seasons: now and then

A friend-of-a-friend is in New York at the moment and as I was scrolling through her photos on Facebook I exclaimed to her I had pretty much the EXACT same photo, only in a different season! As it is their winter over there, the trees are bare, whereas when I was there the trees were still green with lush folliage. We both decided we kinda liked the bare trees better... I said I thought they looked a little more whimsical :) But you be the judge... which do you like better, bare or green?

my park

I was thinking about this yesterday- does everybody have a park that they can call their own? A place where you have lovely memories of getting pushed on a swing by your mum or dad, or sitting on a pincic rug giggling with your cousins while having a family barbeque, or a place where you learnt to ride your first bike, or just a nice place to walk through and feel the fresh air, and the soft grass under your feet. For me, this place is Hardcastle Park in Hawthorne. 

It holds other memories too. Freedom and independence of walking down and catching a CityCat from the ferry terminal here- the first time I went into the city alone to catch up with friends as a teenager, my first day of university, starting a "grown up" job as a graduate.

I took these photos yesterday of "my park". 

floating away

So we hear the world has been watching the Brisbane floods unfold over the past few days, which just so happens to be my home. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that has been gushing in from friends and family who live near and far checking that we are okay (which we are, our home sits atop a hill). On Tuesday, we were sent home from work early, as were many businesses all over the city, as the news reported that many roads would be flooded by the end of the day. It was like peak hour on the roads driving home at midday- so chaotic!

The following day, I woke early and walked down to one of my dearest friends Gabby's riverfront property in Hawthorne. At the time, the current flood level predictions suggested the water would reach their downstairs kitchen/living room area. So we proceeded to take all the furniture/valuables from downstairs, upstairs. The view of the Brisbane River from their backyard pool deck was unbelievable- the speed of the current was travelling rapidly, carrying with it debris, pontoons, unmanned boats and more. Gabby and I spent the rest of the day in her pool, viewing the unsightly objects. Below are just a few of what we saw...

 

I'm happy to report Gabby's family property was not flooded out! The flood predictions were over estimated by 1 metre (thanks to no rain yesterday), and as it was, that 1 metre made all the difference. My heart goes out to others that wern't so lucky.