THIS WEEK

MORE RAIN!!!  my lawn was a foot high because i asked the lovely young boy next door to mow it whenever he mowed theirs (an airbnb rental) but last time he was too tired after sitting with his prize winning bantams at the Geelong show for three days in a row.   so this week i found a great woman, Som, with her own gardening business.   she waited for a break in the weather and arrived yesterday.  very efficient and professional. so i'll alternate them, she has the advantage of a whippersnipper while i want to give some work to charlie, he's a delight.

The baby birds are teenagers now, they've returned to my back garden after a ten day absence exploring next door

I'VE FOUND THE GREEN i want for my bedroom, hopefully i can do it with sunny when she has time to come and help.  she's done some major painting help with most of my big painting jobs over the years :0)

i'm using this wallpaper on two of the sliding wardrobe

doors - the third is mirror.  i want a lush bedroom :0)

Some lovely flowers growing right outside the full length 

kitchen windows, the garden is revealing itself week by week 

i found this perfect little pardalote on the paving outside the back door, completely unmarked but sadly not alive anymore.  it was still warm, eyes still bright so it must have maybe hit the ground after its virgin flight, the feathers on its back are those of a fledgling.  poor little thing

BIRTHDAY WEEK

IT'S BEEN A WEEK OF LUNCHES - last week denise and i tried out Bennetts on Bellarine just outside portarlington, on the same road as Jack Rabbit.   it was great, the food was good and it had a wide outlook down a sloping  vineyard to views of the bay and the You Yangs.  

TWO DAGS - sunny and etta exploring the possibilities of colour :0) 

THE BABY BIRDS have fledged and deserted me - it took half a day for them to venture out onto a branch one by one then they flew] up into the eucalyptus next door, never to return

I'VE SPENT ALL WEEK painting, finishing the trims in the living area and doing all of the kitchen and cupboards

THE LUNCHES

Bennetts on bellarine -

tapas and share plates

a bustling place, lots

of people, lots of separate

eating areas inside and

outside under trees.

we liked it

On my birthday - Gail stayed the night and next day we had

lunch at Terindah estate, opposite jack rabbit and with equally

gorgeous views out over the vineyards

The next day I met susan and jenny at jack rabbit for another lunch, superb sunshine and warmth, a misty haze over the bay - just gorgeous.  and we had a wedding thrown in for extra fun

 

IXIAS

I AM THRILLED to find my new garden is full of these beautiful ixias, coming out now.  Mum had these in her garden and apart from friends who have her bulbs in their gardens, i've never seen them anywhere else.  A most unusual aqua colour seldom seen in flowers

FULL MOON

THE WEATHER HAS BEEN KIND this week, the full moon has been clearly visible. last night the clouds were wonderfully moody 

THE WEATHER HAS BEEN KIND this full moon with two nights of clear views. last night the clouds were wonderfully moody 

    the night before - a molten ball over the bay

BIRDS IN THE GARDEN

 Slowly I'm seeing more birds coming into the garden, turtledoves, grass parrots, lorikeets, crested pigeons and rosellas to add to the squawky wattlebirds and plovers and mudlarks.  and two sulphur crested cockatoos yesterday :0).  There is a pair of mudlarks nesting in the tree outside the back door, close enough to zoom in on progress each day.  today must be about day 13, they're just about ready to fledge. it's amazing - you can almost see them grow before your eyes.

day one

                      day three   pin feathers appearing

day five - suddenly they're black and white

day 8    big enough to reach over the top

  DAY 10 - the chicks are almost as big as the parents, cleaning their         wings and preening

Rainbow lorikeets have been showing an interest in the bird boxes that were in the trees when i moved in. i'll be interested to see if any birds actually nest in them

    this one hangs right in front of my bedroom window

THE PAST TWO WEEKS

TWO WEEKS AGO THE CATS WON THE GRAND FINAL -  

a magnificent day of great play, families, heartwarming moments and robbie williams singing his socks off!

I think i've found my solitary swimming spot. i intend to swim with some of the women's swim groups but often i'll go alone

  going in off a small pier seems like a

 nice way to begin

LAST FRIDAY - susan and sean, jenny and freddie came over at 9.30 for a painting bee.  we worked all day, till around 6 and got the whole living area pretty well done.  i finished the trims the next day and it all looks wonderfully light and fresh.  

 

ANYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN AN IMPROVEMENT!   but the new colours are lovely, gentle and light, very nice to live with

   before

a short break to chew the fat then back to work :0)

LAST WEEKEND Soul Sister Swing  strutted their stuff at the monastery in Breakwater.   the girls were in fine form and they introduced their community singing group Soul Session.  it was a buzzy afternoon

a walk down ibbotson street - just around the corner, a long road to st leonards that passes open land and native reserves, a wetland area and farms