Picture of the day - June 19, 2007

A rustic old windmill in Killarney, Australia

Photo courtesy of Patti Vallance. The Australian continent boasts some of the most striking scenery in the world. In fact, between her 11,000+ sun-drenched ocean beaches, the magnificent architectural splendor of her modern cities, and the stark beauty of the unforgiving Outback, there is more than enough stunning scenery in the land "down under" to keep a photographer busy for a lifetime. And just like here in the American heartland, there are countless farms both large and small dotting the continent that are absolutely loaded with wonderful photographic opportunities of their own. The stunning landscape image above featuring a rustic old windmill that photographer Patti Vallance found standing on one of those wonderful Australian farms near Killarney is a perfect example. While the photo is quite striking in its simplistic beauty, what really drew me to it when I first saw it was the windmill. You see, my dad absolutely loved whirligigs of all types, and much of his free time over the course of his long lifetime was spent building them. I remember how our yard always seemed to have several of dad's windmills and pinwheels spinning in the breeze at any given time. We used to get a lot of late afternoon thunderstorms back then, and I just loved to watch dad's whirligigs spin like crazy in the last few moments before the rain and thunder descended upon our tiny farm. Of course dad's homemade windmills were purely for decoration, but a few of the larger farms in our neck of the woods used them to produce electricity for a remote barn or for some other practical use. I don't really know what the windmill featured in today's picture was used for, but it's easy to tell that it wasn't placed there merely for decorative purposes. I guess I'll never know its reason for existing, and that's just fine by me. Whatever purpose it served, it most likely served it with distinction...and now it's enjoying a well-deserved rest during its "retirement years". Update: My brother Glen just "clued me in" as to what these windmills are used for: Australian farmers use them to pump water for their livestock to drink! About the photo: When I ran across Patti's wonderful Killarney Windmill photo yesterday evening, I sent her a message requesting permission to feature it as a "Picture of the Day" on TodaysPhoto.org. And much to my delight, she agreed. Here is her story behind the image: This photo was taken in the small rural area of Killarney. Killarney is on the southern coast of Australia, about 3 hours west of Melbourne. We have had a lot of rain recently, as you can see by the lush green grass, and I was lucky that on this day the sun came out just on sunset (about 4:45 pm). I love the warm glow of evening light, especially when it has been stormy. I invite you to visit my photoblog if you wish to see more of my images. - Patti Vallance Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"