At the Chinese Gardens in Sydney.

A cool mural on the side of the Middleton pub in South Australia. These Southern Right whales used to be hunted nearby at Victor Harbor, just out to sea from the place we often stay at at Christmas time. They are endangered, but have been coming back in recent years. I’ve seen humpback whales off Eden on the south coast here, but we’ve never been at Victor in the winter to see these. Michael has, though: a mother and calf close-up, when he was boy, and he and his grandfather were out in a boat off Wright Island. They thought it was a reef at first! It’s a family story now.

Not sure why I thought of this photo this morning. It was taken about 18 months ago at Middleton in South Australia, and I love the washed out summer look with the orange and blue.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with fellow Canberra blogger Ampersand Duck a couple of days ago. I really enjoyed it — thanks, AD!

That day I also picked up a copy of Northern Lights, the first in Philip Pullman‘s trilogy His Dark Materials. I’ve been intending to read it since blogging about the theatrical production which featured puppetry daemons designed by Michael Curry, and now by the news that it’s being made into a film, The Golden Compass, which has a release date at the end of this year. I’ve already dived in, and I’m finding the story engrossing.

I wonder how the daemons will be done in the film?

These are are some of the beautiful spotted gum trees where we sometimes stay at Guerilla Bay.

This wonderful photo of a hill somewhere near Omarama, South Island, Aotearoa/New Zealand is from Cutflat, Tim Raupach’s new photoblog site. His photos were previously here.

Tim takes some breathtakingly beautiful shots, as well as looking at things from unusual angles and with a humorous eye. He is also a rockclimber, and – a disclaimer! – my son.

(Click to enlarge)

Two other photos here and here.