We finally did something interesting! Shortly after I got back to Australia (two weeks ago), Beth’s mother, whom I will refer to as Sheryl, came to visit. She is still here, in fact. Well last week her and Beth headed out of town. On Friday they picked me up and we headed to the Yarra Ranges, mountain ranges about an hour north-west of Melbourne. The area is a nice change of pace from the city life and also home to many vineyards.
The photo above is from Lake Eildon, where we stayed one night. The lake (and it’s town of Eildon) is known for its trout. Sheryl ordered the trout from the only restaurant in town, and unfortunately said it was the worst thing she had ever eaten. She normally likes trout.
We enjoyed a nice sunset walk around the lake and were treated to views like you see here. We were also treated to views of the elusive Kookaburra, so you get a bonus photo.
Kookaburra! Yay, a bonus picture! So . . . is that a gum tree he’s sitting in? As in the lyrics:
Kookabura sits in the old gum tree.
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh kookaburry, laugh kookaburry.
Gay your life must be.
Gosh, I’m amazed I remembered all that. And who knows where I ever sang it. Elementary school music? And what’s the deal with him laughing? Ok, now I just have to report the rest of the lyrics–the lyrics I *don’t* remember–courtesy of Google. I’ll be more normal in my next post. Promise.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Eating all the gumdrops he can see. (Gumdrops?)
Stop, kookaburra. Stop kookaburra.
Save some there for me.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Chasing all the monkeys he can see. (Seen any monkeys?)
Stop, kookaburra. Stop kookaburra.
(You’ll just have to go to Google for the last line!:-))
And now for my *first* impression when I opened the post: That photo is stunningly gorgeous! Definitely a high favorite. It’s like a painting–a really creative painting. I just love the colors . . . and the intensity of the colors. And the mirror images in the water. Just beautiful, Josh. Way to go. And how awesome that you had such amazing material to work with in the first place. How great that Beth and her mom have had time together and have been able to get out of the city. And that you got to get out and see new things, too. (And in great weather, too, it appears. Yay!) I’m excited to look up the Yarra Ranges and Lake Eildon on our map. (The map is huge, by the way. Like . . . maybe 5′ x 5′. LOTS of detail. Love it. Too bad about the trout being so awful. Makes for a good story, though. Get any good vineyard photos? Please post! And say hi to Sheryl for us. Love you! Love your posts!
AND I’m still wishing for that photo of you in your suit at the wedding! XOXOX
(Can you tell it’s Memorial Day here? With all the time on my hands here to comment away here. Guess I should get up off the couch and begin the rest of the day. Ya think? )
Pretty good sunset shot. And the k is cool!! Glad you guys got to travel to somewhere new. And way too bad about Sheryl’s trout. That’s awful. Especially in a place famous for trout. Maybe they ship all the good stuff somewhere else to get higher prices for it. You should have gone fishing!
These photos are stunning! The Lake Eidon photo is beautiful–subtle pinks, grays and blues as well as the silhouttes of the hills reflected in the water. You have such a great eye and capture your surroundings so well. It’s fun to see the kookaburra, too. (I remember the song very well, but since your mother has already “sung” it, I won’t.)
How nice that Cheryl is with you. It’s nice that she and Beth are doing some sight seeing and that they included you in a little of it. Too bad about the trout!
Well I’m not sure but I don’t think the kookaburra was sitting in a gum tree. I think the tree he was sitting in didn’t have any leaves, and normally ‘gum’ trees (aka. eucalyptus trees) don’t lose there leaves in winter.
Just thought I would note about the kookaburra (I dont have a bird book unfortunately so I will just have to tell you what I remember) that they are the largest of the kingfisher birds. Normally they catch large insects, small fish, and I think maybe even small mammals to eat. Their abnormally large head is a common attribute of all kingfishers.
It is good to hang out with mum, and I am very glad she came to visit us. As for her trout dinner, I gave her some of my steak and prawns that nite so it wasn’t so bad . She has since had some nicer dinners!
Mom, I don’t have any photos from the wedding. If I get one of me I will put it up for you .
Jon, that photo was actually not with my new lens. It was with my old one. I really like my new lens, but the problem is my camera bag doesn’t fit it in, so unless I go out intending to shoot with it, I never seem to have it with me when I would like to use it (like when shooting the kookaburra).
Oh yeah, and also there are several different species of eucalpytus or gum trees in Australia (I think about 700). It is confusing because most australians just refer to these trees in general as gum trees.
14 Comments »
Comment by josh — May 26, 2008 @ 1:59 am
We finally did something interesting! Shortly after I got back to Australia (two weeks ago), Beth’s mother, whom I will refer to as Sheryl, came to visit. She is still here, in fact. Well last week her and Beth headed out of town. On Friday they picked me up and we headed to the Yarra Ranges, mountain ranges about an hour north-west of Melbourne. The area is a nice change of pace from the city life and also home to many vineyards.
The photo above is from Lake Eildon, where we stayed one night. The lake (and it’s town of Eildon) is known for its trout. Sheryl ordered the trout from the only restaurant in town, and unfortunately said it was the worst thing she had ever eaten. She normally likes trout.
