I received a Christmas present today from a friend. It’s one of those presents that helps someone else, like a goat for a family in northern Africa.

In this case, it’s an endangered Australian plant. Thanks Sue x

I was walking in a nearby National Park today and I saw two impressive things. The first was an Echidna, (see below) and the second was an Australian Olympic champion who won the 400 m final in the Sydney Olympics. She carried the expectations of millions on her young shoulders. Today she was simply out for a jog.

The Echidna was eating.

I like twitter because it brings many like minded people into my expanding bubble. You can use twitter as a global news hub for things that interest you, even bugs in Europe.

My followers tweet me from all over the world and it goes straight to my iphone. Being a child of the 1960’s (born 1958) it spins me out.

Mobile phones were amazing, text was great, twitter is instant and incredibly flexible.

Whatever is next will be unimaginable. #JustSaying

@malbrown2

I have lived in or nearby Melbourne my entire 54 years but it was only a couple of weekends ago I rode on the Puffing Billy.

Now as it happens, I love stream engines and actually completed a boiler attendant course at the old RMIT many (many) years ago, so the Puffing Billy is special to me.

The event was Nina and Paul’s wedding and I took some photographs with my trusty iphone. I hope you like them. Personally, I like the last shot but I do like iphone photographs at night.

Getting up a head of steam? No waiting for the bride.

Here comes the Bride.

Steam is like blood to a steam engine.

Inside the Puffing Billy is Adam. I’ve known him since he was young. Actually, he’s still young

Back at Belgrave, close to midnight and the Puffing Billy is about to go to sleep but there is still some life force left.

Thanks Puff, Nina and Paul    X

It has taken awhile but thankfully The Age has provided some press on the plight of Hooded Plovers in the Mornington Peninsula National Park.

As an adjunct, Parks Victoria are requesting feedback from the public regarding the “possible” banning of dogs in the National Park.

If you want to help go to   www.hoodedplover.com and support the ban.

The closing date for submissions is the 30th of November.

Spending the first 30 years of my life in the suburbs of northern Melbourne gave me a great appreciation of the coast. That is, getting away from the traffic and walking along a beach was heaven.

Now, despite living by the coast, I still get a kick out of going for a walk along a beach. Today I carried out a Hooded Plover survey on one small section of beach in the Point Nepean section of the Mornington Peninsula National Park. I only found 2 adult Hooded Plovers but it was pretty obvious the type of habitat they like and how the process of dune erosion can be a limiting factor.

These two sections of beach (below) were separated by around 500 metres.

Hooded Plover habitat in Port Phillip Bay

Coastal erosion and no Hooded Plovers

I visit many properties over a year but I’ve never seen this before. The top wire on a barb wire fence has been incorporated into a young Radiata pine tree. That is a very good fence post.

It’s been a unique couple of weeks for me. But the constant has been my tribe and my home, (albeit not so secure). Nevertheless, I can look out my office window, which is also the door, and see this:

Another week counting birds on a wind farm:  Magpie, Raven.    Oh, and a 100 or so Corella.

But in-between, one is looking out for the occasional rain event.

I don’t know much about Water Lilies but I managed to get a shot of this flower in a really nice dam on the Mornington Peninsula. The water in the dam is very clear with lots of indigenous aquatic plants around the edge.