Day 366/366

The final day of our challenge has arrived. Participating in this challenge has been such an enjoyable experience.  I have learned so many new things, I have become far more observant of my surroundings, I have broken 2 cameras (!), I have met some wonderful people online and also surprised a few of my family and friends at my commitment to the project.  I am very grateful to Robyn of Fine Arts Journal for hosting this challenge. Thank you so much.   Thank you also to Robyn and the other challenge participants for your kind comments and words of encouragement.  I have loved seeing your photographs and getting to know you a little through your blogs.
So here are my final photographs....yes I have taken a bit of a liberty here publishing a few.   My daily walks have been a source of many of my photographs throughout the year and here are a few things that I saw on my last walk for the year.

.

Days 319 to 331/366

I am sorry that I have been offline for the past couple of weeks.  We have had a lot of family things happening,  good and bad.  Some days I didn't get the opportunity to take a photo, but here's what I did take;

Day 321

This is the flower of the Cunjevoi plant that grows prolifically in our neighborhood as we have an area of rainforest nearby that runs down to the beach.  They produce these yellow flowers and the spike then develops red berries that the birds love.

Days 323 to 325

We took a trip to Sydney for family reasons and to have a really big treat of seeing Cirque du Soleil perform Ovo.  The show was fabulous!  We did attempt to visit Taronga Zoo as well and got as far as the front gates, but realised we didn't have enough time when we saw the queue for tickets...my husband has never been, so we will have to keep it on our list of things to do when in Sydney.
Here are a few photos from our visit;

 

A tiny busker, drumming away in Chinatown - you can just see his neck under the music stand. 

The entrance to Taronga Zoo - the only bit we saw!

The Cirque du Soleil Big Top

Inside the Big Top - ( this is what I really look like Robyn, not that odd looking photo on Facebook - not sure what my hairdresser was thinking that day!)

 

 

Beautiful Sydney Harbour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 326/366

My daughter's Year 12 Formal. We had a shaky start to the day and I thought we just might not make it, but it all turned out lovely.  She was chauffeured in a Mercedes Benz by one of my lovely clients and walked the red carpet on her father's arm.  She bought her dress online and then sequinned it herself.

Day 327/366

Spotted this lovely Buddleia or Buddleja on my morning walk

Day 328/366

I picked up a computer from the repairer's house this morning and as I looked to the right when reversing out the driveway I found myself face-to-face with this cute bundle!

Day 329/366

Not to be outdone by our other cactus, this one has decided to flower as well.  First time ever!

Day 330/366

Day 331/366

I gave this a "Monet-esque" type of feel with a hazy border.


I will try and visit your blogs over the next few days to catch up on all that I have missed.

Days 275 -281/366

Day 275

I visited the Camden Haven Quilters exhibition with some friends.  I was very taken with the quilting on this log cabin quilt.

Day 276

Cutting out some scrappy patches for my UFO

Day 277

Baby bananas.

Day 278

The mornings are quite smokey from back burning for bushfire prevention.

Day 279

Driving home from work, there was a vivid red sunset.  This was the best I could do with my mobile phone.

Day 280

Ho hum, I had too much housework to do so didn't get a chance to take a photo.  Here's another quilt from the Camden Haven Quilters to enjoy instead.

Day 281

It's blowing a gale today but this little fellow was quite snug on the lower limb of the tree in our street.

Days 176-183/366

Day 176/366

I was sitting on a rock looking out for whales whilst my hubby was fishing (yes, he is obsessed with fishing :) ).  The whales were too far away to photograph, but this Bee wasn't!

Day 177/366

It was looking like a no-photo-inspiration kind of day, until my daughter showed me her new shoes. Wowee!  I did try them on, (I couldn't help myself) , and wished I could still wear killer heels.   They were surprisingly comfortable...whilst I was standing still  :)

Day 178/366

A bit of a contrast to the last photo, but this was the best I could come up with today.  Someone dumped this old wooden ladder at the back of my client's workplace.

Day 179/366

My client has left his stock van with me whilst he is away, so I made the most of the opportunity to take a photo of these little critters :)

Day 180/366

Hmmm,I  can't think of any to say about this other than I was struggling for an interesting photo today, can you tell?

Day 181/366

Fungus on a Pandanus tree, spotted on a walk after work to celebrate the fact that it was Friday!

Day 182/366

All the housework was done and I was all alone in the house..so I took advantage and did a little bit of quilting on my Mum's birthday quilt. :)

Day 183/366

 After a busy weekend of family stuff with a lovely visit from my stepdaughter and her friends, my hubby decided to indulge in his other obsession....golf.  I jumped at the chance to have a stroll around the course with him, with my camera, as it is a haven for wildlife and I wasn't disappointed.  My first encounter was with a very friendly Black Swan that spent ages near me feeding in the weeds, preening and making little noises.  I was a bit apprehensive at first because they can be cantankerous creatures, but this one was rather sweet.
I then spotted a Mum and Bub Kangaroo, the young one had it's head in the Mum's pouch having a little feed.  They were not at all worried by my presence and carried on with their business for quite a while before the baby lifted it's head out of the pouch.
My final treat was to spot a Koala that was actually awake!
Oh yes the golf was OK too ;)

Changing Horses Mid Stream!

After reading Robyn's post on her blog about a 366 photo challenge, I decided that I would join in and continue my 30 day challenge for the rest of the year.  I hope I can stick to my decision, as I have been known to procrastinate :)

Here is my photo for 2nd January, 2012.

Can you guess what it is?  On my daily walks, I spend a great deal of time looking upwards to spot for Koalas, and it always feels very special when I find one.  They just look like grey blobs in the trees until you stand at the right angle and then you can see how tightly they are curled into a ball.
I have just noticed that my calendar was not set to the correct date so my pasts posts for the 30 Day Challenge have had the wrong date on them...whoops!