A Kaleidscope called Butterflies

I came to a screaming halt during a recent power walk when there before me were hundreds of beautiful butterflies. They were fluttering about haphazardly among the white bottlebrush shrubs bordering the footpath opposite the now empty café strip of Scarborough.

Mesmerising to watch, these hyperactive butterfly lovelies took my mind off the agony of prolonged home detention during the COVID-19 isolation phase.

Did you know a group of butterflies are called a flutter, wing, swarm, rabble, but are officially called a kaleidoscope?  If you didn't that makes you and me both - I was happy to have learned something that day.

Butterflies symbolise inner transformation, change, resurrection, joy, endless potential, happiness, and hope. Tis the season for butterflies but I've never seen so many and not the only one who noticed. Maybe it's because of good rainfall out west - who knows. To me, the COVID-19 event is a pivotal time in history and the butterflies cement this transformational time for me. It's the ending of life as we knew it and the beginning of endless potential.

With restrictions still some time away and work contracts a thing of the past, I make the most of my solitary confinement by walking along the beachfront. I watch Old Sol rise over the horizon and walk on cold sand (wonderful exfoliation for the feet) mainly to get away from the footpath where its a peak hour of joggers and people walking their dogs.

With single-minded focus, I power walked the 5kms to visit butterflies (the links below will take you to, two short YouTube clips).

Butterfly Magic

Butterflies


Sadly no coffee shops were open for a flat white with soy to be had, so I powered back up and walked home.

The exercise was great, the butterflies better.

Until next time, cheers 🦋

Mango Madness at the Drive-Thru

 I adore fruit bats. Really, I do. These mammals with their cute little faces and gorgeous brown eyes are nature's little gardeners who spread their seeds far and wide and help pollinate more than 100 species of native trees.

Flying-foxes spread the pollen of valuable plants as they feed, so they play an important role in our environment. Some plants even rely on flying-foxes to pollinate their species.

~ Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld

 We need these noisy, furry, flying gardeners to help our environment flourish and although grey-headed flying foxes are listed as vulnerable, and I'm optimistic we can help get their numbers back up.

Grey-headed flying fox colony, Lowood Queensland

 Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) shown above, are also known as fruit bats or megabats and are a warm-blooded mammal native to Australia. They're also our largest bats.

 The bat image was taken mid-afternoon and the colony quiet, except for the occasional squabble, screech, scream, and yoga wing stretch.

 Speaking of yoga wing stretch, it was interesting to watch them stretch their wings (around 1 metre or 3.3 feet across), then wrap themselves up again. For some reason, this reminded me of stuffed cabbage leaves.

 But, they're not always at their roost 😉 

Vibrant, Colourful, Eclectic - Eumundi Markets Rock

Eumundi, a little township on the Sunshine Coast, is home to the well-known Eumundi Market and is an easy 118 km car trip from Brisbane's CBD. 

According to the 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Eumundi has a population of 2200.  With approximately 1.6 million visitors per year, Eumundi's population bursts at the seams during peak times, especially during Wednesday and Saturday market days.

Eumundi has a vibrant, colourful and vibe as do the 600 stallholders - it's peace, sustainability and experience to be had.

Colourful piano along Memorial Drive Eumundi

 The Eumundi Market is eclectic, colourful, bohemian and huge. If you're into markets, it's a place to visit - I try to, at least once a year.

 Fresh produce and food stalls are stocked and ready for the influx of visitors, gorgeous bunches of fresh-cut flowers can be bought if you're early enough, there's a huge selection of arts and craft, jewellery and fashion, health and wellbeing products, psychic readings, and more. 

 Once I arrive at the markets you'll find me chowing down on knackwurst with sauerkraut and a generous squirt of mustard, sampling various flat whites with soy and trying to look cool.

Exercise in the Third Age

Once upon a time, I'd walk around 3 km to the nearest public transport to get to work and back (this doesn't include traipsing around during the day).

I took stairs rather than elevators and could bound up them two at a time.

Yoga workouts were more frequent and I followed my weekly exercise and meal plans my incredibly fit and active PT daughter designed for me.

Once my work contract expired I began the long road trip south crossing two State borders, and my fitness regime and level followed suit.

Four months later and back to where I started, the seams of my clothing are screaming, and I feel like a sloth. Remember Sid from the animation franchise Ice Age, or Flash from Zootopia?

Sloths keep movement to the absolute minimum, and so had I.

Living a Sparse Life Has Advantages

Living a sparse life has advantages.

It’s been one week since I temporarily moved up to the peninsula.

Here there is no television set, no washing machine, no dining table and no microwave. Because my current nomadic lifestyle requires me to travel light, I arrived with two suitcases, an inflatable double bed (thank you Aldi), a laptop, cameras and equipment, and a few bits and pieces.

But there is air conditioning – halleluiah.  Summer in Queensland is humid, it’s so humid makeup slides off my face if I leave the applying after 7.30 a.m., and everything sweats – and I mean everything. So I cannot thank the Hairy Goddess enough for blessing me with an apartment with air conditioning.

Cafe with ocean views = relaxation time

At first, the lack of TV was frustrating, but having a laptop, smartphone and Wi-Fi means I can live-stream my favourite TV show of the moment – NCIS, or watch short bursts of the news to keep me in the loop now that I’ve given Facebook away (oh the relief). Now I have more time to devote to Instagram.

After my first week, I found other things to keep me occupied such as exploring the area. Redcliffe Peninsula has cafes, restaurants, the ocean, boats, a relaxed holiday vibe, and an ocean breeze.

For me, daily walks along the foreshore keep me fit and happy especially as it involves having coffee afterwards - my kinda heaven.

This morning after walking 5.5 km along the foreshore, I enjoyed a flat white with soy and avocado on toast before the crowds arrived at the popular Sea, Salt and Vine cafe. The view, while overcast and gloomy, compliments of an approaching summer storm, was lovely from the open verandah, and with 85% humidity, the sea breeze is truly a gift from the gods.

Living a sparse life isn't for everyone but it's given me the freedom to move around unencumbered with 'stuff' while my 'house' remains in storage, and I find my path.

Living a sparse life definitely has advantages.

Till next post, it's time for a flat white with soy 😁