A male pheasant coucal. Before we saw these birds we thought they were owls from their bird call.

Messing around with my 20xPower Zoom....

We braved the post-Boxing Day road traffic to take a little trip north to Crowdy Head National Park. Turn left off the Pacific Hwy. at the Harrington exit, drive through a god-awful Harrington Waters Development and north along the coast to see this working lighthouse from the 1800's.

Native forest of Crowdy Head camping area....

Ganesha is the greeter outside the Yoga Shed. It seemed befitting to the season to suit him up with a little red beanie - worn with dignity befitting a Hindu god....

North Americans and Europeans, eat your heart out, as we Aussies head for the beach on Xmas Day. This one, Elaine, is actually a Canadian transplanted for the summer.

A couple of photos taken with my new camera - another Canon Powershot with those elevated MP's and powers of Zoom that I've been coveting. This time I might even watch the "Your guide to Taking Better Photos" but that would be revolutionary :)

Here's Susan....

Judy & Mike

Eight of us for dinner on Xmas Eve....

Manning Point Beach - E & D

A scene repeating itself right around the world clock, in countless bird-eating countries....Heather and Rick sticking it to our little turkey - sausage stuffing. No it's ready to get cooked in a hot oven on a hot summer's day!

I've have a rather secret hobby - had it for all of the time we've owned the Mitchells Island property: collecting river stones. They might actually be beach stones, but they are very much part of the landscape in this neck of the woods. These varied stones call to me, so I answer by collecting them and bringing them home to Scotts Rd. For my recent birthday, I asked for and received a professional rotary tumbler. At the moment I'm "cooking" a batch which, when it's done after about a month or so, should yield polished stones. Hide & watch!

Today, in anticipation of Xmas, Daniel felled a pine from our land. Actually it's the top third of a very large tree. The whole one would have been bigger than our house. Daniel was mentored through chainsawing by the master feller (as you would expect from a Canadian) Rick.

Other enjoyable activities of the day were ground levelling curtain making and story writing.

Just another day...of compelling images. This one took me out of the Yoga Shed and my early morning practice to grab it with my iPhone....

Good that I have a small backlog (amongst 7,000 photos!) of images as it's raining at the moment, a disincentive if I ever saw one....These are from the Mitchells Island Orchid Nursery visit we did with Peter Nixon on Sunday....

Cats not being friendly - caterwauling, in fact....

I'm a sucker for the morning mist hanging flossily over the meadows, mountains, and Scotts Creek....

Proof that we are still living in Australia....

About 7 am. on Sunday, I was peacefully into my yoga practice when a noise louder than 10 chainsaws or the Crows Nest bottle garbos shook Mitchells Islanders out of their beds. I managed to retrieve my camera and fire off a shot just as the ultra-light swooped over our house.
Later our neighbour Trevor volunteered that the pilot, Bob, is an Oxley Islander, and a mate....

Happiness is going to the beach with a friend - in this case Peter Nixon....

Heather and Peter braved some messy waves, albeit pristinely clean....
Breakfast on Sunday at the Waterbird Cafe....
...followed by a visit to the Orchid Nursery, which abounds in ginger plants as well as orchids....
Of course, we did yoga, and even tho' this pose looks strange, it is excellent to traction a sore neck, or to clear sinus passages....

Friday night's sunset was spectacular....

The gums go golden...
...and the pastures too....

Wednesday night we saw the blooming of the moon flower, which only ever lasts for several hours. Imagine investing all that energy into one go at making an impression and everyone is watching prime time television.

Did you know the King Parrot is the only bird in Australia that has a completely red head?

Heather and I sanded and stained railings and posts today. They look rich and complete now.
Daniel started his new job today, after the sale of Instinct Systems. The pay's not as good but the hours are great. No commute, fresh air, quiet (except for machine noise).
Last Saturday Matt the assistant builder did a bang-up job of levelling the ground behind the house and in other areas. Worked like a coolie for 8 hrs. Matt's our neighbour and brings us fresh eggs from his chickens.

Birthday girl and Simon at Montagu's on Saturday arvo....
Simon and Abi, both old yoga students....
More recent student, Martin & B-Girl....
The beautiful Marian & Lesley
Abi, Zoe, Jo & Carol