The Badlands

This is where I was heading to on Wednesday afternoon but ended up going down to Mt Buninyong. So on Friday afternoon with another cold wet day, but passing sunny breaks, seemed like a good idea to visit the Ballarat Badlands down in Sebastopol. This image is incredibly similar to some of the vast landscapes we see on our trips to the USA south west, but at a much smaller scale.  I really like that extra touch of green in the foreground, and the constant wet conditions has everything looking rich and saturated. Very hard to move around here as the surface was very soft and slippery, and certainly a location that deserves regular visits. Click on this for a better look, its got heaps of detail to explore.

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Andersons Mill, Smeaton

I was pretty excited last night when the rainbow appeared above the Mill, but actually think this one, especially in black and white, is a better image.
And a bit of history on the Mill.....
In a postcard setting on the banks of Birch's Creek at Smeaton, Anderson's Mill stands as a reminder of an industry that flourished after the gold rush of the 1850s. Standing much like it was over 100 years ago; the five-storey bluestone building and its magnificent iron water wheel are still in place. 
You can read more here....
http://www.ballarat.com/andersons.htm

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Smeaton Smorgasbord

Very cold in Ballarat on Thursday...the wind was freezing, but the hoped for snow didn't eventuate. Great clouds had me driving for miles until I ended up at Smeaton and found quite a range of images. First up is this massive cloud I found myself underneath - thats Mt Moorookyle just poking its head above the horizon. Then down to Andersons Mill, where Birchs Creek is raging, and whilst I was shooting these it started to rain, and out came the rainbow perfectly positioned above the Mill. Happy with this lot I headed home only to find just up the road some great reflections off the side of the seed mill tanks. Who needs snow!!

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Atop the Mount

Wednesday afternoon entailed a visit to the top of Mt Buninyong. The clouds I noticed from back in town sitting on top convinced me to change my plans and head that way. This is a selection of the fog shrouded trees. Maybe today I'll get to where I was planning to go last night.....!

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Multnomah Falls, Oregon

As you all know I'm a big waterfall fan, and I thought this view of Multnomah Falls from our October 2010 trip was worth sharing. At 620 feet its a bit larger than what I have locally to work with!

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Around the Corner

On Tuesday I went out to the Yarrowee River at the Gong Gong Reservoir. As has been the pattern this winter the water level is very high - here's a selection...and the first one especially suggests the title of this post!

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Out Mt Beckworth Way

On Monday afternoon...another of those cold, fast moving, great skies that Winter is all about. And plenty of rainbows as you drive around. The 2nd image here is the bluestone remnants of the Mt Beckworth Presbyterian Church...I've been down this road a few times and this was the 1st time I've noticed this site, with its small commemorative plaque.

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