Feeding the Fish and Eels, at Paronella Park 07/11/2010
         Originally created in the 1930's by José Paronella, a man with a dream, Paronella Park is a great place to visit while in north Queensland. When we visited Paronella Park, with my friend Nikki and family, her three boys were given a bag of food to feed the fish and eels found in the lake at the bottom of the falls. Reg and I plan to return so we can see the falls lit up at night by what would be cheap garden lights to run, using the hydro power plant built by Jose Paronella, the only privately owned, hydro power plant in Queensland. There is also a section, where you can feed the turtles. We were taken into the Tunnel of Love to see the tiny little Micro Bats. The boys had a wonderful time. A fantastic, up close and personal, with tropical rainforest, nature experience for all the family from young to old  http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/2010/07/camera-critters-118.html Amethyst Crystals, Ancient Beliefs. 07/05/2010
  The story of the Amethyst. Amethyst is a 6 sided prism semi hard, glossy, purple, violet, Transparent to translucent variety of quartz, often used in jewellery. The name comes from the Ancient Greek, ἀ a- ("not") and μέθυστος methustos ("intoxicated"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; and the amethyst was worn and drinking vessels were made from it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. So the seemingly spiritual beliefs surrounding wearing and viewing crystals have been with us for a long time. Mind you in ancient times a wreath of parsley was also supposed to protect against drunkenness, lol, I think there were people back in ancient times, who did not want to take responsibility for their own actions, just as there are today. Maybe they were simply, wanting, to buy the latest, snake oil treatment to prevent the concequences of their actions, rather than adapt to a healthier lifestyle. Little changes, human nature, most of us would love an instant, 'fix it'. I am always interested in your opinions even if they do not agree with mine. Larger pieces of these, amethyst, crystal, cluster geodes make great decorating items. Smaller pieces make beautiful jewellery and many attribute healing powers to them. I think that dwelling on all things beautiful as advised in the bible, has a healing power, whereas, becoming obsessed with ‘things’, and attributing divine powers to them is to become gullible, far from a healing quality I would desire. Just, my opinion! I recommend viewing and appreciating, these magnificent, amethyst crystals as, one more wonderful, part, of nature’s sculpture. I marvel at the textures, lol, wonder that some things are beautiful because of their rough texture, no thinking they need best acne treatments, as we do if human faces are rough. We see age and rough worn texture in nature as beauty and a flaw in humans. As an artist I find this strange as age and wear bring character beauty to a face, in my opinion. don't even attempt to try to explain the wonders of the universe or the forces of nature that combined to create such incredible things in our world other than to say it has something to do with volcanos, melting lava, bubbles and as I know from my pottery days, certain substances when cooled very slowly form crystals. Google it if you are interested and lol, J try to find the fact from the spiritualistic myth that surrounds the commercialisation of crystals today, the only thing that detracts from their beauty is commercial hokum created by crystal sellers, unless of course you believe it.     Mason Falls Kinglake National Park Plans are being made and are open to comment from the public, by National Parks, Victoria to restore much of the damaged structure from the devastating bush fires of Kinglake last year. The focus of the draft master plan is further rebuilding the park's visitor facilities and catering for new facilities over the next 15 years. The various actions proposed in plan including:
These sorts of projects are like night cream no fast treatment; they have been in the drawing board stage for the last 5 months and only now are ready to be submitted, for public comments. Let’s hope the structural work can begin by springtime as the forest does it’s part with a fresh regeneration of growth. I know the wildlife is returning, when Reg and I last visited we saw a lyrebird. . Remember if visiting the park that 98% of the vegetation was destroyed by the Black Saturday fire in 2009, it will be awhile before its full beauty is restored and the park looks as it does in the photos I show above. Below left is a before fire photo, the middle is a September 2009 picture and below right is the January 2010 picture taken at Mason Falls.   