a weblog of whereabouts & interests, since 2010
This beautiful eucalyptus tree is by the tennis courts here in Bull Creek.
I am still trying to identify the specific name of it. The term ‘eucalypt’ includes some 900 species in the three genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.
And where is its bark?
In almost all types of eucalyptus, the bark dies every year. It comes off in flakes, curls or long strips. This might be the tree’s way of shedding harmful mosses, lichens, fungi and parasites that live on the bark.
Here are the pink and grey cockatoos that I had mentioned in the post of Thursday, Dec 19.
Here’s a new-ish New Zealand beer (first brewed 2017) that caught my eye in the store yesterday.
The claims made on the packaging, are definitely tongue-in-cheek.
– With the beast’s razor sharp tusks at his throat, Great Uncle Kenny drew his BBQ mate and slew the rare but ferocious guinea pig, thereby saving his Tinder date (Peru 1936). (No internet, no Tinder in 1936).
– The ‘#1 five-star award’ was by the ‘Miniature Horse Monthly Magazine’ at the ‘Australasian Beer Awards in 1648’. (No Australia in 1648).
Here is the New Holland honeyeater.
They are found throughout southern Australia.
I found a picture of one on the wall at the Stockland shopping center, and the real McCoy in the Ron Carroll Reserve green space.
It’s Christmas Day, but firefighters in South Australia, across the Adelaide Hills, are still battling to bring raging bushfires under control there.
Record low rainfall this year has contributed to the scorching of some 5 million hectares (that’s 19,000 sq miles) in Australia so far, by far the worst year on record.
[Cartoon by Dean Alston in the West Australian].
I ran into a flock of western corellas (Cacatua pastinator) across from the little shopping center here in Bull Creek. The white cockatoos were eating the seeds of a cypress bush and did not mind me too much, as I came closer to them to take some pictures.
By some estimates the number of these birds have increased tenfold in the greater Perth area over the last 20 years. The city council is mulling how to control their numbers, and has called on bird lovers to refrain from feeding them, as a start.
On Sunday, we went on a twilight cruise on the upper Swan River — just a slow round trip at 5 knots, on the wide swath of river by downtown Perth.
Here’s where we went, and a few of the sights along the way.
It’s an easy 11 minutes on the train, going from Bull Creek station where I am, to the Perth Underground station downtown.
So off I went today, to buy one more Christmas present, and then call it done. (The mission was accomplished).
I stopped at an ‘Australia Post’ post office today.
I had the poor clerk behind the counter flip through the big album, full of sheets of stamps, so that I could pick out colorful and interesting stamps to buy. She was very patient with me!
Here’s a galah (cockatoo) depicted on a wall at the Stockland shopping center here in Bull Creek, Perth. I have seen them around, but have not gotten close enough to one, to take a picture.
I found this western wattlebird (Anthochaera lunulata) in the Ron Carroll Reserve, a green space here in suburban Perth.
The bird is a large honeyeater, long and slender, with dark grey-brown upper-parts.
There are pale streaks and spots on the neck, chest and belly.
They have ‘brush-tipped’ tongues, with which they eat nectar from flowers. They do eat insects as well.
The 10 hours from Tokyo to Perth went by with the help of in-flight movies. Kudos to ANA for serving up a really nice meal, even to those of us in the back of the bus.
The flight was not even half-full, probably because it is a new route.
I am at Narita Airport’s Terminal 1, getting ready to board for my flight to Perth. When I checked in this morning, the seating chart still showed lots of open seats on the flight.
I went out to look at the new National Stadium today.
It has been shown to the media, and was officially opened on Sunday by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The general public still have to peek over the solid fencing around it to look at the outside shell of the stadium, though.
It was a very pleasant Sunday here in the Tokyo area: clear skies and 55 °F/ 13 °C.
I made my ‘obligatory’ stops at Yodobashi Camera (by Akihabara Station), and the Tokyo Hands department store (by Shinjuku Station).
I made it into my hotel in Tokyo, got a bite to eat, and now it’s way after my Seattle bedtime.
The flight went without incident, and we arrived at Narita Airport’s Terminal 2 at 3.30 pm local time.
Got my luggage, and took the Narita Express into Tokyo as usual. It runs without stopping at a single station in between —from the airport to Tokyo Station.
I am at the aeroporte, camping out at the gate here in South Terminal for my flight to Tokyo.
My bags are packed (well, almost), and I am Tokyo-bound on Friday.
It’s 10 hours-and-some to Tokyo. I will stay over a few nights, and then do the next 10 hours to Perth.
I’m flying with Japan Airlines to Tokyo this time, instead of with All Nippon Airlines. The trip to Perth, is a new direct route started by All Nippon Airlines. So no stop-over in Hong Kong like I used to do.
I finally bought the lioness figure at the Red Balloon toy store nearby, to add to my animal collection.
When it comes to lions, it is almost exclusively the females that go hunting. Their prey are usually faster than they are, so they have to first creep up to a close distance from different sides and then sprint towards their prey. Then when the prey had been caught, the males are always the first ones to eat.
