moreibyrnong

This afternoon Perry and I walked a different section of the Maribyrnong, near the Anglers, if that's what it's called, on the west bank. Most of the buildings seem to date from the 1960s. 

This house (below) is super empty. I have never seen a house so empty. 

Fabulous bird.

So this stepped feature looks like it's at the end of the street doesn't it. Well it is. But there is a river inbetween. 

On the way back. 

Very satisfactory overall. Next time I think we will explore the hilly residential part near Highpoint, pretty sure I've never been there. 

wet yrnong

It rained a lot the last couple of days so Perry and I thought we'd go down to the part of the Maribyrnong we liked and see how full of water it was, compared to usual. We saw this bird.

He or she is an elegant bird, for sure. 

So this I think is Solomon's Ford (I saw someone somewhere recently misspelt this as Soloman's Ford which is actually funny when you think about it).* 

Yeah, it's pretty full of water, given that under normal circumstances you could actually use most of those submerged rocks as stepping stones. 

On the way back to the car we saw this bird. Not quite as elegant but very loveable. 

* This is the Solo man. He drinks Solo, which is a foul tasting pseudo lemon lolly drink that men are meant to like but let me tell you #notallmen. 

river valley

This afternoon Perry and I did what we always said we were going to do and looked at the housing estate on the other side of the Maribyrnong from where we've been walking lately. It's pretty remarkable really. It's called River Valley. It's remarkably steep. 

This wall is something else. Incredible. I don't know what else to say. There seemed to be music coming out of it, which I think might actually in some weird way have been being projected from the apartments on the street above, but not sure. 

I'm pretty sure that the car you see here was barely able to take the steep hill here. It certainly slowed down a lot but didn't quite roll backwards. 

This is the path that mapsonmyphone suggested we take to get back to the river. However, we got distracted by another option...

...which ended up with us in a weird kind of area that had tracks on it from either a previous or future path. 

When we got back to the river we found this island. 

Then essentially we basically as it were went back to the car and drove home. Perry was pleased with how it all went. 

I'd love to go back another time, I wonder if Perry would like to explore more. 

another visit to the yrnong

This morning Laura and I went to Monstalvat. I can't believe I'd never been! It's pretty extraordinary. Anyway I'll tell you about that properly later on. This afternoon Perry and I had a quick walk between Footscray Road and Kensington Banks on the Maribyrnong in bright sunlight and we didn't really see anyone, it was interesting, though we did see Pam the bird. 

Just want to mention, they had to cut this huge door in this building (below), did the people who made the cut seek any guidance on the fate of making an incision into the building's business name or did they just do it? I guess either way, they just did it. 

We'll still be finding Pams around Melbourne in 50 years. 

back at the yrnong

That's what you call the Maribyrnong, isn't it? When you feel casual affection for it? the Yrnong? Well anyway boring as we are, Perry and I went back to the same place as we had gone the day before, that is, yesterday to ramble across a little more of the general area. It was just for fun. 

It was raining, that's part of my umbrella above, but it wasn't heavy and we were fine. I am intrigued by these flats which I might have mused on previously, I suspect yes I have. I haven't seen them from the street access side and should go and look sometime. They dominate here but I am sure they are pretty nice to live in, or at least, to look out from. 

Explain this to me please:

A big boy is allowed to walk without the lead on if he promises to be good (even if he doesn't, even if he isn't). He didn't, but he was. 

Big houses looking out over the Yrnong from the north side. 

It stopped raining while we were walking, I lost something - the clip-on treat dispenser. I lose these periodically, it's not like car keys. 

nobody home

Perry and I went to Avondale Heights again this morning, same as the other day but no loss of car key, mainly because I wanted to see if that dog was there again, but no. 

Perry certainly remembered the place and was hopeful once we got there but as I said - no.

I let Perry off the lead briefly and was interested to note that, when he's on the lead he wants to charge ahead of me, or at least, lead the way but when he's not, he wants to walk a considerable distance behind. I wonder if this is his herding instinct. 

When I lost the car key last week and had to walk to Tottenham Station, I had checked with mapsonmyphone how to get across the river and it did not tell me there was a crossing actually very close to where we were - it just told me about two reasonably distant footbridges. Well, I don't blame mapsonmyphone, there's probably a lawsuit just waiting to happen when dodderers try to get across the river by these means, though I would have done it. 

This was a good place for Perry to get a drink from the refreshing waters of the Maribyrnong and then we went back. It will be hot day today and it was already warming up at 8ish. 

perry and i are creatures of leisure - pt 1

Yesterday was a fuck up but it was a funny fuck up with no lasting implications. Perry and I drove to Avondale Heights to walk by the Maribyrnong there. It's very pleasant. 

At one point Perry thought he saw something, I don't know what, and he thought he needed to be on his back legs to see it better, I really don't know what it was and he won't remember. He was looking towards the river. 

This dog behind a fence got involved in the conversation and like the dog at the Merri Boulevard (or whatever it's called) this dog and Perry were very convivial.

Perry and I then walked on a bit further, and just like the Merri Blvd dog, Perry wanted to visit this one again, but when we passed by again they had gone. 

We marvelled a little at this sign because - who would ever think this was a road, through or otherwise? You could put up a sign like this at most places and it would be true, I suspect. 

I guess my thought initially was maybe it's the path of an old road from a stupid subdivision or something... might be, but maps-on-my-phone doesn't think so. 

Grapefruit. 

There really are great looking houses here. I know you will know what I mean when I say 'wog mansions' I don't think it's an offensive term anymore but it's not a pleasant one but it'll have to do. I remember as I child I would pass houses like this - rarely entered one - and think they looked like they'd be really cool in summer. I am not sure why, looking at it now, but I did. 

And how amazeballs are these eagles. I don't think they have any symbolism, but I don't know why I don't think that. 

Another great one.

So the reason I said we are creatures of leisure is that I have been listening a lot to side two of Creatures of Leisure lately, along with Laura Imbruglia's self-titled album. Both incredible records of enormous depth. Anyway, that house above reminds me of the cover of Creatures of Leisure. 

Such a fun, talented, radical band and with so many high quality songwriters the album tracks are as amazing as the singles - anything off this record could have been a single, with the exception I suppose of the hidden track at the end of side 2 which I believe sometimes went under the name of 'Business & Pleasure'. 

There is a US version of this album which fucks around with it - for some reason I have that too, and may play it soon. Of course I'll let you know.

Anyway to get back to our Avondale Heights adventure, things got weird, but it was all fine, but I'll tell you about that later on OK.