Echidna

 

You will all be sick of my zoo stay photos soon, but I really had such a delightful time. We'd been checked in about 15 mins when we went on the little guided tour in the sanctuary and I adored every minute of it!

They were strutting around where we were standing, and the curious ones would come right up to you. The one on the left was lying over young (eggs?) to keep them warm. 

Echidnas are such fascinating creatures. 

Linking with #AwwMondays
 #SaturdaysCritters 

Cheers!

 I'm not such a fan of street photography because of the intrusion, but this was too joyful not to snap. It really made me smile and put a spring in my step. 

I have scribbled on their faces a little for privacy....

Linking with #PicturePerfectLinky #WordlessWednesday  #SundayBesr  #WWOT  #YourMoment #ThruMyLens #WonderfulWednesday #NanaHood

“Rejoice in small things and they will continue to grow.” – Slaven Vuji

Still planting without purpose and this weird weather seems to make the flowers think it's spring time...

The roses are blooming on the dog walk and smell divine.

Sunrises are getting some colour back - or at least I'm waking up in time for them....

I'm happy to be getting my harbour walks back after all this rain...

Trying to focus on the little things as the election coverage is just depressing. I don't understand how we are determined to not focus on any of the issues, and they're are so many serious ones with huge future impacts and all we talk about is uncooked curry and other equally irrelevant personality 'stuff'.

Like the song in the Sound of Music says I need to think of my favourite things...(see what I did there, photo lyric joke...boomtish)

Linking with #SeniorSalonPitstop cos I feel this is relevant again...

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw

Last night the Wednesday Club went to a pop up video game arcade in the Sydney Tower Eye. It's a neon 80's bar with sparking views of the city and all the games that I loved in my teens and 20's - Galaga, Sega Rally, the moto bike one and pinball. 

While I raced a friend on the bikes, I was reminded of in my work days in the 90's, I would make collegues spend a lunch break in timezone for the Sega Rally Championship and we'd race each other for the office winner. I loved it. It was so fun. We'd return to the office so hyped up and bubbly, buoyed on the fun and excitement - almost an adrenaline rush, if you will. It was the perfect antidote to stress or boredom.

I had a friend return from an interstate visit to her aging parents ring me and say "It made me realise the importance of not just focusing on your kids and work. I need to maintain my friends and get some hobbies. The problem is I don't really have any."  This seems to be quite common. How do we get to our age and have such a small world focus?

Another friend a week later, was talking about the need to find things she liked to do before she retired.  Having declined the Wednesday club a few years ago, she's joining now to add some variation into her evenings, now that her work is less consuming.

While cleaning out a wallet from those Sega Rally Championship work days, I found this card. It was for a business I don't recall, so I presume I kept it because I liked the quote. 

I know I ask this repeatedly, but why do we stop doing things we find fun?

Linking with #Weekendreflection - see the disco ball above the city?

It was a big turn out for the Wednesday Club, 11 of us for the event and the 7 of us kicked on at a bar. I can't remember the last time I wandered the streets and sat in a bar with a group that large if not going out to dinner. This is a simple thing but it really sparked happiness. Why do we stop? Laziness?

They also had the dance machine game, and I loved playing that having never really played it before. I am now determined to hire one for a party or hold a dance off in an arcarde somewhere....if only I can get people to come. It was hilarious, joy-inducing, energetic fun!

I know lockdown really heightened this feeling for me, that I'm wasting so much time (my life) not squeezing all the fun on offer out of it, but I find it curious that some of my friends are feeling it too. 

I'm hoping it means a few more friends will switch their default mode of NO to YES.

 "Make a commitment to having fun. See your best friends and make time for your hobbies and passions."

– Robert Holden.

Do you have a commitment to fun? What do you do?

Linking with#TellusaaboutPlay

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” ― Confucious

 I left my cardigan at the Art Gallery so went back the next day to pick it up from Lost & Found. I was early so pottered around the Botanic Gardens while I waited for it to open. 

I discovered a little corner I hadn't really noticed before, with a home to bees.

 I've walked past this part many times but purely with the objective of getting to the harbour, Botanic House or the Calyx.

We often look but don't really see what's there.

Sometimes wasting time brings new discoveries.

"The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust

And lastly, we finally got a pretty sunrise - still with cloud cover but not enough to steal the colours.

Linking with #SkyWatch

Linking with #DND #WanderingCamera #MCoW  #GardenAffair  amd #FridayBliss

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Lions up close

 Following on from the other lions at play, this one came right over to the glass to inspect a small child that had leaned on the glass. Unfortunately, I didn't have the light or the angle to obliterate the glass reflection.

This one was before the play got rough....

Note the strange colouring on the ears - I had not realised. You could also see the mane clearly beginning to grow on the male juevjuvenileenile, but it's not clear in the photos.

Linking with #WednesdayWithoutWords #AwwMondays #SundayBest #ThruMyLens #WonderfulWednesday #WordlessWednesday #PictorialTuesday