Photos

    This morning’s tiding.

    Several magpies gathered on a grassy area next to a wooden fence, with two additional birds by a footpath in the background.

    Protecting my “super premium” monitor riser with coasters as a certain creature likes to chew it.

    A cockatiel stands on top of a small phone-book placed below a computer monitor. Between the cockatiel are two chewed up coasters resting on top of the corners of the phone-book.

    Darken bocce courts at the Veneto Club. We were showing our second cousins around, who are visiting from Traviso, Italy. I remember seeing these courts being filled with people when I was young, hearing the loud clank as the jack was thrown against the opposite wall.

    An indoor sports facility features several lanes and flags, including the Australian flag, hanging from the ceiling, with menu boards and photos displayed on the walls.

    Trying out a bag of Leon organic coffee beans. This bag was given to me by some visitors from the UK. Apparently Leon is a brand of coffee over there (I’m not aware of it being sold here). We’ll see how it measures up tomorrow morning.

    Auto-generated description: A hand is holding a package of Leon Organic Coffee Dark Roast next to a coffee grinder in a kitchen setting. Auto-generated description: The hopper of a coffee grinder filled with roasted coffee beans, surrounded by various items on a bench including an empty bag of Leon coffee and what appears to be a small container of drinking chocolate.

    Archie is quite the photogenic bird.

    A yellow cockatiel perched on a white door looking at the camera.

    Got treated to an “Ivy facial” today.

    A man stands indoors with a yellow cockatiel sitting on his head and a white cockatiel perched on his front reaching towards his nose.

    The guests have arrived. 🦜

    A yellow cockatiel perched on the side of a cage next to a colorful toy, accompanied by a white cockatiel behind her at the corner.

    Mesdames et messieurs: voici la tentative d’aujourd’hui de passer à un petit-déjeuner plus minimaliste: deux grands cafés au lait.

    Ladies and gentlemen: presenting today’s attempt to move to a more minimalist breakfast: two large cappuccinos.

    A cappuccino in a black coffee mug, placed on a matching saucer with a spoon beside it, sits on a wooden table outdoors alongside an iPad.

    Preparing the second room for a couple of house guests that’ll be coming next week. 🦜

    A room contains a large empty metal cage, a rowing exercise machine, a small table with electronic equipment, all set on a brown mat and a protective floor covering.

    They get a little funny around mirrors so I’d had to cover the wardrobe with newspaper. Hope it holds.

    A room is set up with newspaper taped in front of half of the sliding-doors of a wardrobe with full-sized integrated mirrors. A large birdcage is positioned on the right side.

    Backpacker on the tram. 🐶

    A black schnauzer travelling in a backpack on a crowded tram. A Myki reader is to the right of the frame.

    Work offered us a very… American style lunch today. First time I had bacon with my pancakes. Honestly, not as bad as I was expecting.

    A plate with pancakes, bacon, whipped cream, drissled with maple syrup, with a side of Ceaser salad and egg. Wooden knife and fork on the right.

    So, walk up the hill, then it’s through the gate to get to the path. Piece of cake.

    Oh… 🤔

    An open gate in front of a temporary fence blocking access to a path.

    Finally did something today that I should’ve done a long time ago: buy a UPS. Hopefully power outages will no longer bring down my Mac Mini server while I’m away (power is usually quite reliable when I’m home, but as soon as I leave for any extended period of time… 🪫).

    A box containing a Digitech 650VA Line Interactive Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is placed on a wooden kitchen table.

    In today’s demonstration of the gulf between taste and ability, may I present my attempt at fixing the fence extension:

    Auto-generated description: A partially damaged wooden fence with a makeshift repair tied together using green string and an olive tree branch protruding through the slats.

    Part of the challenge was getting to it. I had to hack out a path through the overgrown beds:

    Auto-generated description: A fenced backyard features dense, overgrown plants with long, slender leaves amid a paved ground.

    Trust me when I say that this is an improvement. 😅

    Checked out of the Cockatiel Cafe and heading home to Melbourne. Always a little melancholy leaving Canberra, but I’m sure to be back soon enough. As for the “residents” I was looking after, I’ll be seeing them again real soon. More posts then I’m sure.

