Pages

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Lanterns in unexpected places (and other unrelated things)

I dropped off friends at a rental yesterday.  They have a  nice little place close to the beach.  I noticed this beautiful lantern hanging on the one flat’s porch.  Of course I couldn’t resist taking a photo.

On the way home, I drove past this beautiful church.  It had to be a quick photo, before the traffic light changed.

It is currently a bit of a wild weather season in Melbourne.  This morning’s sky gave an indication of what was to come. 

Murphy says the rain will come when children’s school holidays start!  This week, to combat the cabin fever, we will be attempting to go to the museum.  The kids are very excited, since we will be travelling on the tram again.  Look out for the photos on Thursday, if all goes to plan.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Winter Sunset

Walking outside, we were greeted with the most amazing colours tonight.  It was quite a beautiful day, although cold and crispy.  We are hoping for a few more days of the same.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Farming Country

Took the long drive to Warragul today.  It is amazingly green on the way, with the bluest sky to match.  It is mostly farming country, with a lot of small towns on the way. 

The cows I expected,

but not the caribou!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Little girls are made of…

She looks like a little angel sometimes,

but she sure doesn’t have any fear!

She spent the afternoon playing with the little boy in the left of the photo.  The only words the two had in common, were “Ready, set, GO!”  Language does not seem to matter when you are having a good time.  Even the grandmother and I found a way to communicate, both of us getting a lot of joy from the energy and fun the children were having.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

All the colours…

After the rain, the rainbows came out.  We saw four, just coming back from school.  Had to share the colours.  I haven’t seen such bright ones before.

 

Blue skies and Clouds

This morning the skies were really blue, with clouds popping up everywhere.  As I am writing this, it started raining.  (I managed to save the washing I think.)  I am now a bit wet and definitely cold, so I hope you enjoy the photos.  I need to go find something to warm me up.

 

 

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Cheetham Wetlands

My son went on an excursion to the water recycling plant today.  He came back with some nice photos of the area.

IMG_0017-2IMG_0007-2

I popped in to see Benjamin.  He is almost two days old now. 

Monday, June 22, 2009

Proteas in the morning

We went to the school’s assembly this morning since my son’s class was doing a play.  On the way back, we noticed a protea in a garden.  I am sure fynbos grows better in Melbourne than it does in Cape Town.  It is the second garden I have seen with proteas and the bushes look extremely healthy and strong (and BIG).

 

We also walked past the postman.  I still find it a novelty to see the post being delivered on those tiny motorbikes.

These roses caught my eye, still wet from last night’s rain.

 

 

 

******************************************************************************

Congratulations to our friends who welcomed their little baby boy, Benjamin, weighing 3.5kg into the world this morning!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sunday Rain

It was a little overcast this morning, but there were hints of sun.  By mid-afternoon the first drops of rain started falling.  I took a short walk, hoping to see something of the sunset, but it was all behind solid grey clouds.  

The nice thing about walking just after rain is the sounds and smells.  There is so much bird song and the flowers just smell so much stronger.  Everything smells fresh and clean and rich.

This old house is one of my favourites.  I don’t know what it is about it, but I find the old place charming, peeling paint and all.  There is a trellis against the one wall that has a  climbing rose growing against it.  Very often it flowers, just one or two red blooms.  Clichéd, but gorgeous non the less.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Cockatoos in Sherbrooke Forest

Today we went to Grants Picnic Grounds in Sherbrooke Forest.  It is about an hour outside of Melbourne, in the Dandenong ranges.  The forest is absolutely breathtaking, with huge mountain ash trees towering above you as you drive to the picnic grounds.  Looking up, you can see the tops of the trees swaying in the wind. 

 

 

After a quick picnic at one of the picnic tables, we bought some $1 packets of seeds at the little store and the kids ran outside to feed the birds.   It is quite an experience to stand amongst so many wild birds.  I didn’t have any seeds (hands were full of camera), but they would still often alight on my head.  The kids had an immense amount of fun, though my youngest preferred to chase them, since she wouldn’t stand still for long enough to let them land on her.  

 

The white cockatoos had the least fear, landing on you very quickly.  The bright red ones took a little longer to overcome their fear, but once they decided you were safe, they would climb all over you.  One warning if you go, remember to keep the packet of seeds close.  The white cockatoos love flying off with the packet of seeds.  We weren’t the only ones to lose a packet to the crafty birds!

 

      

 

Just before we left, we took a short walk in the forest.  It was fun, though we didn’t see any more wildlife.  I would guess it was the wrong time of day.    There were lots of information boards, informing us of the history of the area.  Made for very interesting reading.  We found a little waterspout and each child of course had to take a turn to have a drink.  For some reason my husband was decided not to lift the little one, so she improvised.

 

It has been a little overcast all day, so we decided not to tempt rain and fate further and rather go home.  Time for little one to sleep and it was getting a bit cold.   We can’t wait to go exploring there again.

 

Click for Map to the location

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Webs in the morning

It is a really beautiful day in Melbourne this morning, so we went to the park early.  Everywhere were spider webs covered with dew.  I couldn’t resist photographing them, though I maybe overdid it a little…

 

  

  

PS I am now editing the blog with Windows Live Writer, thanks to a tip from David Ziser’s blog: Digital ProTalk  It makes life a lot easier.