Sunny afternoon tea

Sophie and Liz came over to Marisia's for afternoon tea on Sunday.  We sat out the back, and here are some photos.  (Quite a lot of photos).   Ada caught the ball quite a few times under Liz's expert tutelage - first time she has caught a ball, so big.   And also big, Austin on the verge of walking.

Rossmoyne Street Scarecrow Competition 2013

Here are some of the scarecrows in the Rossmoyne Street Scarecrow Competition.   I think there were more than 100 in the end.   The one immediately below is Ada's and my effort.   Very rushed and she (the scarecrow not Ada) did get knocked over by the wind a couple of times.    The photo below of the two gothic sort of scarecrows are opposite my place, and they were the winners.

The intention was as part of a program for which our street has a little funding from Council to emphasise to passing drivers that a street like this is a living space not just a corridor.  I am cynical enough to think that through traffic would be better slowed with hard things like speed humps and barriers at cross streets like they have in Carlton or Kew, where I discovered the other day it is impossible to get from High Street travelling west through to the Chandler Highway!   
The scarecrows probably worked as an exercise in neighbourhood bonding that was a little more original than the usual street party.....and we made the local paper - front page - twice.
Most of all though it was fun.

Have car, can carry

Here is the old car doing carrier duty again. This time bringing stakes home from the Saturday morning market at Wesley Hill.

Muesli

Goji berries are not as popular as dried blueberries but we tend to make a mix. Dates are superb, especially those big fat ones chopped small. The puffs can be buckwheat or millet or a mix. This David and Grace muesli is a household staple for us and we recommend it.

Venturing into Street Photography

OK David and Grace, here are some of them.   So critique please!   

I'm using my 35 mm lens and pre-setting exposure, using manual settings except for the focus which is on auto, just using the shutter half way down method....someone suggested that aperture priority is better but my camera always over-exposes slightly - I usually go for a stop or two under.   

You need to be honest, but remember I can get discouraged easily!!   (So like gentle honest...........maybe.....)

These two are from my first venture, around Northcote Plaza.

Second attempt, that same evening, around Westgarth Station

Pouring rain in Brunswick Street, so took photos of people waiting out the storm (as well as the one I told you about that was on ABC weather - you can see on Flickr.....)