This Morning's Walk

All was calm this morning after yesterday's strong winds and rain. A cool, crisp morning so it was ideal walking weather, so we walked along the road to the airstrip. I wanted to check out whether any of the bush shrubs were beginning to flower. I found a couple of early bloomers so it won't be long now before more colour brightens up the road verges and bushland. From the airstrip we took a track which came out on Christmas Rock which was filled with rock pools of water.

 

This grevillia is just starting to flower

 

A water supply for birds and mammals on Christmas Rock

 

Ressurrection bush changes colour once the rains come. Last time I was there they were brown. Now they are becoming a bright orange colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruby Tuesday

This little minature rose bush was looking very sad when I first moved in here. Now it has been flowering abundantley since it was pruned and fertilized.

View more red shots here at http://rubytuesday2.blogspot.com.au/

 

 

 

CWA Raffle

Yesterday morning HOM (husband of mine)  and I walked into town to get the paper and pick up a prescription from the chemist. The local CWA (Country Womens Association) were selling raffle tickets so I thought , lets support them. The prizes were all garden related.  I bought 2 tickets  and  said to HOM on the way home that I had more chance of winning the raffle than what I would the lotto.  This morning I had a phone call telling me I had won 1st prize, which was a wheelbarrow filled with garden bits and pieces. Spade, rake, fertilizer, gloves, pruners, hose, solar lights etc.  It is ages since I have won anything so I am over the moon about winning this. It will all come in handy as I am trying to whip our garden into shape. I still have my fingers crossed for the lotto tonight, but won't be holding my breath.

Fridays Fences

This is a nearby neighbours fence. I don't know the people but I am assuming, which maybe I shouldn't, that they were farmers who have moved into town. Inside the fence are corrugated iron cut outs of sheep and down the other end is the sheep dog rounding them up.

 

View more fences here at  http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

Welcome Rain

Last night, after days of promises the heavens opened and we have had some welcome rain to our little neck of the woods. On the way back from Perth yesterday a lot of the farmers were out in their paddocks in atticipation of some good falls. No doubt today they will be busily ploughing and sowing. It won't take long before we hopefully start to see  the paddocks turning green instead of the brown that we have been used to during our long hot summer. When we stopped to change drivers, I noticed some little lambs frollicking. The older sheep were just grazing and oblivious to the   4 little ones. It was lovely just watching them for a few minutes.
 Already lots of little weeds are poking their heads through in my garden beds. We will be ordering some mulch next week so hopefully we can suffocate some of the little blighters before they come up.  The flowers of the Blood Iris that came up a few weeks ago have now died off and the large leaves are now taking shape. I have some self sown flower seedlings appearing too, I think they are stocks, which I absolutley love, so I will be able to plant them out when they get a bit larger.  

Not a very good picture of the lambs but you can see how dry things are.

 

 

 

Back to front. The flowers first and now the leaves. Plus weeds.

Skywatch Friday, White Corellas Heading Home

Every morning and every evening a large flock of white corellas do a fly by over my house. I was looking for a suitable sky pic and thought I would wait for the birds to go home to roost for the night.

For more fantastic sky pics check out Skywatch Friday here  http://skyley.blogspot.com.au/

Fridays Fences

Todays fence pic was taken today when we took a drive out into the country. There are many spots around our area that we have yet to see, so we started to investigate probable walk trails and picnic areas. By the time we arrived at the Mount Matilda Walk Trail it was late afternoon and time did not permit us to attack the walk.  Being a 7 klm walk we would need to start off in the early morning to take advantage of the cooler weather. We then drove up to Mount O'Brien to take in some wonderful views over the countryside below. The colours of the countryside change dramatically once we get some winter rains and various crops, but for today, yellow, orange  and red dirt is all we get. Linking with   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com.au/

 

A dilapadated fence dividing the walk trail from farmland

 

 

A view from Mt O'Brien looking across farmland to Lake Hinds, a salt lake

 

 

 

 

Yellow Hibiscus

A short while ago whilst hanging out my washing this yellow hibiscus flower in my garden  caught my eye. That would be  a nice contribution to Monday Mellow Yellows I thought,  so inside I came to get my camera.

 

 

 See more yellow to brighten your day at   http://mondaymellowyellows.blogspot.com.au/

Weekend Reflections @ Lake Wanaka NZ

This weekends contribution was taken last year on our trip in the South Island of New Zealand. The road followed along the shores of Lake Wanaka. A clear sunny morning was ideal for taking reflections on the Lake.

 

 

 

 

Check out more fantastic relections here  http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com.au/

My New Home Town

Yesterday, I had a lady call by and invite me along to the opening day of the new golf season. I was planning on having a hit in a few weeks but since she made the effort to invite me along I accepted her invitation and had a wonderful time, even though it was a rather hot day. I was readily accepted into the club and met a lot of warm hearted people. That is the feeling I have had since moving here, everyone has been very welcoming. In a smallish town you expect people to be very clicky, but that is not the case here. Needless to say I feel as if I belong here already. I doubt that I will get bored as we have had invites to join in at the golf club, bowling club, Friday night pub dinners , CWA and Community clean up day. 

