our travels part 3

as i have probably mentioned before, i love the botanical gardens.

i was lucky enough to be able to spend a spring morning there recently* while we were on our travels, with my oldest and youngest.

so far this year i have been to the gardens in autumn, winter and now spring!

all the fresh new growth on the trees was stunning, there were lots of plants in flower and ducklings too.

sunshine, gentle breeze and green everywhere... lovely!

*actually it was a few weeks ago now. where does the time go?

our travels part 2

the one full day of our 'mini' break started off cold, extremely wet and very windy. we wondered what we were to do all day. 

we needed to burn some energy so during a break in the rain we took a brisk walk around the headland circuit track on ulladulla's headland. water was streaming down the paths but luckily we missed any rain showers and managed not to get too wet. along the circuit were cravings depicting the story of aboriginal life in the area and how it changed when white man came to settle in australia. the cravings were lovely (and there were many) but my favourite is of the frog.

after a lovely lunch at a very nice vegetarian cafe in milton (where we ate three times during our brief stay in the area), we headed further south to a national park. by the time we arrived at pebbly beach the weather had cleared. it was a gorgeous drive in through tall gum tree forests (oh how i love tall trees) and the beach was glorious. grass down to the sand (none of that dusty dryness we have around home), a sweet little creek coming out of the forest and flowing down to the sea. new south wales really does have some very beautiful coastlines.

 the tamest wild kangaroos lazed and grazed on the grass and we watched them for a bit but i would say jess's highlight was throwing bits of sticks into the stream and watching them float towards the sea. as there are no creeks, streams or rivers where we live this proved to be lots of fun.

unfortunately my camera battery went flat and i missed taking any photos on the final day of our crazy quick south coast adventure.

our travels part 1

we recently spent four very brief days in new south wales. it was a trip that was meant to be a little longer but work circumstances and changes weren't in our favour.

we spent the first day in sydney with family and while jess and i were awaiting alistair's arrival we took a little walk in the bush to a lookout with a view over middle harbour.

there were so many different plant species along the way although i have no idea what many were, being from a totally different part of the country, as i am. i loved it though as the sydney bush is so different than our bush at home. i tried to photograph many plants but walking with a toddler and a dog that doesn't belong to us made taking many photos (of quality) difficult. jessica wanted to hold the dog's lead and i didn't trust "jumbles" the dog not to run off if i let go.

it was such an enjoyable walk though and jess loved feeding gumnuts to the craved lizard at the lookout.

next heading to the south coast...

up and away

taking a little trip away from home.

back soon.

sunshine

these girls fill my days with sunshine.

calm seas

as the little one decided not to take a nap again today, i had her bathed, fed and ready for bed

... a little too early, the sun was still up!

so we took an evening stroll down to the jetty as the sun was beginning to set. we used to do this a lot last summer. it is a lovely time of day. at times when it has been hot and windy during the day, as the sun lowers itself towards the west, the wind and the sea have a tendency to calm down.

like they did today.

a sense of calm has come over me today too. a calmness i realised i haven't felt for the last seven weeks.  it may have a little something to do with alistair's return tomorrow. 

we can't wait.

i put a tired little girl to bed expecting she would fall asleep quickly but she was much too excited to go to sleep. she can't wait to see her dad and has all sorts of plans for him, games to play, songs to sing, showing off new climbing skills at the playground, having shoulder rides and going for bikes rides.

 jess is excited!

i am calm!

details

details in green and white... with a speck of blue too.

when i worked as a florist my favourite colour combination was white and green. i love green flowers, green buds and crisp white together. it was always very exciting when any green flowers came into the shop and we would all clamber to use them first. they brighten and liven up any floral arrangement no matter the colour combination.

i love the tiny details of plants. the softness of a petal, the intricacy of stamens, the texture of stems and branches, the sighting of the smallest fruit beginning to grow, the shape of each individual leaf, the way tendrils twine their way around each other.

today in my garden, in amongst the bold 'look at me' yellow and orange flowers some delicate details were discovered.

from top left...

the first quince flower (oh let it be followed by fruit!)

a tiny apricot

rosa rugosa stamens holding on, the petals long gone.

a tiny dandelion puff caught on a shiny leaf

so little yet so intricate, a cornflower bud

the centre of a poppy

a hollyhock bud

another quince flower bud ready to burst open

star shaped borage flower

sweet pea tendrils

the bee magnet