Flash Floods and Favorites for February...........!!

The weather is such a mystery so far this year....... extreme heat, bushfires, hail, cold wet days, lovely sunny days and then flash floods......I was caught up in this one last week ...took a picture of the water and landslide over the road on my way down the mountain from Emerald... the rain was absolutely torrential....!

Flash flooding on the road.

While gardening this little guy ran across my foot....gave me a bit of a fright but I dashed inside to get my phone to take his picture....it's not a good shot as he was rushing to get away from me ... he was way more scared of me than I had been of him....the colours were amazing so I did a google to see what kind of spider he was.... St Andrews Cross spider...really love the diversity of criters that live in our permaculture garden ...a call out to anyone using pesticides or chemicals in the garden...Please Don't !!

St Andrews Cross Spider in my garden

This is what they actually look like when photographed correctly !!! ..just sayin'..

Professional look at a St Andrews spider...amazing

A lovely bunch of flowers from my man ....... we don't really do Valentine's day but they were a lovely surprise.

Flowers from the Willow Branch....  lovely florist and we always try to support the locals.

Currently reading this book for the second time.... one of the ladies at bookclub mentioned it and I knew I owned a copy but read it so long ago forgot the storyline....loving it second time around...funny about that. 

My interest of late has been spiked by the use of medicinal herbs... I follow this lady on instragram and managed to get hold of her latest book..... it's a little out there but has definately encouraged me to look at Herbal Apothecary and growing more of my own herbs.

Marysia is a Green Witch... all about gardening, weeds and herbs.. don't be fooled by the title 

I took a quick trip to Korumburra to check out a couple of local stores... Grow Lightly is a great community produce store....all the veg are grown locally and chemically free... great price and to top it off they have milk in glass bottles for just $3.80...
.............so happy to support local farmers.

Milk in Glass !!    .... Hooray

Sunday was my birthday... had a beautiful day and as always received  loads of love and beautiful gifts... very thankful for my wonderful family and friends.

61 now...officially in my sixties.

The latest Green Tea pic ..from The Borough Dept Store cafe.....
had the most delicious Ginger cake... highly recommend it if you are ever down that way.

The obligatory green tea pic... they just keep getting more and more quirky.  

Here's hoping Autumn gives us the beautiful late summer weather that is my favourite time of year. 

Finding February ......!!!

Just when you think things are settling a little we get hit with cyclones, torrential rain and floods following our catastrophic bushfires .... personally we also suffered localised hail stones on Friday that pelted our caravan just as we were hitching up to go away for the weekend. ...lots of small dents peppering the roof and some on the sides... a call to the insurer is required, but after so much calamity already facing the country it could be a long wait.  .... We still took off for 3 nights to Stratford....the weather wasn't kind to us but we still had a lovely time....We took a quick trip in to Maffra and I fell in love with this gorgeous tree in the main street....it was incredible.!

Enormous tree in the main street of Maffra...I think it's a Morton Bay Fig.

The beautiful mass of huge branches forming the canopy

Full of all sorts of nooks & crannies

A different aspect from every angle....amazing

The exposed root system...such an incredible tree

We had a lovely visit from our G-Boy for a day during the school holidays....a trip out to a local cafe for lunch....Pancakes of course..... followed by a matinee session of Dr Dolittle remake....which I have to admit I totally enjoyed..
(I saw the original with Rex Harrison when I was 9 years old )......... but so much to love about  Robert Downey Junior !!

My G-boy tucking in to his pancakes

We've had a pair of blackbirds nest in our yard again this year and they've raised 3 different nests of eggs over a couple of months ...had no idea they could do this...twice in the same nest and then again in a new nest in the grapevine....the babies fledge very early and hop around the garden instead of flying off and the parents continue to feed them.... my furry girls were way too interested in the baby birds......eventually they have all managed to fly and feed themselves.

If you look closely you can see one of the baby birds in the bush waiting for a feed from mum or dad.

What would a post be without another quirky cup of geen tea !!