From Thursday 1 July entry into Point Nepean National Park Is FREE. Victor Teoh, Ranger in Charge, said the no entry fees announcement earlier this year was great news for visitors “Entry to all of Victoria's national parks and metropolitan parks will be free of charge as of 1 July to encourage more people to get active in the great outdoors,” said Mr Teoh. “With the recent addition of the Quarantine Station to Point Nepean National Park and now free entry into the park it means more opportunities for visitors to explore our park.” “Over 50,000 people a year visit Point Nepean National Park, making it more accessible will mean a greater number of Mornington Peninsula locals and visitors can enjoy the park,” said Mr Teoh. “It will be good for community health and wellbeing.” “With the removal of entry fees at Point Nepean visitors will also be able to enjoy the park through a greater spread of opening hours,” said Mr Teoh. “For the first time ever people will be able to cycle or walk into the park at times that suit them, and enjoy a unique experience such as a stunning sunrise or sunset from Fort Nepean.” Other national parks that will be free are Mount Buffalo, Baw Baw, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Ranges (Mount Donna Buang) and Wilsons Promontory as well as Werribee Park, Coolart, National Rhododendron Gardens and William Ricketts Sanctuary metropolitan parks. Parks Victoria estimates that removing entry fees will increase visitor numbers by 25 per cent to 50 per cent at most sites. “There’s nothing better for your wellbeing than getting out in nature,” said Mr Teoh. “And now there’s even more reason to enjoy the great outdoors.” Hiking around Point Nepean is quite a fat burner. Vehicle access into Point Nepean will be between the hours 8am and 5pm and the transporter service and bike hire, for a fee, will continue. For more information please contact Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963.      The Amethyst Room. I caught my breath at the beauty of the deep violet crystals. The colour, shapes and the way the light interacts with each crystal facet. Nature, at her most, extravagant, flamboyant, beauty. The Amethyst room is a large room within the Crystal Caves Gift Shop that is, filled with incredible Amethyst crystals from around the world. There are large, museum quality specimens of Amethyst Geodes in the deepest purple hues and some with spectacular Calcite crystals as well. A slowly rotating turntable displays hundreds of smaller pieces. I did a web search on Amazon books for more information about these beautiful crystals and found it was largely, filled with the supposed spiritual power of the amethyst crystal. I simply appreciate, the beauty and attribute no more magic to it than to a blade of grass and how that grows, all of nature is miraculous in my opinion, no one thing, more so, than anything else.        Today we drove along the Palmerston Highway through the wet tropic rainforests of Johnstone River Valley to Millaa Millaa. We explored, picnic areas, scenic lookouts, camping grounds on our way to the Mungalli Falls. The Palmerson Highway leaves the coastal fringe of the Great Green Way, at Innisfail and continues on up into the mountains to the Atherton Table Lands. The route into the table lands is probably the easiest and most scenic choice of four main routes from the coastal road. We travelled past cane fields. The cane was being harvested and loaded on to cane trains as we watched. There were banana and tea plantations plus roadside farmers stalls where I bought my fresh fruit and vegetables at a far better price than at the supermarket, and much fresher. The highway is in very good condition, the turn off to Mungalli Village clearly signposted. The road into the falls was narrow, not suitable for towing a caravan. The falls are on private property, visitors welcome, coffee could be purchased and a covered area provided where you could gaze at the rapids at the top of the falls, sparkling like certified diamonds. After our coffee, we hiked to the base of the falls then continued in a circuit walk back to our car. The drive home was equally picturesque. The combination of mountains, tropical clouds, mist and light rays in the late afternoon made for an incredibly beautiful panoramic drive.  Free Range Eggs, the Geniune Product. 06/17/2010
   I was looking for a story on free-range eggs so I started researching what was a free-range egg and I was shocked to find out that almost any egg raised via any method in some countries could be, labelled, a free-range egg. I would like to think Australia has stricter standards. I have been to Julatten, seen the entire property and all the chickens and hens, the care they are given, the egg cleaning and packing area and I know that these hens are not only humanely cared for they are positively, loved by my friend Gem and familyThe yolks were the richest yellow and the flavour superb. Living life in the country, working heard eating natural produce, is a healthy lifestyle, you do not see many obese people leading such a life and feeling they need to read diet pill reviews. I will certainly be prepared to pay a little more for the free-range version now and at least hope I am encouraging this good old fashioned, beautifully natural way of producing eggs.          Mini Milestone Week and Mini Makeover. 06/16/2010
