In Isolation

Hello out there from isolation here on Bribie Island, Australia.

So here we are in late April, and like most in the world, I’m staying at home to protect myself and others in the community. In reality, my lifestyle hasn’t changed much. Before the virus arrived, I worked from home and live alone. I don’t go out much, apart from walking along the local beach. But I do miss being able to go to my local cafe for some R & R, catching up with a friend, or reading etc. That old saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” comes to mind.

Australia has not been hit as hard as most of the world’s countries. A lot of the reason, in my opinion, is that our Federal government stepped up and acted quickly. I know some Aussies would disagree, but compared to other countries we are so far ahead of coming through.  Just as are our cousins across the pond, New Zealand. We’re not out of the mess just yet, but I am glad that when the virus arrived, I was home in Australia, not the USA which as we know is having a horrible time of it. 

So at the start, I planned for achieving much. Some things I have achieved and I’m happy about that.  Finally sorted out thousands of never to be read again emails, dating back many years (2010 to be exact).  UGH!  I also have been working though my Dropbox files where many important documents live.  Many have gone to the virtual shredder, and my storage is grateful for that.

 

As a photographer, I have umpteen duplicates of photos — some great, others not so.  My virtual cutting room floor is awash with hundreds of sunrise and sunset shots.  There are really only so many one needs. In this exercise, I’ve come across shots that I loved at the time and they still do have an impact upon me.  Like this fellow, found at a farm on the highway to my hometown one day.  He was looking at me through a wire fence and I had a brief window of time to capture him. 

I’ve also got back to reading. Just as I have been battling a writer’s block (hence this being the first post in a long time), I’ve also had trouble maintaining my attention to books.  But I’ve read 2 books in the past month.  First was a small, but interesting read called Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell.  The other I just finished today: The Salt Path, by Raynor Winn. Both non-fiction and both really interesting.

So, tonight I’m pretty happy.  I’ve finally got back to my blog. I hope for it to be a part of my routine now.

Best wishes!

 

 

 

The seasons on the move…

Well, Spring arrives on September 1. Winter hasn’t been cold…so much so that I am still in my summer clothes.  I live in Queensland, the sunshine state of Australia, where the temps are never as low as those of our southern cousins. Since I arrived back home 13 years ago, I’ve never felt cold — because the 10 years I had living in the USA in a cold climate made an Aussie winter feel quite tame. I wonder sometimes if I should have been born in the USA as I prefer the cold weather to the scorching summers we get here. My preferred time here is Sept – Nov (spring).  Though I would say that spring seems to be shorter every year, with summer temperatures coming mid-way through the time.

I took this photo a while back, on the protected side of the island, in the Pumicestone Passage – which runs between the island and the Australian mainland. I loved the pattern on the crest of the incoming swell. Also the delicate bubbles.  Their more powerful cousins are on the other side of the island, at Woorim Beach, where I live.

We haven’t seen rain for most of this year, and very little in 2018. There’s a storm blowing in from the ocean right now, but it seems to be all lights, sound and no action.  Best I shut down in case of a power outage.

Meandering and pondering life

This morning I got up fairly early and went for a slow meander along the beach, pondering life.  I only took my cell phone with me for photos (I may have mentioned in a previous post that I have severe tendonitis in both hands, making it impossible to use my DSLR — I just don’t have the manual dexterity to be able to hold it nor change settings.  Even carrying a tripod is not feasible right now).

It’s winter here, but the temp was warm enough for me to be in shorts and a shirt without a sweater. We don’t get that cold here on the island anyway, but it’s certainly not normal to be having the temperatures we are right now. Probably should get used to it, given global warming. I live on a small island off the Queensland mainland — Bribie Island. It used to be a sleepy place with a lot of beachy types of people.  Some of them are still here, but also there are young families and retirees. Sadly, with an increase in population, comes big city issues, such as littering and angry drivers. The latter seems to be more exemplified by young men in 4WDs (SUVs) who love to tailgate. One day they’ll learn to slow down (hopefully).

I live on the surf side of the island – in fact, I just walk across the street, over the sand dunes and there is the beach.  On the other side of the island it is protected waterways. Both have their own beauty. The surf is supposed to pick up in intensity the next few days and a number of beaches south of here were closed today.

This photo I took on the walk this morning. Not many others there at the time, probably having a sleep in on a Sunday morning.

Enough for now — I’m pleased with myself for doing a post.  More to come.

Cheers from Australia!

Where’s Kim?

In the theme of Where’s Wally, I write this thinking about everything that I’ve had come through my life these past few years.

A quick glance at my previous posts shows that I have somewhat dropped off in the regularity of posting that I once provided. 6 months since my last post, at a time when I thought I could get back to posting…well, the thought was there anyway.  Not to make excuses, because that’s life I guess.  It’s the ebb and flow. In addition, I’ve had a serious case of writer’s block. Lots of ideas for posts, but just couldn’t get started.

Here I am, Saturday afternoon in Australia, and thinking of posting.  We’ll see.  For now, I need to get off here, and get my act into gear as I am going to a friend’s home for dinner.

Let’s hope I post tomorrow.

Best wishes, dear “starved for posts” followers. 🙂