Dharawal Seasonal Calendar

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I didn’t even know this fabulous resource existed until Anna Dempsey referred to the Dharawal Seasonal Calendar in last week’s Ask a Local. It’s compiled by Frances Bodkin and illustrated by Lorraine Robertson and outlines the changes in seasons for the local Dharawal people.

I wrote about echidna trains last week and looking at this resource, the echidnas are right on schedule. We’re currently in the Time of Burrugin, which is the Dharawal word for echidna and Tugarah Tuli, (cold, short, frosty days – about June to late July). I highly recommend having a look at this fab resource. You can find it here and a massive thanks for Anna for bringing the seasonal calendar to my attention.

Visit the Dharawal Stories website to download an A4, printable, one-page-per-month, colouring-in calendar illustrating the six Dharawal annual seasons (or the 12 months as we know them).

Southern Right Whales spotted!

In very exciting news, Southern Right Whales were spotted on Sunday at what I believe is the spot for whale watching throughout the Illawarra: Bass Point. This is an incredibly special sighting with the population of SRWs for all of Australia estimated to be only 3500 individuals! Unfortunately, Shellharbour City Council has advised that the Bass Point Tourist Road, the only road leading into Bass Point, will be closed from Monday the 18th to Friday 22nd as they undertake upgrades. Never fear though, lots of other coastline to keep your eyes peeled for these very, very special animals.

If you’d like to read about how they got their name and more on what happened to their population you can read about my first and only encounter with SRWs here.

Find more photos by Mel Dee here.

Hello Halo Moon

I wrote about a halo moon in my very first Wednesday edition. Ah memories. And here we are again because the night sky just keeps on serving up the goods.

Christine Harris-Hansell took this beautiful image of the ring, or halo, around the moon. Halos can form around both the moon and the sun and are a result of light refraction and reflection from the millions of tiny ice crystals contained within really, really high, thin cirrus clouds. You can read more about this phenomenon here.

When the sky is on fire

I try to fill your day with lots of lovely nature-filled moments. Because they’re the sorts of things that make me feel great. And how could I resist sharing this incredible sunrise picture from Christine. The sky just shifts through hues of oranges and yellows and purples through to burning reds. Spectacular.

If you have captured some moments of nature or in nature, we’d love to see them. Reach out here