Loved this pottery teapot with the eclectic mix of crockery

Last night was a super Full Moon...unfortunately so overcast didn't even get a glimpse !!
I like to think it could have looked something like this. 

There is something so fantastic about the full moon. 

What a Welcome to 2020 ....... !!!!!

I've been missing in action for the past several months.....but the disaster that is facing us all here in 

Australia has nudged me to get back to doing the things that I need/enjoy doing....The start of 2020 has been confronting for us all here with the devastation facing so many people and the catastrophic loss of bushland and wildlife is too overwhelming to even start to comprehend.....the constant barrage of terrible news and heart breaking images facing this country is all encompassing and has stopped me in my tracks since New Years Eve. ..... we were booked to go to Mallacoota on the 4th January for a week ...and had holidayed in Bermagui late October and visited the beautiful town of Cobargo....so difficult to wrap your head around the destruction.  .... After 7 days of disastrous news I realise I need to look for the positive and simple things in life to reassure myself that the world as we know it is not over and life will return to our  landscape in time.. ... surely climate change doubters will now realise that urgent action is needed and we all need to work together towards global solutions and also greatly assisting our communities affected by this horrifying crisis.

I need to share some of my favourite images since my last post .... before the world turned on it's head months ago and bushfires began devouring our beautiful country.  My husband retired at the end of August so life somehow got very busy !!

OCTOBER 2019

Beachfront at Bermagui...our caravan park on the hill at right.....we sat on the bluff and watched the whales migration as they travelled past towards Eden.

Daisy on the beach

The lovely town of Tilba ...... also came close to being burnt still on watch on act . 

As always a green tea.....shared with my man at Tilba

NOVEMBER

November saw us return back home and while we were only away for 12 nights the garden had grown out of sight.....Spring was with us and she had made her beautiful presence felt in our garden. 

The girls out in the garden after being locked in their enclosure while we were away.

Little spring bouquet from the plants that grew in the garden ......I love it.

 We shared a lovely weekend away with friends and took our caravan to Daylesford......the caravan park was so amazing...full of peacocks which I admit I had never seen up so close...they were incredibly tame and so beautiful...I even loved the raucous screech they make at all hours....

Peacocks are truly one of the most amazing things on the planet.

Awesome creatures....I was besotted with them.

Pretty cuppa .....at Trentham 

DECEMBER

December saw us take a road trip to Swan Hill to see my cousin (son of my auntie who passed away in January 2018).....we stopped at Kyneton on the way and I was charmed by the wall mural that had been installed in the town as testament to those who perished in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires...ironic really, little did I realise that 10 years later here we are going through it all again .

The beautiful memorial in Kyneton....leaf tiles decorated with remnants of the carnage.

They have rebuilt and they did recover and YES we do remember....Hope for the future

Leaves all individually decorated with reminders ...beautiful !!

"the transformation of lost personal possessions into art".

Stopped at Sea Lake on the way home from Swan Hill.... haven't been back since my auntie passed away....the town has a beautiful mural in the main street and the local silo has been painted creating a tourist attraction that is revitalising the town....so good to see.

Huge wall mural in the main street of Sea Lake

The Sea Lake silos.....beautiful artwork attracting the tourists. 

 December also saw us attend the 21st birthday of lovely Abbey.....the daughter of our much loved friend who passed away five years ago....so nice to see her all grown up.  

Celebrating Abbey's 21st......Her mum would be very proud.

Can't go past December without a little Christmas Cheer.....our little g-girl looking very festive.  

Our Christmas angel all dressed up and ready for Christmas Day

Like most families ours has a few challenges to face as the year begins...some exciting new changes and challenges and some stressful and uncertain....but we have a very strong family unit that will see us through whatever 2020 presents us with.  

Reconnecting with Family .... !!