We enjoyed a nice sunset walk around the lake and were treated to views like you see here. We were also treated to views of the elusive Kookaburra, so you get a bonus photo.
Comment by brohan — May 26, 2008 @ 3:46 am
First picture I’ve noticed with your new lens – how’s it been treating you?
Comment by Peg — May 26, 2008 @ 3:47 am
Kookaburra! Yay, a bonus picture! So . . . is that a gum tree he’s sitting in? As in the lyrics:
Kookabura sits in the old gum tree.
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh kookaburry, laugh kookaburry.
Gay your life must be.
Gosh, I’m amazed I remembered all that. And who knows where I ever sang it. Elementary school music? And what’s the deal with him laughing? Ok, now I just have to report the rest of the lyrics–the lyrics I *don’t* remember–courtesy of Google. I’ll be more normal in my next post. Promise.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Eating all the gumdrops he can see. (Gumdrops?)
Stop, kookaburra. Stop kookaburra.
Save some there for me.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Chasing all the monkeys he can see. (Seen any monkeys?)
Stop, kookaburra. Stop kookaburra.
(You’ll just have to go to Google for the last line!:-))
Comment by Peg — May 26, 2008 @ 3:50 am
Great kookaburry photo, by the way. Were you really that close? I didn’t know they were elusive. Were you just lucky? Tell us more. XOXOX
Comment by Peg — May 26, 2008 @ 3:59 am
And now for my *first* impression when I opened the post: That photo is stunningly gorgeous! Definitely a high favorite. It’s like a painting–a really creative painting. I just love the colors . . . and the intensity of the colors. And the mirror images in the water. Just beautiful, Josh. Way to go. And how awesome that you had such amazing material to work with in the first place. How great that Beth and her mom have had time together and have been able to get out of the city. And that you got to get out and see new things, too. (And in great weather, too, it appears. Yay!) I’m excited to look up the Yarra Ranges and Lake Eildon on our map. (The map is huge, by the way. Like . . . maybe 5′ x 5′. LOTS of detail. Love it. Too bad about the trout being so awful. Makes for a good story, though.
Get any good vineyard photos? Please post! And say hi to Sheryl for us. Love you! Love your posts!
Comment by Peg — May 26, 2008 @ 4:04 am
AND I’m still wishing for that photo of you in your suit at the wedding! XOXOX
(Can you tell it’s Memorial Day here? With all the time on my hands here to comment away here. Guess I should get up off the couch and begin the rest of the day. Ya think?
)
Comment by dadman — May 26, 2008 @ 7:51 am
Pretty good sunset shot. And the k is cool!! Glad you guys got to travel to somewhere new. And way too bad about Sheryl’s trout. That’s awful. Especially in a place famous for trout. Maybe they ship all the good stuff somewhere else to get higher prices for it. You should have gone fishing!
Comment by Clara — May 26, 2008 @ 2:04 pm
These photos are stunning! The Lake Eidon photo is beautiful–subtle pinks, grays and blues as well as the silhouttes of the hills reflected in the water. You have such a great eye and capture your surroundings so well. It’s fun to see the kookaburra, too. (I remember the song very well, but since your mother has already “sung” it, I won’t.)
How nice that Cheryl is with you. It’s nice that she and Beth are doing some sight seeing and that they included you in a little of it. Too bad about the trout!
Comment by Clara — May 26, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
Oops! Sheryl, not Cheryl.
Comment by beth — May 27, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
Well I’m not sure but I don’t think the kookaburra was sitting in a gum tree. I think the tree he was sitting in didn’t have any leaves, and normally ‘gum’ trees (aka. eucalyptus trees) don’t lose there leaves in winter.
Just thought I would note about the kookaburra (I dont have a bird book unfortunately so I will just have to tell you what I remember) that they are the largest of the kingfisher birds. Normally they catch large insects, small fish, and I think maybe even small mammals to eat. Their abnormally large head is a common attribute of all kingfishers.
It is good to hang out with mum, and I am very glad she came to visit us. As for her trout dinner, I gave her some of my steak and prawns that nite so it wasn’t so bad
. She has since had some nicer dinners!
Comment by dadman — May 28, 2008 @ 12:09 am
Glad to finally know what a gum tree is in Australia!
Comment by josh — May 28, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
Hi Guys,
Mom, I don’t have any photos from the wedding. If I get one of me I will put it up for you
.
Jon, that photo was actually not with my new lens. It was with my old one. I really like my new lens, but the problem is my camera bag doesn’t fit it in, so unless I go out intending to shoot with it, I never seem to have it with me when I would like to use it (like when shooting the kookaburra).
Comment by beth — June 1, 2008 @ 1:11 am
actually i’m not sure about the small mammals thing. It might be small lizards that they (the kookaburras) eat.
Comment by beth — June 1, 2008 @ 1:12 am
Oh yeah, and also there are several different species of eucalpytus or gum trees in Australia (I think about 700). It is confusing because most australians just refer to these trees in general as gum trees.
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