Au Revoir - Auf Wiedersehen, komm gut nach Hause.

Took Ken to the airport this morning. He is in Victoria for the next seven days, playing Golf Croquet for Tasmania!!! How about that, to add to the things he has done since we emigrated, like being a coffin bearer at a friend's funeral, being Best Man at another friends wedding, doing the Eulogy when a dear friend, Gilbert, died, and now playing croquet for his State. Is there no end to his talents? Anyway it will be a bit quiet round here, last night the family came round for dinner, to celebrate Fathers Day a week early, as he won't be around next week. It was Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding and I think I can safely say it was enjoyed by one and all (and I was too busy organising it all that I didn't even have time to take a photo for you.

Wally - the walking wounded!

Wally is in the wars

The other day I noticed that Wally had a sore patch on the front of his right leg, he had almost licked it bald, it looked terrible and was obviously causing him some discomfort. It was also causing me some discomfort, as his owner is due back on Thursday and she is very protective of her little pooch. I phoned the after hours number for the vet and was told to prevent him from licking it any more I should bandage it. This I did, see first photo, doesn't he look cute? This morning we took him to the vet, who was very thorough in his examination and after shaving the spot and taking a sample for further examination the diagnosis was that he had either been bitten by something like a Jack Jumper (a very large ant) or he had scratched it on something. Anyway he is now on anti biotics and has to wear this very fashionable headgear to prevent him licking it any more. Poor Wally!!!

Do you know what this is?

This is a Tamarillo - otherwise known as a tree tomato - these came from the Botanical Gardens, where there is a tree which is absolutely laden at the moment. I was there recently doing a 'Master Class' (doesn't that sound grand) on organic gardening and pruning fruit trees etc. Back to the tamarillo, when we cut it in half, see second photo, we tried it, nothing to write home about, won't bother buying one for my garden, but it does look pretty, doesn't it?

Wow, its an Aurora!!

Ypu know what an Aurora is, don't you, a display of lights in the sky, from the south in my case, for you Northern Hermispherians they would come from the north.

As Kiya and I drove home from our last night of choir for two months (boo hoo - two whole months with no weekly choir sessions) we became aware of the intermittent flashes of light, always in the south, the way we were heading. When I dropped her off home I drove to the beach and found the darkest spot I could find and just sat there for a while, watching. Even if I had had my camera with me (and I usually do have it) I could not have captured the lights on camera, they are too infrequent and would not have taken kindly to the camera shutter speed delay. So you will just have to make do with my telling you how beautiful the lights were. This does not happen often, usually somebody phones in, if you happen to be listening to talkback radio, but Blackmans Bay is not a good place, too much light polution, the darker the better.

So, lucky me, I can go to bed happy!!

Thumbs up - we won the Ashes back

As you can see, I am not the only one thrilled to bits that we won, Ken had to amend his 2005 mug, to add on our latest victory!!

A Bird in hand is worth two on the side of the road!!

I keep telling Ken this, but still he has eyes for other women, especially the big ones!
These were two from our recent holiday along the Great Ocean Road where there are lots of spectacular rock formations in the Ocean which are gradually being eroded away, for instance there are only ten Apostles, instead of twelve and London Bridge recently collapsed into the sea so is no more.

Australian Natives (of the botanical sort!)

Last night we went up to Tim and Mandie for dinner and I admired her vase of Banksias, otherwise known as Bottle Brushes, surprise surprise, so on the way out she cut me some, and now they grace my kitchen, they will last forever, they look lovely.

The other photo is of Colleen's Fairy Floss Grevillia bush, how I covet this one for my own garden. I just hope with all the Australian natives I have recently planted I will have made such delightful choices, you don't really know until they grow and flower, which could take a while.