Parrots

This morning was a rare cloudy one in Townsville, and I was invaded by a restlessness that made it impossible to sit still and write. Instead, I cycled to old haunts near Richard’s house in the subu...

Anderson Park Botanical Gardens, Townsville

At 6:45 a.m., when I entered the Anderson Park Botanical Gardens, I was greeted by a view of massive clumps of bamboo and a stately row of palms which led my eyes to a curving pond. Pacific black duck...

Ross River Dam, Townsville

Early this morning, Mount Stuart was caught in cloud, its towers spectres in the mist. Rain had fallen overnight, its remnants speckling the windshield as Vilis drove the Kia south through the city to...

Brushtail Possum and the 2009 Australian Word of the Year

At dawn in the Ross River Parkway, white ibises were dim shapes feeding in sporadic drizzle, their black beaks shadowed curves. A sulphur-crested cockatoo squealed like an avian pig as it cruised low ...