Dora, Draftsman and Whales

Before I forget again I need to tell you that Swallows are still flying around, I'm expecting them to migrate somewhere because it's winter... isn't it?  It is getting much colder at night (dropping to 3c) and we are now putting more layers (of clothes) on during the day and the heating on in the evenings.  No central heating here which is wonderful.

I had to smile the other day when there was a fairly lengthy discussion on the radio about the length of time its been cold, getting down to a frost in some places.  Most times during the day we are spoilt with beautiful cloudless blue skies and the sun still has strength to its warmth.

We loaded up the car and trailer and set off at a leisurely pace to Naracoorte.  Going via Strathalbyn (a little off our normal path) to see their hot air balloon festival. After travelling most of the streets looking for any evidence there was any sort of festival taking place our need for sustenance grew greater than the need to see the balloons.  With noses pointed towards the nearest cafe, we finally spotted balloons... two of them.  Unfortunately they were neatly packed up on the back of trailers!  Hay ho perhaps next time....

We spent a blissful week in Naracoorte, it rained most of the time, which tested the roof repairs on the barn. Sadly there is a bit more to do to make it water tight.  As you may well know water finds the easiest path and where it gets in is not necessarily where the hole is, making it quite a challenge to find the leak.  We're getting there though having now moved from a fairly spectacular waterfall to a few steady drips... huge improvement.




I managed to take these during a sunny interval, this is the Naracoorte police station and court house, brilliant aren't they.  There are certainly a lot of creative people in this town.






The rain of course created perfect conditions for planting and the local nursery had a special offer on their fruit trees.  So with Debs help I selected a Washington Navel Orange, a Meyer Lemon and a Kaffir Lime tree.  Luckily the manager of the nursery is also a neighbour of ours and has a huge knowledge not only of plants but also the soil and water in our area. I am sure we will be learning a lot from him in the future.

Rick worked hard on sorting out Doras needs and she looked much happier for the attention and this weekend we're taking her out for a spin.  Dora by the way in case I've not mentioned it before is a Defender Landrover.

We also met with a couple of draftsmen to discuss our house plans, very interesting and now there is lots more research to be done.  We're looking at different concrete slabs, windows and the type of glazing, sewerage, insulation etc.,  luckily most things are starting to make sense... I'm delighted to announce that we've now employed a chap to do the drawings and advise us on what needs to be done and when.

The sun was shining for most of our journey home, I spotted a group of about 7 big red kangaroos sunning themselves.  About 5.30 pm we were treated to this beautiful sunset.... notice how empty the road is.  It's the main highway during rush hour..... deep joy....

Beautiful sunset taken on the Dukes Highway on the way home.                           

With the arrival of the weekend the sun started to shine again, so we took a trip down to Victor Harbour to see if we could spot a whale.  And we did... it was amazing.  The Southern Right whales can get to about 18m in length, they are brown or black and white and quite round in shape.  The first one we spotted from Basham Beach blew, rolled then breached.... so graceful for something so huge and so exciting to see, I've no idea how far away it was but the binoculars really helped.

View from the Bluff

We moved a little further along the coast to a high point called the Bluff, fantastic views over the coast line and Rick spotted another whale and then a little later a pod of dolphins.  Another highlight was seeing an Australian Kestrel perched on a rock preening itself, it sat there for ages and didn't seem to mind our interest in it.

Australian Kestrel

This was a tiny but beautiful settlers cottage we found on our way home from Victor Harbour, it was in desperate need of repair.

My other firsts this week were food related I've now tried my very first and very Aussie Lamington and a Rum ball, both GF and delicious.

And finally I learnt a new word.... have you heard of a Mollydooker before?  It is apparently a name for a left-handed person... of course.... every day is a school day.

Happy Solstice on the 21st ....... and Super moon spotting on the 23rd ......