Scriffles: What's a beach sunrise worth?

We walked up to the lighthouse, collected shells, watched huge fish swim near the rocks with schools of whiting. Saw a Kite carry a fish across the sky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahminy_Kite   
Saw beautiful yellow-tailed black cockatoos climbing treetops that tower over the beach: http://www.avianweb.com/yellowtailedblackcockatoo.html
Tiny, tiny, little crabs scuttled over the sand. A flock of 10 pelicans flew in formation over our heads in the afternoon. Caught a wave or two, kicked waves into submission. Dug huge holes in the sand. Went to sleep listening the ocean. Went to the beach at dawn by myself. Mum called from the balcony as I slinked out the beach gate. I felt like a kid on Christmas morn being caught sneaking a peek at the gifts before everyone was awake. Great visit. This year has been a record for the past decade I think. I've been to the beach twice this summer already. So many summers have slipped by. Caught a double wave on the boogie board and wooshed all the way to the shore! Yi-i-HA! Didn't watch or read any news. I heard some interesting Mooloolaba news. A local fisherman catches whiting and freezes it in container loads to ship off-shore to be filleted. It's cheaper to do that than pay someone in Australia to do it. Listening the ABC now and hearing that politicians have decided to pay themselves more. Why don't we pay the crabs to dig holes on the beach? They do such a good job. What about paying the mangroves to filter our water? They are better house keepers than politicians. What's clean water and fresh air worth? More than a politician? More than a journalist or a lawyer? As much as a Peace Prize?

<p>Sunrise over Mooloolaba from Lisa Yallamas on Vimeo.</p><p>At 5am there's hardly a soul on the beach to watch the sun come up. By 8am it's like New York's Grand Central Station on a Monday morning. </p>


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Yasi monster frightens himself. Comic relief. Cartoon.

Premier Anna Bligh's good luck dragon.

It doesn't matter what portfolio Premier Anna Bligh has held over the years, whether its Disability or Education or ... no, not so sure about infrastructure ...

But she's always impressed people as a capable performer on top of the facts and issues able to reel off comments off the top of her head - her staff actually admire her.

Now as Premier she now has the opportunity to show that Australians are capable of planning to provide infrastructure that caters for future growth - and not just for growth, let's make it sustainable, ecologically-friendly, well thought out. Pray. Pray. Pray.

First the flood devastation and now Cyclone Yasi - who knows what's next!

But it sure is focusing attention on our leaders - and they all seem to have stepped up and done their 41 pirouettes en pointe before their captive audiences.

With all the leaders rubbing shoulders with The People maybe we can expect better government - everyone seems to have forgotten the shocking hung parliament.

What an age we live in! Perhaps we will see a dragon next.