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. 

So This is Sixty ...... !!

Last week I celebrated my 60th birthday by taking a week away with my husband..... we travelled to Berry NSW and spent a joyful 4 days in a gorgeous old cottage soaking up the beautiful weather and all the fabulous heritage sights and buildings in and about the area...then we spent a couple of nights in an eco adobe villa in Mallacoota.... my first time returning there in about 13 or 14 years...after having holidayed there annually since I was 15, then when married returned each Christmas with my children...it was lovely to return and take time to reacquaint ourselves with all the magic that is Mallacoota...took the fluffy girls along for the trip with us..they loved it too.

Lovely card from my main man.

The view from the cafe  at Bermagui ....brunch stop on the road trip.

A lovely restaurant in Berry for dinner on my Birthday....staff produced a scoop of sorbet with a candle !!

You can never eat too much cheese or drink too much sav blanc on holidays !! 

Daisy out for the count after a hard day at the beach 

A day trip to Kangaroo Valley ----absolutely amazing part of NSW....loved it !

A street full of beautiful old heritage buildings in Kangaroo Valley

Can't go past a community garden without a visit.... Kangaroo Valley

Loved the half drums .... want to make a couple of these for my garden.

The Hampden Bridge ..only surviving suspension bridge from the colonial period of NSW 

The cute little  Gelato shop in Berry ....scrumptious gelato

Berry is full of wonderful old buildings .... so much character in this beautiful town.

This awesome carved post is in Mogo .... great little stopover for lunch and a cuppa

It was so intricately carved...amazing

Unbelievable amount of native birds in the garden of Adobe Units Mallacoota....so tame...this tree was on our patio !!

Whiling away the time relaxing at the beach.... stacking stones !!

Betka beach at Mallacoota.....almost deserted and perfect beach weather....fabulous.

Lots of interesting rock formations along the beach

Sunrise on the lake at Mallacoota ....view  from our balcony on our last day 

We had a really lovely break....celebrated a milestone that I wasn't particularly looking forward to but   have come to the realisation that any birthday is a good one.... and this holiday was something special and memorable that I shared with my husband.....a reminder to enjoy everyday........you just never know !!

Home only one day and we were confronted by the devastating Bunyip State forest fire.....pictures from the back and front yard of our home....we were on watch and act alert on Sunday with thick smoke and ash everywhere....thankfully it never got this far but my heart goes out to those who lost homes.... reminder to never take anything for granted.

Goodbye July ....!!!

I seem to have completely lost track of time...It's the last day of July !!!  Where did the last three months go??...I've been remiss and not found the time (should read not made the time !!) to pop in here and share what's been going on....I like to think of my blog as just my memory of what's been happening and also a bit of a photo album. ... Just had to update my mobile phone which died and my first thought was..'Oh no' what about my photos!!...thankfully all good but was a reminder to put up pictures here that I will always want to look back on.  Digital images are great but if you haven't printed them..(and not many of us do that anymore)...and something happens, they are lost.  Here's a little bit of what has been happening recently.

Mid May we celebrated a beautiful wedding when my eldest daughter married her best friend...my fabulous G-boy did a great job walking the bride in and giving her away .... a heart warming marriage ceremony followed by a gorgeous afternoon tea to celebrate.... shared by immediate family and closest friends in a romantic cottage on a strawberry farm in Wallan....perfect!! 

The cake 

My daughter made her own cake the night before ... and iced it the morning of the wedding

I decorated it with flowers and strawberries and little cactus from the garden...simple but elegant I think!!

The buffet table....delicious and divine goodies.

Gorgeous home made delights....by both of my daughters and her future mother in law....(just simple fingers sandwiches made by yours truly)...I did do flowers and table decorations though !!

My G-boy proudly walking his mummy to her future husband......so CUTE !!

 My daughter was lucky that a very dear friend and wedding guest is now a photographer and kindly took fabulous happy snaps on the day.....you can see more of Dani's photography on her professional website HERE ..We were so grateful for the great pictures she took....so creative and got the feel of the day exactly how it was....joyful.

Just love this "artistic" shot by Dani....highly recommend her for any photography needs, big or small.

Congratulations to the happy couple.......love them to bits.

We have another wedding this year when my youngest daughter ties the knot in November....so  lots to look forward to !!

