Pelican Yoga

Winter solstice at “the Great Fen of Perth”

Published June 26, 2022 by Pelidoug

Winter solstice at “the Great Fen of Perth”

Too many Perth residents have never visited Herdsman Lake, nor given any thought to it.

Sir David Attenborough, who described Herdsman as “the Great Fen of Perth”, is keenly aware that Perth is one of very few cities to have such a substantial, internationally significant, RAMSAR-listed wetland within 10 kilometres of its GPO.

Far from pristine, and more “wetland” than “lake”, Herdsman is, nonetheless, a very special place.

As you can see, this year’s shortest day was not at all “wintry”.

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Intertidal: #6 in series (western side of Coromandel Peninsula)

Published June 24, 2022 by Pelidoug

Intertidal: #6 in series (western side of Coromandel Peninsula)

The location pictured in this post’s featured image is not very many kilometres away from the one in #5 in this series.

It is not at all close to the North Queensland coast, where Cairns sits at 16.51 Degrees South – unsurprisingly, a location where mangroves thrive.

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Intertidal: #5 in series (“how close to Cairns CBD are these mangroves?”)

Published June 23, 2022 by Pelidoug

Intertidal: #5 in series (“how close to Cairns CBD are these mangroves?”)

#6 in this series will answer the above question.

“If there are no mangrove forests, then the sea will have no meaning. It is like having a tree with no roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea.”— fisherman, Trang Province, southern Thailand.

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Intertidal: #4 in series (Shallow Inlet – closer view)

Published June 22, 2022 by Pelidoug

Intertidal: #4 in series (Shallow Inlet – closer view)

Tidal sand/mud-flats present very different “faces”, depending on when you happen to visit them – time of day, as much as time of year – and also on how closely you look.

Yesterday’s featured photo was taken in the same location as was today’s, their two vantage points were a very short walk apart, and only a few minutes separated their shutter-clicks.

Nothing much had changed in those few minutes, but…

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Intertidal: #3 in series (Shallow Inlet – landscape view)

Published June 21, 2022 by Pelidoug

Intertidal: #3 in series (Shallow Inlet – landscape view)

There is nothing fake or “tricked up” about this post’s featured image, which was taken just a little north of the Australian continent’s southernmost point.

The photo is, however, a deeply “misleading” portrait of Shallow Inlet at low tide…

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Intertidal: #2 in series (Roebuck Bay)

Published June 19, 2022 by Pelidoug

Intertidal: #2 in series (Roebuck Bay)

At certain times of year Broome’s Roebuck Bay is a global hotspot for birdlife; for migratory waders it is a key “fuel stop”.

It may be less “instagrammable” than Cable Beach, but Roebuck Bay is much the richer place, biologically speaking.

Its crustaceans provide a deal of the waders’ fuel.

A key factor in all this: Roebuck Bay’s oft-massive, fast-moving tides.

On some days of each month, at low tide the exposed mudflats cover more than 150 square kilometres, and they extend far beyond a shore-based observer’s horizon.

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Intertidal: #1 in series (Cable Beach)

Published June 18, 2022 by Pelidoug

Intertidal: #1 in series (Cable Beach)

So begins a series of single-image posts: each depicts a different aspect of the intertidal zone, where the sea “arrives” and “departs” at least once, every day.

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Hope, feathers, music, poetry, beauty…

Published June 12, 2022 by Pelidoug

Hope, feathers, music, poetry, beauty…

…are all integral to this post, which is a sequel to both the immediately-preceding one and to the 28 January 2022 post on “Hope”.

If you do not already know Emily Dickinson’s poem Hope is The Thing With Feathers you should click here before you read/see/listen to the rest of this post.

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“Broken Reflection”

Published June 10, 2022 by Pelidoug

“Broken Reflection”

Whilst I hope you enjoy the photo, it is really here to alert you to a beautiful, quietly surprising “live” performance of Andrea Keller’s Broken Reflection.

The photo was taken in a forest glade in the USA’s Pacific Northwest; the music is Australian.

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“Betty’s Jetty”: reflections enhance unremarkable erections

Published June 6, 2022 by Pelidoug

“Betty’s Jetty”: reflections enhance unremarkable erections

Perth’s Elizabeth Quay is a still-unfolding, allegedly “transformative” development.

(you may be unsurprised to know that it is impossible to find any reliable, properly inclusive figure on expenditure to date, let alone of the eventual total. Suffice that its likely-tallest tower component – which involves just two of many edifices – is estimated at more than one billion Australian dollars)

It is probably our final instance of an Australian megaproject, named after “our” Queen.

According to DevelopmentWA, This landmark waterfront development reconnects Perth city with the Swan River to create a dynamic new entertainment and leisure precinct, set around a stunning 2.7ha inlet.

According to one recent Singaporean visitor, Nothing much to see here,…Boring walk from Elizabeth Quay to Barrack Jetty as well. Your best bet would be to take the Transperth ferry to South Perth for better views of the city.

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