Oh what a glorious winter

In so many ways I think this has to be the best winter I have ever experienced.  In between the much needed rain fall the sun shines with a beautiful bone warming warmth and the skies are big and blue.  Most of the birds and plant life (as I've said before) are convinced that it's the start of spring and are preparing nests. We have noticed the days are starting to get longer, the Laughing Magpies with their incredible song serenade us during our morning walks now.  On a very clear night the temperatures have dropped to 3c but that means that we see more stars... it's glorious.  I'm still getting used to most of the constellations being 'up side down' and there seem to be so many more,stars in the sky and satellites are very easy to spot.  Feeling truly spoilt with the beauty of it all.  The only downside is if you walk whilst star gazing there is a much greater chance you'll eventually find a tree root with your feet!

Borders are full of Rosemary (the herb) which continues to flower, along side tall yellow and orange Crocosmias and birds of paradise (which can be very prolific here) there are even some rambling roses still in full flower. Acacia (Wattle) are also now in flower, you can't tell from my photo but the flowers are very delicate and like tiny yellow pompoms, their scent is very gentle and beautiful, much like the taste of Acacia honey.  It's amazing.

The week long Willunga Almond Blossom Festival started on Saturday so we took Dora for a run and went down to have a look. We did find some Almond Trees which to my surprise had the most amazing perfume.

It did seem to be more about the funfair than the Almond Blossom and the weather started to turn so we didn't stay long.  We noticed how at the same time the local Op Shops siren calls got louder!

There is nothing better than a good rummage in an Op Shop and we found some real treasures.  Skeins of really thick yarn, so I can at last knit a mat.  A fantastic book called Australian Cookery of Today, a real journey into how life was for women in the 30's, lots of advice on how to run a 'modern' home from setting a table to how to make a hay box cooker and everything about food in between. It's brilliant.

As the whale watching season progresses more whales have been spotted nearer the shore line.  We were near Bashams Beach (where most have been spotted) and we felt the need to go and have a look.  This beautiful fellow was playing in the shallows about 100 metres from the beach and I still didn't manage to get a really good photo.

If you look carefully just off centre of the photo you can see what looks like waves over a rock, thats the whale.

We have also attended a Building Expo, where we learnt about timber frame buildings and more about septic tanks and met some very interesting characters there.  The septic tank lady was very enthusiastic about how the tanks work and what the little bugs should be fed if you are away for a period of time. They apparently like the odd cup of sugar as a treat, brown or white was not specified! Fascinating.

And on that note I'll close this weeks ramblings..... Ooroo