These beautiful iceberg roses are in the park

 

 

Garden beds like these are tended by volunteers

Shadow Shot Sunday

These shadows are from the Boranup Karri Forest on Caves Road near Karridale  in Western Australias South West. It is breathtakingingly beautiful when you hit this spot in the road. The famous Margaret River wine region is close by and the drive along Caves Road is highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

I am sharing these photos on Shadow Shot Sunday, to see more great shadow shots visit here http://shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com.au/

Fridays Fences

Today's Fence is mine. Let's say it is a work in progress. It is nothing special, just an old fashioned wire fence. Since moving in here we have started to make some difference. The front yard is now what I would call acceptable. A lot better than what it was after being vacant for around 2 years.There is still a lot of work to do but at least things have been tidied up. I have quite a bit of planting to do to fill in gaps but at the moment I am playing a waiting game to see what is coming up from self seeding. Eventually we would like to replace this old wire fence but for now I shall just call is rustic, or should that be rusty.   

 

To view more fences visit Fridays Fences

Skywatch Friday

Snapped this sky on the way home from a visit to Northam on Wednesday. I just loved how the suns rays fanned out from the cloud.

To see more skies go to http://skyley.blogspot.com.au/

 

All Is Revealed

A close up of the first flower to open, I still don't know the name of these bulbs.

 

 

 

Still Growing

By this morning my bulb flowers had increased in size a bit more. I am going down to Perth tomorrow so by the time I get back on Saturday they should be a lot bigger.

Growing Before My Very Eyes

As I returned from my morning walk I spotted these bulbs poking through the bare sand in my new front yard. They looked like a lollipop poking out of the ground. I have seen these before but I do not know the name of them. They come up very much like the Naked Ladies, a flower spike and when this dies down the foliage appears.  These have a much larger flower. I guarantee you I could spot the difference in growth from 9 am this morning till I I took a further photo around 5pm. By tomorrow they should be a decent size. If anyone knows what they are called please share. Since we had some rain last week all sorts of little seedlings are appearing in my bare garden beds. It will be a surprise to see what comes to life. We have managed a little clearing of the front yard, little by little, Rome wasn't built in a day.

9 am in sunlight

 

 

 

5pm in shade

Survived, Just........

What a hectic couple of weeks we have had. The move to the country is now complete. I have not moved house for around 30 years and gee, had I forgotten what it was like. So much aquired over the years and I did cull some of it. I should have done a lot more too. I promise myself that if it is not being used now that we have moved it will be gone, either donated, sold or given away. Anyway the move did go reasonably smoothly. The only problem we have is that all our plants would not fit on the truck and thankfully our former next door neighbour helped us move them into his yard and he is looking after them until we can get down next weekend and hire a ute to get them.
We are settling in nicely now. Most of the boxes have been unpacked. I said most, not all. I have the excess stacked neatly and as I have quite a lot of cupboard and wardrobe space these have been utilized. The townsfolk here are very friendly and most helpful so we have been made feel very welcome. We have quite a bit of work around the yard to keep us busy. The house had been vacant for around 2 years so the garden needs attention, but this is what we love doing so it is no problem. Things need a tidyup and we have some new found enthusiasm now. We are so glad we took the plunge and moved to the country. I have a few bush walking tracks not far from home, the wildflowers in spring are abundant and the town centre is just 1 kilometre away. The golf course will also be utilized, I am looking forward to playing here, in the near future.  I will have to make aquaintances with the local computer business as the only problem I am having is a very slow internet connection which keeps on dropping in and out. Oh well we can't have everything can we. I have a lot of blogs to catch up with so I don't want to be out of action for too long.
Family and friends aren't convinced that we have done the right thing in moving, but HOM (husband of mine) and I are certain that we have made the right move. And that is what counts. A change is as good as a holiday.

Work In Progress

Beneath this tangled mess sits a garden seat.

Time is a Ticking

Only one more week till we move house, gee time is going so quickly. I finished up at work today after 10 years with Silver Chain, a bit sad leaving but I am looking forward so much to our move and a new adventure. I will be able to get back to blogging and catching up with everyone elses blog once the move is complete.  I haven't really spent too much time here lately, just a quick look see, so I appologise for not replying to some comments, but I will be back when time permits. Still more boxes to pack but generally it is all under control. The final inspecton of our new home is on Tuesday so a very busy week coming up.

This little lorikeet dropped in on me twice this  week, very friendly, must have been someone's pet that has escaped his cage I would say. I just hope he is still safe and has not fallen prey to the many cats thats are nearby. He just loved the apple I put down for him.

 

 

 

Fridays Fences

This weeks fence surrounds  a quaint little church in the Western Australian town of Gingin.

The old headstones in the cemetary have been well looked after.

 

 

See more fences here at   Fridays Fences

Fridays Fences

Fridays Fence today comes from The Rose Maze at Kojonup in the South West of Western Australia. More than 100 species form a maze of complex paths. The beautiful roses are bred especially for Australian conditions, and many are rare heritage species. This is a lovely spot to stop off at if you are travelling down to Albany via Albany Highway. The Kodja Place exhibits Aboriginal artifacts and demonstrates the Noongar culture. The coffee shop serves delicious home baked goodies too, I just love this place.  Linking with  Fridays Fences

 

Arthur Bear was our travelling buddy, we had a competition at work entitled "Where in the world is Arthur Bear",  somehow I seemed to be one of the few people adding photos, so he has gone into hibernation.