Around here there's one week left of school for 2022 and I will have one child in Senior next year and then we are done with school. Where does the time go with my first born completing his first year of University. I haven't taken many photos lately which makes me a bit sad as the kids are off doing their thing most of the time so it's me and the bird.
My veggie garden is full of weeds however I did grow some womboks which the snails also loved. They are pretty easy to grow and I know around Christmas time Womboks are around $8 each in the supermarkets. On Christmas Day we make the Noodle salad which is on the back of the Changs Noodle packet and it's always a big hit with our family as in Queensland we have hot Christmas Days. About 20 years ago we went to a BBQ dinner at a work colleague's place and she made this salad and we have been making it for Christmas every year since. Here's a few photos of late.
Home Grown Wombok
Christmas last year, Noodle Salad in the bowl on the right.
Christmas 2021 lunch.
On Friday I made some Gingerbread Biscuits however I think I will use a different recipe next time as the mixture was a bit dry and also the spices weren't as strong. They all got eaten so they couldn't have been that bad.
Home made pizza's in the Ovana Pizza Oven and garden salad. The pizza recipe is incredible.
It's that time of the year when in October / November the Christmas Island Red Crabs on Christmas Island all march together towards the ocean for the mating season. The Christmas Island Red Crab is by far the most obvious of the 14 species of land crabs found on Christmas Island. It is estimated that there are 40-50 million of these bright red land crabs all over the Island.
Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean, 1500 kms West of the Australian mainland and 2600 km from Perth, Although it is an Australian Territory, Christmas Island's nearest neighbour is Indonesia which lies about 350 kms to the North. The Island is around 500 kms from Jakarta.
In 1958, the Island was excised from Singapore and sovereignty was transferred to Australia. As part of the transfer, Australia paid Singapore £2,800,000 as compensation for lost phosphate revenue. Christmas Island became an Australian Territory on 1st October, 1958 - a day still celebrated on the Island as Territory Day.
The Annual Migration To The Ocean
At the beginning of the wet season (usually October / November), most adult Red Crabs suddenly begin a spectacular migration from the forest to the coast, to breed and release eggs into the sea. Breeding is usually synchronized island wide. The rains provide moist overcast conditions for crabs to make their long and difficult journey to the sea. The timing of the migration breeding sequence is also linked to the phases of the moon, so that eggs can be released by the female Red Crabs into the sea precisely at the turn of the high tide during the last quarter of the moon. It is thought that this occurs at this time because there is the least difference between high and low tides. The sea level at the base of the cliffs and on the beaches, where the females release their eggs, at this time varies the least for a longer period, and it is therefore safer for the females approaching the water’s edge to release their eggs. Sometimes there are earlier and later migrations of smaller numbers of crabs but all migrations retain this same lunar rhythm.
The main migration commences on the plateau and can last up to 18 days. Masses of crabs gather into broad “streams” as they move toward the coast, climbing down high inland cliff faces, and over or around all obstacles in their way, following routes used year after year for both downward and return migrations. Movement peaks in the early morning and late afternoons when it is cooler and there is more shade. If caught in open areas, in unshaded heat, the crabs soon lose body water and die.
Here is a 5 minute video of the Crabs and the Parks & Wildlife Officer showing you their journey to the ocean.
Although my Birthday was in September here are the 2022 Birthday Photos. This tradition has been going for 17 years and is a favourite of my photo projects.
Here are the 16 years of photos from 2006 onwards.
Every year my Mum and my sisters would take a day trip to Toowoomba Flower Festival to see the beautiful gardens in September. We haven't been since 2017 and this year we made it up there for the day. We were a bit late for the private open gardens however we went to the Japanese Gardens for the first time and Laurel Bank Park and at the end of the day we always end up at Queens Park. Here's some pretty flower pics from the day.
With the Queen's passing recently, for two weeks just about every channel on TV showed what was currently happening with the Royals or showing past TV documentaries. I stayed up all night to watch the funeral as I did when Prince Phillip died. The British sure know about tradition and the whole service and celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's life was incredible. Queen Elizabeth II was an incredible lady working right up until 3 days before she passed away with 70 years of service.
The news of the Queen's passing has come at a shock to the world when only a few days ago she was welcoming the new Prime Minister Liz Truss. What an honour for Liz Truss to have met her, and for the world to have those last beautiful images of the Queen standing in front of the fire place with her famous smile, it seemed very fitting.
Getty Images
Whether you love the Monarch or not, you can't deny the Queen was an incredible human being who had a great sense of humour. To be working right up until 2 days before she passed away goes to show the incredible service she has given for the past 70 years. One thing I can say is she had an incredible stylist and make up artist and she always looked beautiful.
She was also known for documenting her own families life with lots of images of her taking photos throughout the years. I love that Kate loves photography and documents their life even though the Royal Family has official Photographers.
I actually wrote to the Queen back in 2015 as part of something that came up for my son's school assignment. Here is a post about it. It was really funny looking up online how to send a letter to the Queen and I was a bit nervous about it however I did it anyway and I got a reply on official Buckingham Palace letterhead. I've taken my address off the envelope however when it arrived in the mail I was so excited. This is as close to the Royal Family I have come.
Here are some photos of the Queen with her camera.
I think everyone loved the Queen and she will certainly be missed particularly by the British people.
