Swans

I ride through Albert Park on my way to work a lot of the time, and I am always hoping that I will be in the right place at the right time and capture a shot of swans crossing the road with a line of cars behind them. So far, nothing. This pic is the closest I have come, no cars in sight. However, I did see a swan hit by a car the other day - it was definitely not the driver's fault. There were a couple of swans obviously heading for the road so we all slowed down. I leapt off my bicycle and started scrabbling about for my camera (the theory is that if it is in my bag it is easily accessed) when I glanced up to see a dog suddenly run at the swans who took off slowly and one of them flew straight into the corner of the car. It fell to the roadway, got up seconds later, took off again and flew towards its mate and the lake. The driver was stunned. The dog took off after the swan and was lucky not to be hit by another car. We all looked around and then went on our way as there was nothing to be done. I think we all hoped that the swan would be all right. I am now on the lookout for cygnets.

Making a start

This is the start of my 365 days project - and already I am starting a little late. It was my birthday a few days ago and that was the day I really meant to get going. The pic is my birthday celebration with friends. We decided that it wasn't sunny or warm enough to eat outside and so didn't put the table up out there. We were right at the time, but by the time everyone arrived and we started serving lunch it was warm and sunny enough. The men were gentlemanly and allowed the women to serve themselves first, so the women got all the seats out in the sun. When we realised what was happening, we grabbed another table from the shed and immediately put it up. So we ended up with the typical Australian arrangement - women at one end and men at the other. We all had a great time. No one cared of course.

solar tricycle

solar tricycle Originally uploaded by marypmbrtn

It was such a lovely day yesterday that I decided to ride home from the city along the beach. And say this cycle, which the rider has adapted to solar power, which means that on a sunny day he can keep going all day. I forgot to ask if it made the bike much heavier, but it didn't look to be the case. We had to stop just after I took this to allow empty boat carrier to be winched back into the yacht club. With the wind coming from the south west was quite glad of the break in the headwind. I thought perhaps I should have gone up the river as it may have been more sheltered - but the view of Port Philip Bay is always worth the ride, even with some headwind.