I have recently reconnected with my cousin who I hadn't seen in over 40 years...Her father was my mum's brother......there was no reason just our families didn't stay in close contact. ..... A huge regret because she is amazing and I love spending time with her...  It's so interesting thinking about the family dynamic and what happens when families don't keep in touch ....  My cousin and I have so many things in common and similar taste in so many things it is a little spooky...that genetic connection I suppose .. she is nine years younger than I am which was heaps when I was a teenager, but time and lots of years seem to bridge the age gap...  She is a delight and I treasure the relationship we are forging.    The weekend saw us taking a road trip together to Eldorado (near her old home town of Wangaratta).....loved it.  We stayed in Yellow Cottage at Eldorado.....it was great...loads of laughs and years of catching up over meals, open fires, pubs, wineries and cafes....not to mention the three hours each way in the car !!. 

Our accommodation.....really lovely charm filled cottage.

On our travels we found a local Gin Distillery..... I've never experienced one before and it was fantastic.  We did a Gin tasting of several different kinds.... I'm not really big on gin, definitely need something delicious and lots of ice added to it for me... but I did come away with a lovely bottle of Gin !!

Gin Distillery just outside of Milawa

My lovely cousin outside the rustic tin distillery house.

So much lovely old architecture around the area.....love the tiny bell tower on this church.

 My greatest wish for my own family is that they will always stay in touch

 and never loose that connection with  sisters,

 brothers, aunties, uncles and cousins... 

Couldn't resist an update on this little minx.... 

she already sleeps through the night  ...Her mum and auntie certainly didn't do that  !

10 Weeks old and sleeping through the night ..... what bliss !!

Precious Gifts ...... !!

It's been a very busy couple of months and I haven't found made the time to visit my blog.....I've been reminded by the family today that our latest addition ...who arrived in May.....hasn't made it to the blog, so here she is....my beautiful Ggirl  ..... little Sophie .

My first cuddle at the hospital.

I could have just melted when my gorgeous Gboy held my Ggirl for the first time

....Grandchildren are the most precious of gifts ....

May also saw my man and I head up to Noosa for a couple of nights to visit a friend on her 70th birthday..... we left a freezing, wet and foggy Melbourne at 7am on a Thursday morning and had lunch at the pub and a walk along the beach in a balmy 21 deg and full sunshine and people swimming..... amazing what a 2 hour flight can produce !!

Picture perfect weather after a chilly start from Melbourne.

This guy was so lovely......who doesn't love a Pelican. !!

 Our friends have moved to Noosa and the weather and relaxed lifestyle 

don't take too much to get used too.... they were terrific hosts I have to say.

A trip to the Eumundi market was fabulous....what a fantastic atmosphere ... I loved it.

Eumundi Market......absolutely HUGE ..... a great way to spend the day...full of interesting stuff.

As always  ..... a Green Tea......but this one by the river in the Noosa Sunshine.

 June saw us back home into the winter chill but a sunny Sunday at the beach near Inverloch with the fluffy girls was fabulous if not chilly....not quite Noosa !!

But I have a passion for fossicking for shells and this beach had millions...!!

The beach is littered with so many shells along the tide lines.

The fabulous colours of the sea snail shells laying on the sand.

 These are the few I selected to add to my collection.....I think shells are incredible shapes 

and so beautiful.... Do kids still like to collect shells these day??....I've loved it since I was a child and it's so much a part of my beach experience....I get excited when I find them.

A beautiful range of shells....my favourites ..second row ...2nd and 4th from the right.. !!

 The vegie garden is full of its usual vegie's and fruits but I am always amazed at the persistence of nature.....I think this is a little self seeded anemone ?? .. which has pushed up between the rocks in the garden... .. Mother nature is quite magical I think.

A lovely solitary little bloom among the rocks.

My pursuit of the perfect cup of green tea continues.....I find it fascinating all of the quirky ways of serving something so simple.....this one came with a timer to brew the tea....!!  PS: didn't use the timer by the way.

Green Tea time.

Ggirl is now two months......I know right...where does the time go.?

Gboy is 8 and so excited to give her a bottle.

Unbelievable how much this photo warms my heart.....love them to bits.

No need for words really.......priceless !!