Barrenjoey Lighthouse at Palm Beach in Sydney

Not feeling inspired to write tonight but I thought these pics I took today might be of some interest.

The whales are heading north and yesterday Spanner and Miss Hissy jumped on a whale watching boat captained by a friend and went outside the heads at Sydney Harbour. They saw around a dozen humpbacks - not all together but in pods of two and three - heading towards warmer waters. I don't blame them. It's bloody freezing in Sydney. I'd like to join them.

I don't have photos of whales because the ones taken by The Hiss aren't that impressive, even though the whales were around 25 metres from the yacht.

Instead, I've popped up the photos I took today when Spanner and I walked to Barrenjoey Lighthouse at Palm Beach.

The weather was temperamental - sunny and warm one minute, cloudy and cold the next. Invigorating.

I hope you enjoy them. I will endeavour to bring the dog back into the conversation this coming week. She's muttered wise words that need to be recorded for posterity.

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

Palm Beach left and Pittwater right

Here's a couple more to whet your appetite for the beautiful part of the world that's 40 winding kilometres from Sydney's CBD.

We saw a lot of these pretty flowers on the walk

Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club at Newport

Bin a long time, bin a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time... why I hate winter in Sydney

Sitting next to bar heater in small, cramped poorly-lit room, eating cheddar cheese Sakatas from the packet (feel sick) and drinking cheap red wine while marking students' exam papers and trying to block out bad vibes from lounge room where Spanner is attempting a miracle - to convince our daughter Miss Hissy (aka The Hiss) of the value of the square root in everyday life.

Seriously, the real square root is the one you have with your partner of 16 years, but you can't explain the truth of the matter to a 15 year old who would be, understandably, grossed out.

There's not enough MSG cheesy flavour on the crackers. I will write a letter of complaint to Sakata first thing tomorrow.

I have made a really nice stewy braised beef with tomatoes, which is in the oven and needs no interference for another hour. But Spanner can't help himself. He's already poking and prodding it.

Brings me back to square roots.

I hate winter in Sydney.

Taking the plunge: the challenges of the winter ocean swim

It's been raining for three weeks - solidly for two.

Today, a pale sun is breaking through the clouds as I contemplate entering the Cold Water Classic at Mona Vale on Sydney's northern beaches on June 20.

It's a short swim at 1.2 km, so that's not the issue. Winter is.

I know if you live in Europe, -15 degrees is a walk in the park. But in Sydney, a temp of 2 degrees in the mornig is the lowest temp I can remember experiencing - and that wasn't in the recent past. Usually, winter days warm up to 18 degrees or more.

That is a tad chilly for Sydneysiders, of which I am one.

But that's not the main reason I hesitate. There are a couple of other factors that make a winter swim less inviting - general weather (windy, overcast), surf conditions and water temperature.

Last year, the weather was awful. Grey skies and blowing a gale. The water temp was OK, but the surf was rough and I lost my goggles when I got knocked over by a wave.

I hope the conditions will be more attractive this year.

Davo has already entered the swim. He sent me an email, pointing this out! He's on the starters list, with 23 other eejits.

There is the option of wearing a wet suit, but real ocean swimmers don't rubber up. And I rather fancy myself in the 'real' category.

Davo is going *'naked', as are 22 of the others entered so far.

I'll end up taking the plunge because I can't help myself, especially if Davo is committed - he's my lift to the gig.

*Of course, the budgie smugglers are on!

PS: This photo is from http://www.oceanswims.com/ and, I believe, was taken by Glistening Dave

Palm Beach is the place to be in the middle of a Sydney winter

Spanner drove up to Palm Beach yesterday to show his dad heaven.

Not that the old codger is heading off to the other side just yet, but Palmy (as we pretend-locals like to call it) is a heavenly place.

It has sailing nirvana, Pittwater, on one side of the peninsula and magnificent surfing beaches on the other.

Spanner told me the water was warm enough for a swim. I'm soooo jealous because I'm stuck at home on the computer supposedly doing real work that contributes to my paid job. It's not fun because I would rather be in Palmy or writing.

I am tired of winter, though many would argue I'm a lucky sod for living in GodZone, with its mild climate and good coffee.

But even these things haven't saved half of Sydney from the swine flu and every other lurgie imaginable.

To make matters worse, tomorrow I rejoin my sniffling, snuffling sneezing fellow commuters on the bus into town in peak-hour traffic.

Back to work.

An ocean swim in Sydney in the middle of winter is for mugs only

It's been miserable in Sydney over the past few weeks. Rain, drizzle and blustery winds. Who'd wanna live here?

So, to even consider an ocean swim at this time of year is foolhardy.

But that's what I'm doing. The Cold Water Classic, a 1.2 kilometre swim at Mona Vale beach, is on June 21 - and I'm thinking of entering.

The organisers have done the right thing and divided the categories into naked and wetties. By naked they mean cossies/togs/swimmers (but you all knew that). Wetties means wetsuits.

My mad brother-in-law, Davo, is going 'naked' a la budgie smugglers.

The water temperature is currently 18 degrees Celsius. I do my laps in pools around 25 degrees.

In Australia, June 21 is the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.

Brrrr!

(Watch me talk my way out of this one!)

To freeze or not to freeze, that is the question.

Anyone got a spare wettie?