Blog – Page 2 – Stilgherrian

19 October 202523 October 2025

Weekly Wrap 803: Craning to escape plane trees (not sorry)

A clear blue sky over the tops of brightly-lit London plane trees, and sticking up in the middle of the scene is the arm of a massive crane at an unseen building site. Circling overhear in the distance, barely visible at the top of the frame, are three seagulls.

The second of my two weeks in Sydney, Monday 13 to Sunday 19 October 2025, was another pollen-rid distraction, although I did get a podcast recorded.

12 October 202519 October 2025

Weekly Wrap 802: All the plane trees, all the hay fever

A quiet little street in inner Sydney’s Surry Hills. It’s lined on both sides with parked cars. On the right is a row of two-storey terrace houses, many of them still with old-fashioned iron railings, some with dormer windows added. Covering the street are the branches of London plane trees, fully leaved and towering to twice or maybe three times the height of the houses. The street itself and the sidewalks are littered with crushed and dried leaves, and the powdery remnants of seed pods.

My week of Monday 6 to Sunday 12 October 2025 was sore aggrieved by a scourge of platani down in Sydney, although I did manage to finish a podcast. I can be stubborn about these things.

05 October 2025

Weekly Wrap 801: King parrot spring, with a podcast

Two Australian king parrots are in the branches of a shrub. On the right is the male, with his bright red head and chest, and dark green wings and tail. On the left, looking down before she flutters down to the food, is the female, with her two-toned green colouring and red belly.

In my week of Monday 29 September to Sunday 5 October 2025 I did some client work I can’t talk about yet, and recorded a podcast. I also saw a snake, which I’m not showing here.

28 September 202503 October 2025

Weekly Wrap 800: Podcasts finally emerge and that goddam kookaburra is back

A laughing kookaburra — yeah one of those chonky kingfishers — sits on top of a branch and glares at you.

In my week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 September 2025 I moved beyond the stresses of earlier in the month and posted two podcasts, planned a bunch of stuff and wrapped up my 28th crowdfunding campaign. Welcome to spring. And yeah I took another photo of a kookaburra. That kookaburra.

21 September 202525 September 2025

Weekly Wrap 799: Podcast production and the Sydney skyline

Monday 15 to Sunday 21 September 2025 was a big week for podcasts, with one posted and two more recorded. After several weeks of poor health I’m getting back into the flow. My photos have mostly been of birds, however, so for a change of pace I’m going with a cityscape from a few weeks back.

15 September 2025

Weekly Wrap 798: A third week disrupted by illness, but a different one, plus squabbling birds

A bright sunny day. On a tree stump on the left, a brown cuckoo-dove with lighter brown undersides and pink feet raises its wings to look big and fierce. On the right, on a slightly lower tree stump, is an Australian magpie, head hunched down, wings extended. It's a stand-off! And on the far right, a red plastic water bowl.

My week of Monday 8 to Sunday 14 September 2025 started well but slipped into illness at the end — again! — although things then improved on the weekend. I had to bail from a conference on Thursday, and spend Friday very close to a bathroom at all time. We shall speak of this no more.