Uppdate

Hello from a very warm Western Australia. I hope you are all resting and relaxing after Christmas and looking forward to New Years Eve.

My parents are both out of hospital, Dad came out a day after Mum and have been in the very good care of my sister.  It has been good to come over and assess the situation for myself though and to help out in anyway I can.  Dad and Mum both saw a cardiologist yesterday and will be having tests today in Perth.  My sister is driving and looking after them and I've stayed at the farm to take care of the garden, and the animals and doing some of the things Mum just can't do anymore.  It's good to help out in ways that will make her happy.  We are hopeful that Dad will be able to receive some treatment to help him if we can keep him quiet and resting until they know what they can do.

Dad has some wonderful fruit trees plums, apricots and peaches which have all decided to ripen at the same time.  My sister and I have stewed most of the plums and apricots and put them in the freezer.  

The peaches are just about ready to pick and I had one this morning which was delicious.

I am due to fly back to Melbourne on New Years Day so will catch up after that.

Bye for now,

Anne  xx

Sunshine and flowers for Christmas

Good morning.  I wanted to post something cheerful today, how about sunshine and flowers.  To everyone in the northern hemisphere where it is a little dark and possibly damp, to anyone who needs cheering up and to Dad and Mum who live in a very dry and hot part of the country, these photos are for you.

 

 

Anne  xx

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful Christmas.  I hope your day is full of cheer, peace and love.

 

I will be off the radar again for a week or so as I'm going home to Western Australia on Boxing Day to visit my Dad who is in hospital.  Mum is not well either and also landed in hospital today.  Hopefully a rest near my Dad (they're in the same hospital) will help her.  My sister went over today and we will be spending time with them while Dad's health issues are being further investigated and hopefully treated appropriately.  

I'll have my notebook with me and if I get a spare moment, will try to check in and see how you all are.

Take care everyone,

Anne  xx

My Dad

Hello wonderful friends.  I hope everyone is travelling well at this time of the year when things are so busy.  I've been enjoying looking at all your blogs, seeing your preparations for Christmas, the food, the decorations and especially the gift making.  I love seeing the creativity and crafting that is going on.

I know there is one young lady in America who is making a bunny a day, her own little bunny advent project.  Check out the link to see gorgeous bunnies in different coloured and patterned fabrics.  I have really enjoyed seeing gorgeous home made decorations over at Chipper Nelly, not what you would expect from a post titled Pig.  Are you intrigued?  Read about their latest very cute animal acquisition and then feast your eyes on glorious Christmas decorations.

Not a lot is happening around here, little bits and pieces of decorating and perhaps some baking tomorrow.  To tell the truth my mind is not on Christmas but in Western Australia with my Dad who is very unwell with a heart condition.  He is 83 and has been a hard working farmer until he retired which seems to be not so many years ago although I suppose I have lost track of time.   He is very tired and not feeling or sounding himself.  This is the time when it is so hard to be living on the other side of the country, I can't just pop in and see how he is.  There is at least the telephone.

I'll leave you with this lovely view of waves crashing against the rocks at Rainbow Bay last week.

Bye for now,

Anne  xx

Home from the sun, sand and sea

Hello everyone.  I'm back from a lovely week at Rainbow Bay in Queensland.  Charlotte and I stayed in a holiday apartment just across the road from the sea and this was our view.

The water was wonderfully warm and fantastic for body surfing and swimming.  Not all days were as clear as this and we had a couple of whopper thunderstorms with plenty of rain.  But it cleared and the next day was as lovely as ever.

We had lovely walks on the paths along the beach through areas like this with seats dotted along the way.

On our walks we came across animals like the Brush Turkey.

A Bearded Dragon.

Charlotte spotted this pretty dragonfly.

We visited Seaworld which was the highlight of our holiday for me.  We saw penquins above and below the water.

Taking a nap.

We saw polar bears above and below the water.

Pushing off the wall with two big back feet.

I touched a sting ray in this pool.  The sign said not to touch their eye area or ray but we were allowed to touch their body.  I can report they are very slimy.

I spent a long time looking at the dolphins in their pool.  They are such show offs, entertaining anyone with a camera.  One in particular took great delight in flicking water over anyone standing nearby.

This cheeky young one stuck out his tongue.  How cute!

The highlight of the day for me was the Seal Safari we had booked where we spent half an hour with two seal trainers and getting up close and personal with three different seals.  There were a total of ten people in the group which meant we all were given the opportunity to feed a seal.  They came and sat near our feet so we could pat them, look at and feel their flippers and even hug them.

This big guy was my favourite.  His name is Wendall and he is a Californian Sea Lion, big and noisy.  :)
 
Wendall was asked to give us a smile. 

 

Jumping for a fish.

 Showing off for us.

Keeping a very close eye of the where the food is.

This little seal is Ollie and he was having drops put into his eyes which were a bit irritated.  He was very stinky as he is coming into mating season.

Giving us his smile.

Getting pats which he loved.

 
 Showing us how he can flatten his eyes.
Charlotte feeding Ollie.  He had to leap out of the water for his fish.

I've just realised how many photos I've put in this post so will stop now.  I just can't help myself as I love animals so much.  Thank you for taking time to read this post and if you've got to the end, congratulations.

Till next time,
 
Anne  xx

A wombat in our backyard

Good evening.  It's not everyday that we are privileged to see a classic Australian animal in our backyard.  We did today.  Genevieve was putting the chooks to bed and when they weren't following her, she looked around and they were walking over to investigate a wombat eating grass in our backyard.  I ran outside, Genevieve got the chooks in bed and then as dog decided to investigate the wombat too, it got scared and promptly hid under the deck.

We decided to go inside hoping that it would come out of it's own accord which it did and then hid in the garden.

Although this photo is a little blurry, you can see his/her claws.

We obviously got too close and he/she went and hid under the deck again, so back inside we went.  A few minutes later our wombat was back on the grass tucking in for a good feed.  Hubby blocked off the gap under the deck so he couldn't get under again.

These photos were taken about 8.30p.m. and it seems our wombat is suffering from slight mange.

After this he/she decided to head off up through the back yard.  He walked within a metre of hubby (Genevieve got that on film) and pushed his way under the chook run fence and then up under the fence of our neighbours property..

In the chook run and using the flash as it is about 9.00p.m. now.

Making his way under the neighbours fence.

He's through!

We thought he was off following his trail to wherever.  Fifteen minutes later I heard a noise on the deck and there he was ambling across looking very much at home.  Outside we went again and he had disappeared under the deck as we had removed the barrier to the gap.  It looks like Sophie might be spending the night inside tonight instead of her kennel on the back deck.

Wombats can be quite nasty if they are feeling out of sorts and can cause injuries with their teeth, claws and sheer solidness of their body.  We were very careful to look for signs of agitation, but he was merrily going about is wombat business.

After the excitement of our wildlife encounter, I'd best finish packing my bag as Charlotte and I are off to the Gold Coast early tomorrow morning.

Bye for now,

Anne  xx