    Two cockatiels, one white and the other yellow, perched on a cage in a room.

    The view from the top of Mount Rogers Reserve.

    Auto generated description: A scenic landscape showcases grassy fields and shrubs in the foreground, with a backdrop of rolling hills, distant mountains, and a clear blue sky.

    To get to Bundanoon from Canberra you have to drive past Lake George. I’ve always seen it empty but yesterday I saw it with water, so I had to stop and take a photo.

    A calm, expansive body of water stretches towards a distant shoreline with rolling hills under a clear blue sky, with a rocky shoreline and some vegetation in the foreground.

    Day Trip to Bundanoon

    Decided to go on a day trip to Bundanoon today. It’s been five years since I last visited and I remember liking the town enough that I thought it’d be worth visiting again. It’s not close, around 1 hour and 40 minutes from Canberra, but it not far either and I thought it would be a nice way to spend the day. Naturally, others agreed, which I guess explains why it was busier than I expected, what with the long weekend and all. Fortunately, it wasn’t too crowded, and I still had a wonderful time.

    The goal was to go on a bush-walk first. I chose to do the Erith Coal Mine track, for no particular reason other than it sounded interesting. This circuit track was meant to take you to a waterfall by an old coal mine. However, the track leading to the actual mine was closed, thanks to the recent rain. In fact, if I could describe the bush-walks in one word, it would be “wet”. The ground was soaked, as were the paths, and although conditions were lovely, the paths were still very slippery.

    I assume the mine was across these rocks, but there was no way I was going to cross it.

    After completing that circuit in probably 45 minutes, my appetite for bush-walking was still unsatisfied, so I tried the Fairy Bower Falls walk next. This was not as steep as the first one, but it turned to be a much harder track due to how wet and slippery everything was.

    I stopped short of the end of this one too, as it seems the path was washed away. But I did manage to get a glimpse of the waterfall, so I’m considering that a win.

    After that, I returned to the town for lunch and some train spotting. The train line to Goulburn runs through Bundanoon, and the last time I was there, there was probably a freight train every hour or so. So I was hoping to get a good view of a lot of freight traffic. Maybe shoot a video of a train passing through the station I could share here.

    Auto-generated description: A quaint train station platform with a sign that reads Bundanoon is shown, surrounded by trees and blue skies.
    Bundanoon train station.

    I had lunch outside and walked around the town a little, always within sight of the railway line, hoping for at least one train to pass through. But luck wasn’t on my side, and it wasn’t until I was on my way home that I saw what I think was a grain train passing through Wingello. I pulled over to take a video, and while I miss the locomotive, I got a reasonable enough recording of the wagons.

    Stopping by the side of the road to film these grain wagons passing by.

    Being a little more hopeful, I stopped at Tallong, the next town along the road. I bought a coffee and went to the station to drink it and hopefully see a train pass through. Sadly, it was not to be. So I decided to head back home.

    Auto-generated description: A quiet train station platform is shown with tracks stretching into the distance and surrounded by trees.
    Tallong train station.

    So the train spotting was a bust, and the bush-walks were difficult, but all in all it was quite a nice day. I look forward to my next visit to Bundanoon. Lets hope the trains are running a little more frequently then.

    Photos of the poor patient, sitting next to the clumsy human. Rest assured, she’s getting a course of pain killers, plus a lot of apology head scratches.

    Auto-generated description: A small white and gray bird is nestled between the cushions of a dark leather seat next to one leg of a pair of tanned trousers. Auto-generated description: A small white and gray cockatiel with a prominent crest is perched on a dark leather couch between two cushions next to one leg of a pair of tanned trousers.

    Bit of a stressful morning, involving injuries and unplanned visits to the vet. Things are well now, and the tension is starting to dissipate. But what a way to spend the morning. 😮‍💨

    Yellow tea-towel on a display with the phrase 'I need a hug' in large letters, followed by 'huge margarita' in small letters. The first three letters of 'huge' were borrowed from the word 'hug'.
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