BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY, IN ANY WAY

Grasses by the Colac Lake in the Botanical Gardens

Yellow lace-up gumboots in sparkling water
But my real secret to a sunny attitude this winter, is a pair of new sunnyside up gumboots! Good bye mopey me, hello bright yellow wellies!
 

Splashing through puddles

 
with a radiant set of waterproof stompers, is the perfect remedy to the winter grumps, with an added injection of child like glee. Added bonus during these stomping sessions, I’m whole-heartedly embracing any vitamin D thrown my way!

Wishing you a sunny winter and a shady summer! Xoxo


Elyse Boots Yellow by BOGS with yellow fallen leaves
Yellow button floor by the lake


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SUN THROUGH STAINED GLASS

Wild native pea flower near Taradale, Victoria

Walking amongst the wildflowers in the bush near Taradale, Victoria

Heart shaped gum leaf

Curling tinder for bush buddy stove

Bush buddy stove burning tinder

Light shining through gum leaf like stained glass

Indigenous orchid near Taradale, Victoria

Wild flower carpet near Taradale, Victoria

Dad taking photos of orchids near Taradale, Victoria

Yellow native flower near Taradale, Victoria

Shadow on a gum leaf near Taradale, Victoria

Green and grey flower near Taradale, Victoria

Sheep running along the hillside at dusk near Taradale, Victoria

Cockatoo in a gum tree near Taradale, Victoria

The introduction between our housemates and their first Australian snake was an anti-climax, an eagle had removed its head, leaving it as aggressive as a piece of hose pipe. The cockatoos put on a better show, their harsh voices flying through the air and piercing our ear drums, but the kangaroos, suddenly alert as one, bolt upright and staring us down as our car idled past made each passenger question their worth and right to be there. Strong emotions at first encounters are always much more amusing.

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ALL IN THE BLUE UNCLOUDED WEATHER

Bush walking just out of Taradale, Victoria

Dylan walking Gracie in a hilltop paddock in Taradale, Victoria

Long expanse of sky on a hilltop in Taradale, Victoria

On top of a hillside paddock in Taradale, Victoria

Dylan sitting on the hillside looking into the bush in Taradale, Victoria

Sitting in the sun looking into the bush in a paddock in Taradale, Victoria

Gracie the happt border collie sniffing the air

Surveying the landscape near Taradale

Teaching gracie dog tricks

Tom investigates an old gold digging near Taradale, Victoria

Looking back across the gum trees, Taradale, Victoria

Following an old bush track we came upon a metal gate which opened onto a cloudless sky. Our thrill at scaling the locked barrier only slightly dampened by the friendly sign suggesting the gate not be left open.

The sun glittered off rooftops in miniature below, I never realised that sight was uniquely Australian until our housemates remarked on it, I think they found the naked metal vaguely appalling and crude. But there is something lovely about a corrugated roof hugged by silver gums, and the bedtime sound of rain pattering on its ripples is a memory that gently drifts me back to childhood snug under the covers.

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SWIMMING FOR STICKS

Papery seed casings in the Botanical Gardens, in Mamsbury

Old historical building in Malmsbury

Old bus in someone's backyard in Malmsbury

Looking at a bus parked in a field in Malmsbuy

Parents investigating Malmsbury

A rogue water fountain in the Botanical Gardens, in Malmsbury

Gracie the border collie fetching a stick in the river at the Botanical Gardens, in Malmsbury


We spent a lazy weekend showing our new housemates the Australian countryside. We thought we’d ease them in gently by setting off from the Malmsbury Botanical Gardens which is very British before taking them down the bumpy dusty dirt track into the bush filled with all our lovely venomous slitherers. I do love a town with character, and when people have old retro buses in their backyards you know you’re somewhere special.

 

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