letting you know that not all of us agree with our immigration minister Mr Dutton. 

Skate Arena Paint Job

It's been a while since I've been past the old Skate Arena in Red Hill. The building has been lying dormant for years after a fire and is slowly surrendering to the elements. Some photographers have managed to get inside and take some beautiful shots but I'm not that brave. The artist who painted the outside wall here is called Drapl - he also painted the latest rail support in South Brisbane which I posted about recently here.

Signs on Boundary St.

Fenced In Cows

The old ABSOE building in Boundary Street, West End, has hosted some great weekend markets, a couple of music venues, bars and art studios for the past couple of years but all that has come to an end now as developers move in to bulldoze the current buildings and build 1350 luxury flats spread over seven 15-storey towers. Much of the local community is against the development.

It was an unceremonious end to the last markets on Friday night. The developers were worried the community would start protesting so they cancelled the event, erected some fencing and employed some security.

Then they had to put a fence in front of the original fence which is causing more controversy...

The artist, Stewart, is back again today to do some repainting. He's going over the cows with native birds. We'll see how that one pans out..

Melbourne Ska Orchestra @ The Triffid

  If I wasn't so busy dancing and cheering I would have been able to stand still enough to take a non-blurry photo. If you like ska music and get the chance to see these guys play live, do yourself a favour and check them out. How they managed to fit 24? 25? musicians and their instruments on that small stage I have no idea. What a crazy, energy-charged, hilarious, infectious bunch of lunatics.

Today's Catch

Fishing for bream off the jetty at Rocks Riverside Park.

West End Notice Board

A Subtle Shift

It seems that Brisbane is full of people that dislike boiling hot weather yet that's what we get here for at least 6 months of the year. The rest of the year it ranges from quite hot to pretty warm. Being from a much more changeable climate, it took me a few years to tune into Brisbane's seasons. We've just ticked over from 'boiling hot' into 'quite hot' (i.e. Autumn) in the last week or so. We don't get leaves turning orange and falling from the trees or cold gusty winds or anything quite so obvious. It's a barely detectable change in temperature - perhaps 2 degrees c. lower than a couple of weeks ago - with a drop in humidity. But it makes all the difference to important stuff like sleeping comfortably or being able to touch the steering wheel of your car without receiving third degree burns.

Becky

I'm waiting for a really amusing response to this graffiti - which has been up there on a wall on Montague Road all week. Council are dragging their heels with this one. They've painted over far less offensive and much more thought provoking stuff a lot quicker.

Living With The Enemy

After a while you start to look like one another...

#1 Suspect

I think this ring-tailed possum might be have a fondness for the new growth on my potted lemon tree. I put a net over it the other day and the next morning there was a hole in the net and the leaves beneath were munched! Cheeky bugger.