Early July I took myself off on a 6 day yoga retreat at Mission Beach QLD....Quite an adventure....Yoga three times a day...very extreme location in a rainforest at the top of a mountain...(really large hill actually..but felt like a mountain walking the 600m from carpark ...very very steep and a tough climb)...full of wildlife at your door....cassowaries, huge lizards, monster spiders you name it....and it was all vegetarian meals!!....Really delicious and I have often thought of trying to be vegetarian....but boy I really missed proteins...eggs will only go so far....Food for thought because I think I would struggle to be totally vegetarian.... Organised through Robyn ...(my Yoga teacher when I lived in Emerald)...along with 22 others... the experience was really amazing and I learnt a lot more about myself than I thought possible. ....Namaste !

The wonderful Yoga studio....

Three yoga sessions a day in the studio....7am Hatha Yoga , followed by pre lunch Yoga Nidra and pre dinner Vinyasa Yoga.  Really beautiful experience included essential oils for Chakra healing.

Patterns on the sand

I was absolutely fascinated by the beautiful patterns the crabs make all along the sand at Mission Beach...truly amazing...it looked like masses of flowers or fireworks spread as far as the eye could see.

The view of the rainforest from the balcony of my cabin...lots of wildlife going on in there !!

Cassowary walking along the path

Picture of the cassowary who thankfully didn't tear me to shreds when it walked past...did give me the 'stink-eye' though!!  ...  they are rather intimidating up close and personal....but so spectacular to see and hear them walking about the place. 

Brooks Beach 

A few hundred metres from the Resort is Brooks Beach....happens it's a local nudist beach...and 'No' I didn't join the few brave Yogi's who took a skinny dip!!  I had a fantastic and challenging time...learnt a lot about myself  and feel I came back a more balanced and somewhat humbled human being. 

The Week That Was .....!!!

Last week my man and I took a few days away...first holiday in 12 months !! .... after a beautiful 4 nights in Robe, SA, which truly is an absolute gem to visit...breathtaking scenery with a great coastal vibe in the town, we headed to Cape Bridgewater, just 10 minutes from Portland. What an amazing place to visit with its fabulous stretch of beach and absolute tranquility.  

The Doorway Rocks along the Robe coastline, part of the limestone coast...walked the coast trail...just spectacular.

The house we stayed in at Robe was fitted out in 1960's retro - ....50mts from Glass Beach..with ocean view !!

Cape Bridgewater - we stayed in this cute as a button historical stone cottage, with fab views of the beach.

Cape Bridgewater beach which runs for a few kilometres...surrounded by wind farms

The fluffy girls had a blast on the beach....no one around so they were off lead and into it.

My ancestors come from Portland so we visited the grave of Samuel Proudfoot Hawkins..his historical home is listed by the National Trust as he was fairly prominent in the area and also the grandfather of Vida Goldstein who you can read about here ... she was a feminist, a suffragist (along with her mother) and the first woman to run for Federal parliament in Australia.

Samuel Hawkins is the brother of my great, great grandfather.

 I have blogged previously about my love of old cemeteries...there is just something incredibly moving about reading old gravestones...so much history retold in the names and ages.  I came across something you don't see everyday....while it is a bit hard to see in the photo a man called John Pitcher buried his beloved wife Mary Ann aged 32 years in 1867...then proceeded to bury his next beloved wife Charlotte Elizabeth aged 26 years in 1872 in the same grave!!!  Maybe it's just me?

The garden went riotous while we were away and there are eggplants popping up everywhere...we are exhausted with all the tomatoes....passatta, relish and sauce even frozen some (apparently you can do that !) and given many away..  But it was so windy here yesterday that now the garden is in uproar and tomato plants are all over the place...so it may well be the end of the season for them :-( 

Not really an eggplant fan....need more recipes I think....but the sheen and colour is so beautiful

My lovely neighbour looked after the garden and the feathered girls while we were away....but this is the first Isa Brown I have had who has gone broody....I didn't think they did that....I haven't been able to get her to stay off the nest for over three weeks...she sits even when there are no eggs under her and squawks like a mad thing when I move her off the nest....any suggestions gratefully accepted !!

Broody girls wont get off the nest....Oh Dear !!

Some of the other girls who don't know what all the fuss is about.