 Ready for my Zumba class tomorrow to see if blondes have more fun. I gave myself my hair colour make over today as part of my mini milestone and mini makeover week. I am changing to exercising in the morning instead of later in the day, joining a gym while touring and beginning my on site painting again, this week. I am also changing my hair style and colour. I think gray hair is lovely, but you need attitude, to make it, work well and I find I slide from great to granny with my just out of the pool or gym frumpy grey locks so I gave them a tidy up trim Yesterday. Today I put the colour in. I was in something of a rush between the shopping, at Coles and the, get the result of blood tests at the Doctors at 4pm, then the photos taken quickly in the rain between arriving home and getting tea. lol So the after picture above is not my best picture, these will come. Back when my daughters were in clark shoes heading off to primary school I was a brunette. I think now I have grand kiddies in clark shoes, I need to realize, that if I want to maintain, gray hair and have it look good, I need to have personal style, to carry it off, like Meryl Streep, in The Devil Wears Prada.’I could hardly imagine anyone, treating her character, with ageist comments and behaviours, like I have encountered, lately since I have allowed my hair to become totally gray all over. So what is the most popular and flattering hair colour for a woman in her sixties? I still personally think grey is the most flattering colour at that age. and I like to see other women with natural grey hair. I did a search on line for people’s opinion, of gray hair and how it affects attitude to that woman’s ability to do her job or in my case to exercise without negative comments that perhaps I should not be, ‘doing that’. I was right, in sophisticated societies women are deemed, less capable of doing the job they are doing if they have grey hair. Hillary Clinton is seen, to be unsuited as a future president of the US by many people because she has grey hair showing. Ugly sexism and ageism, but I am finding out this ageism exists. I wonder if when I have great grandchildren and they are heading of to school in their clark shoes, if this degree of ageism will exist and women will be covering up the grey hairs because they do not like the way they are treated differently in a negative way, when they show their naturally beautiful gray hair ir if people will see seniors and age in a more positive light.  All gone, fun loving gray with an a for active.  Once again, Reg Indigo and I set out to sightsee, and we headed towards Ella Bay, knowing that there is a coastal National Park in the area. As respectful law abiding dog owners, we see no known reason why we cannot drive to the bay, look at the view through the car window, then return, without putting the dog outside the car. Not to be, we could not even drive to the beach. No dogs past this point signs on the road. These restrictions are not reasonable, in my opinion. A dog in a car never hurt any wildlife. Make life too unpleasant for tourists travelling with dogs and they will not come back to that area again, and that hurts the whole economy. The Ella Bay lovers are quite rightly trying to protect the wilderness from excessive development. The reality is if the area fails to self-support by way of tourism dollars spent in the area then development will result. Stopping tourists with a dog from even driving on a road is not going to help the cause of stopping the blight of overdevelopment in a pristine wilderness area. It is a little like trying to apply acne treatment gel after the event, if the proposed development goes ahead because of lack of support caused by few people even knowing why the area should be protected because they were not even allowed to drive through to look at it from their car. Realistically, conservationists need to find a middle ground. In Innisfail there are, 'no dogs allowed even on a lead', streets. Well if I cannot leave my husband and dog, relaxing under a tree while I shop in the supermarket, I cannot shop in the supermarket, = I will not return to the town. Town planners, please be reasonable. Look it would not bother me if they made massive fines for not picking up droppings or for having a dog off a lead in restricted areas and I understand that dogs and wildlife do not mix, but please do not make life too hard for dog owners. Dogs do serve a valuable carer/companion role for many people. Ella Bay National Park Ella Bay National Park is where the ‘rainforest meets the sea’. A must see destination in the shire for visitors it can be reached via Flying Fish Point on Ella Bay Road. National Parks in the area. Ella Bay National Park | Kathy Shell on Facebook Kathy Shell,
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Postcards by Artist, Author, Kathy Shell
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