Oak Valley, Queensland

Sun and  cloud vied for airspace over Townsville as Vilis and I drove south out of the city to the rural suburb of Oak Valley and the Oak Valley Nature Reserve next to Sachs Creek. Located about 15 k...

New Pride in Convict Ancestry

The fruits of the Wet are becoming apparent. Garden shrubs and trees have pushed out new leaves and shoots. Mushrooms have sprouted from the golf club greens and a severed palm trunk outside our kitch...

Notes on Eucalypts and Barra

During breakfast, Vilis told me, “Yesterday, I heard an interesting program on the radio about eucalyptus trees. They are incredibly adapted for fire. They use it for competition with other tree spe...

Serious Rain in Townsville

After a night of steady rain that sometimes thickened into tropical fury, I ran and walked in the Ross River Parkway in early morning. Solitary ibises and flocks of geese accompanied me, winging throu...