Living With The Enemy

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

Romeo

Romeo the Jack Russell trying really hard to peep at his humans having a drink on the other side of the ledge.

Taken yesterday while walking past Lock n Load on Boundary Street, West End.

3 Hour Barking

Woof  Woof! This sign is outside the dog-walking park by the Powerhouse arts centre in New Farm. There are other interesting signs nearby there so I think it might not be all that serious.

Don't quote me on that, though.

Ah yeah, that's the spot!

Here's one from the archives. It's from Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket. Koalas aside (of which there are loads), you can see a whole host of Aussie native animals there. Everyone loves feeding the kangaroos. Consequently they are so well fed they turned their noses up at the food we offered and instead lounged around waiting for a belly scratch.

I heard this story once about an American film all about Australia being made on Fraser Island, a couple of hundred kilometres north of here. It's a stunning sand island that would have made a perfect backdrop but for the fact that there were no kangaroos on the whole island. So desperate were the film makers to have shots of kangaroos bounding through the bush, they managed to cut a deal with Lone Pine and fly some kangaroos to the island to be film stars. Unfortunately for the film makers, the kangaroos were more interested in wandering up to the cameras and getting cuddles from the crew than strenuous bouncing around so the whole project was shelved.

Koalas on Brunswick Street Mall Yesterday...

Simon Says Gimme A Pancake

I was taking some pictures for The Sneaky Cafe at the Powerhouse market yesterday when I met a dog called Simon. Just looking at him makes me laugh. "Hurry up and take this bloody picture."

His owner gave him a little Dutch pancake as a reward for his patience and restraint while I faffed around with the camera.

Good Doggy

Despite the fact that we were strangers, you humoured me by hanging around and glancing upward when I asked. You were patiently waiting as I clicked and messed about with my camera settings. All you wanted was a pat. Thanks for throwing me a bone, nice doggy.

Walking The Dog

Walking the dog on the walkable side of the river at this point. This photo shows parts of the Riverwalk on the opposite side. During the floods in January, a large chunk of it (length of a football field) broke off and floated for 5kms down the river, heading for the Gateway Bridge. Luckily the bridge was saved by the heroics of a tugboat driver. No mean feat. There's some footage of it here.

It used to look like this.

Squelch!

Paw prints in the mangrove mud, down by the river in Orleigh Park.

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!

The Chicken Whisperer

After a morning greeting, a few words of encouragement and a friendly pat, Lily the chicken was gently shoved out of the way so that breakfast could be collected.

It still surprises me how many people in this city keep chickens.

One out, One in.

A strange thing happened the other day. One of the chickens had a fit and fell down to die. There was a burial and a wake (well it may have been co-incidental that there were guests and beers). And if that wasn't strange enough, later on that day after a delicious chicken dinner (unrelated) some friends found a lone chicken wandering around outside with nowhere to go. Our hosts took her in, gave her a coop over her head and some very nice leftovers (not the chicken bits heaven forbid).

It's possible someone is looking for her and wondering what has happened to her..if so let us know. Or maybe her arrival is just Chicken Karma.

Here she is getting her wings clipped for her own protection.

Eagle Farm Wash Out

Saturday was race day at Eagle Farm racecourse.

This photo was taken just after the second race while the officials deliberated on whether the meeting should be cancelled or not due to heavy rain. In the end, the plug was pulled but it didn't dampen spirits. There was a great atmosphere around the stables and people who worked with the horses (and the horses) were more than happy to pose for a snap before they packed up for the day.

Racing Colours

I should have taken my own advice with the each-way bet on Maluckyday (it ran 2nd) but like a fool went for the red hot favourite So You Think on the nose (3rd).

It was a glorious day here yesterday - warm and sunny with a gentle cooling breeze. The perfect weather for racing. I'm all for moving the Melbourne Cup up to Brisbane. The horses, the jockeys' silks, the posh frocks and the everything else racing looks so much better in the sunshine. Here's a shot I dug out from last December during a race meeting at Doomben to illustrate.

Duck Herding at the Brookfield Show

If you've ever seen trained sheepdogs working as a team it's amazing. There were four dogs (one out of shot) and they managed to herd these ducks around this assault course and into a box. All the ducks were kept in a perfect bunch and all the while each dog was listening for it's owners individual instruction... pretty impressive if you ask me.

Pick Me!

This is the enclosure at Doomben racecourse - where they parade the horses around so you can check out how they are looking before the race. While I was standing there, I overheard that the jockeys aren't allowed catch your eye incase someone suspects them (or you) of foul play. The horses, I think, are allowed to catch your eye as much as they like. I gave this one a knowing wink and tapped my form guide to my nose in a suitably coded manner.

Racing At Doomben

Yesterday's 4.20pm race at Brisbane's Doomben racecourse.

Dolphins at Seaworld

OK so it's not strictly Brisbane.. we're about 60km south of it's southern-most suburbs in the northern part of the Gold Coast. To my knowledge there's not a Gold Coast Daily Photo so hopefully I'm not treading on any toes here! Seaworld is one of the many theme parks that are on this section of the coast. Earlier this year, it was in the news for taking in Nari, a dolphin who had been bitten by a shark in Moreton Bay. Vets at Seaworld sorted him out, releasing him back into the wild in the glare of the media. The dolphins I saw at Seaworld looked very much at home there. This group who did the show were amazing, leaping high into the air, swimming on their backs, waving their fins at the audience. The crowd loved it.

Down Time (Brookfield Show 3)

Chilling out, piglet style, between races.