Bubbles in the evening

I tried several experiments to get a photo for our luminosity assignment for class.  One I tried was photographing bubbles.  Doing it on my own didn’t work so well though.  Best I could do was to capture one at a time. (and drench my self in solution)

Finally I had to give up and wait until my husband came home, so he could blow and I could shoot.

It was already quite late in the day, so there was not a lot of light left.  It did end up with some interesting reflections though.

Can you see our house?

 

Peppermint Crisp Tart

Something completely unrelated to photography, but very good for when you have a down-day.

 When we go visit at friends’, I often make a peppermint crisp tart for dessert.  It is quite popular in South Africa, but the ingredients are not all available here in Australia.  I have improvised to make my own version.

This is my recipe:

600ml thickened cream
1 tin (397g) of caramel
5 bars of peppermint crisp chocolate (65g each) – crumbled
5 ml peppermint essence
20ml caster sugar
2 packets (250g each) of Nice biscuits

Whip the cream until light and fluffy.  Add the rest except the biscuits.  Whip the mixture a little more.
Pack a layer of biscuits in a rectangular dish.  Put a layer of mixture over the biscuits.   Repeat until you don’t have any mixture left. (The cream mixture should make the top layer. 
Crumble the last of the chocolate over the top.  Refrigerate for about 8 hours.

 

You can find a more tradition version at Cooksister.

Daylight savings in Melbourne

Since daylight savings has taken effect in Melbourne, I now arrive at class with the sun still high in the sky.

 

The rowers are practicing on the Yarra river every evening.  Here you can see the MCG in the background, behind the St Kilda rd bridge.

 

The weather is very changeable.  From sunny

 

to hail (I think – almost looked like fine snow)  within half an hour.

The Eureka building is across from class, so we all grabbed the chance to take a photo of this unusual type of rain.

Marbles

I was experimenting for an assignment.  Dug out my kids’ marbles and took these photos by the window.

 

 

Feathers and Ferns

Taking the kids for a quick visit to Sherbrooke forest was a big hit.  Being holidays, they do get bored being stuck at home. 

The cockatoos were a bit aggressive towards each other. 

 

We fed the parrots and cockatoos for a while, then took a long walk through the forest. 

 

 

After the rain, it is really beautiful in there.  The huge mountain ash create a canopy over your head with ferns waving you along the paths. 

Everywhere are little treasures for the eye.

These little blue flowers I have not noticed before.

Lights on the water

My tram route has changed, so I am trying to find a different route to get home in the evenings that doesn’t take as long.  So coming back from class, I walked along the Yarra river.  The lights create surreal images on the water.

It definitely makes for a romantic spot I thought, watching a couple sitting at the water’s edge.  Truly a peaceful scene.

 

The city has so many colours at night.  This is Flinders street Station from South Bank.  The Yarra river is in the foreground.

The octopus was awake!

Since it is school holidays, I decided to take the kids to the aquarium again, especially since I had been promising a while.  The penguins were nesting, some asleep.

The crabs were big and fascinating to the boys.

The underwater ferns were beautiful under the magnifying glass.

The shark feeding was really entertaining, as always.

But the best was, that after multiple visits, the octopus was actually active for the first time.