We gasped at the beauty of the light filtering through the rain forest and stopped many times for photos. I think this photo was taken around 10am. The water on the road was steaming under the light of the sun.
We both enjoy taking photos just for the sake of taking photos. It helps one focus on the beauty around one. This is my favourite photo of the ones I took today.
One of our walks. We live in a dry continent but the Otway Ranges have a lot of rain forest. There is a lot of mud and the air is damp. We could see our breath in the middle of the day.
Triplet Falls in the Otway Ranges. On our walks today we also saw numerous eucalyptus regnans (Mountain Ash). These magnificent tall straight trees are the largest flowering plants in the world. I didn't take any photos of them as I found it impossible to capture their height and magnificence in a photo.
The culture of 'dropping in' has withered away in Australian cities in particular. Even before the pandemic it had waned, but the pandemic has really reinforced habits of social isolation.
How can we revive this act of friendship AND be considerate of the person we are dropping in on?
One thing I think is important is to first ask people if they are free for a visit. #SocialIsolation#Australia
@perkinsy Asking ahead of time isn't dropping in (to me). I wouldn't mind if I was given a heads up/some kind of advanced "warning"/permission asked. But to drop in unannounced? NO! Oh hell no!
@Glasnozt You have a point. Advanced warning robs the visit of the spontaneity that is the signature of dropping in. I suppose we are trying to transition back to a drop in culture by giving some king of opportunity for the person we propose visiting to opt in to a drop in visit?
The idea of a drop in is there is no appointment. Perhaps the following opt-in options would count:
A few minutes before the drop in. Call/text "I am going to be passing by your place. Are you up for a visit from me?"
A few days before: "I am going to be in your area on XX date. If I have time, are you OK for me to drop in and visit you?"
@skua suggested that one could ask a person if they like the idea of dropping in without advanced notice. This would be a seeking of global permission for dropping in. This would probably be more in the spirit of dropping in.
We are spending a few days in the Otway Ranges. Today we went to the Cape Otway lighthouse. You can't go into the lighthouse at the moment because of a 'mercury spill'.
This is a photo of the coastline from the base of the lighthouse. There was no wind today and the sea was flat.
This Azalea is looking the best in years. The leaves are a healthy, rich green colour. Previously they had a paler mottled appearance. It is autumn, yet it has a couple of flowers. I am not a fan of the frilly, pink flowers of some varieties but I like these flowers.
This plant was given to me by my mother. I receive her excess and unwanted plants. She enjoys buying plants and I enjoy receiving her rejects - a good arrangement. #Melbourne#GardeningAU
@Susan60 I have not done anything to deal with any pests or diseases which is why I am so surprised it has got rid of whatever pest that was causing the leaves to go pale and mottled.
"You're not technical enough" is often said to women. In the Tech Leading Ladies blog, Michelle Gleeson unpacks the reasons for this and suggests how to push back on it. #WomenInTech#technology
If you live in bush areas of eastern or south-eastern Australia you may want to get involved in a citizen science koala spotting project: #Koalas#environment#CitizenScience
Someone has stolen the salvia that was thriving in our street garden and covered in flowers for months. It has been carefully dug out.
One of our neighbours has given up on a nice front garden because of people stealing his plants. This is why I stick to nasturtiums and geraniums - free and easy to grow from cuttings or seeds. No-one wants to steal them.
Come to the #TechnicalWriting meetup I am running in #Melbourne this Thursday and learn about Lego Docs! Lego Docs is an activity I invented that you can run with developers/engineers to help them develop their technical writing skills. It is fun and helps participants identify crucial elements in a well-written document.