Well Laura did the driving and I did the taking photos. (Or as John calls it, “Drive by Shooting.”) Laura asked me if I wanted to go with her one weekend to New York to see some waterfalls. I said YES! I didn’t have to think about it much, I...
At this point of John’s vacation, we were resolved that rain was going to be part of it, particularly today. We decided we would hunt for orchids in the rain. Oh the places he takes me… His face just seems to say, “Here I am eating my breakfast very sensible...
Lake Waterford Park and Adaptive Recreation Complex is located on the corner of Pasadena Road and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard. This community park is 108 acres of diverse recreational and natural areas. There is a 12-acre lake where you may enjoy observing the waterfowl or doing a little shoreline fishing. Activities...
Staying at Siesta Park, makes it easy for the orchid hunter, like us, to access where they grow. So we started our orchid hunting day early. Soon we were off, looking for the spots our book that mentions where orchids can be found. Drakaea is a genus of 10 species...
Wongan Hills is a rural town located two hours’ drive (or 185 kilometers) northeast of Perth and is the center of a prosperous grain, sheep and pig farming district. The town takes its name from the range of flat topped hills lying to the northwest. These hills are the largest...
Jamie called John wanting to postpone Father’s Day for one week. It was decided to return to Wungong Dam and photograph the blue fairy wrens there. This time I was able to go with them! Here is a video you can see and hear them. The clicking sounds you can...
It used to be Kings Park Wildflower Festival, but now it’s Kings Park Festival. There’s no doubt Kings Park will be where the wildflowers are this September, with the largest presentation of WA’s blooming beauties from all across the state. Kings Park will transform into a rainbow of colour and...
My first weekend in Australia, and we had decided to attend the Northam National Ballooning Championships. From 2 to 9 September 2017, hot air balloon pilots from across Australia and around the world will descend on the Avon Valley over five days, testing their skills at varying winds and...
Definition of whim 1: a capricious or eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind : quit his job on a whim 2: a large capstan that is made with one or more radiating arms to which a horse may be yoked and that is used in mines for raising ore or...
We have driven past the Kalamunda History Village a few times, each time promising to visit it, but after 5 years of marriage, we finally did. So glad we went! It was a special treat, and I could have spent the whole day there were it not for hunger, we...
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important...
Someone in the orchid group indicated he found a Pygmy orchid west of Corrigin. So I rush to our orchid map book and find a more exact location. Then, looking at a bigger map, we see that if you go as far as Corrigin, you might as well keep on...
So I read there was going to be a celebration of Buddha’s birthday in Perth and expressed an interest in going to John. You see, they were going to have a whole day’s celebration of Buddha’s birthday, and it ended with fireworks, which was my real motivation for wanting to...
Perhaps making “friends” is a term being used loosely here, but, hey, it’s my blog and my day out, I am going with it. 🙂 I haven’t been to a lot of zoos, but I must say that I consider Perth Zoo to be friendly, intimate, and charming. Often I...
Saturday March 25, 2017 marked the date of the first annual Toodyay Music Fest. With stages in Duidgee and Stirling Parks for bands and various other performers, St Stephens Church opened its doors for those who prefer to be entertained by classical and easy listening music. The streets of Toodyay...
Sculptures by the Sea, Cottesloe is staged on the beautiful Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. Loved this sculptures event in the past and was very excited for it this year. The exhibition is featured from the sea wall all the way along the sand towards North Cottesloe and on the surrounding...
On this weekend outing, I asked John if we couldn’t go to Margaret River, the spot where it connects with the Indian Ocean. We had been there in 2010, but had never returned. It seemed a real special place when we went in spring that year, but I was curious...
We decided to spend our anniversary doing many of the things we enjoyed on our wedding day. Five years anniversary and we followed the sand, although perhaps a bit too close on one occasion. So many flavors to choose from! John learned, on this outing, that wearing your reading glasses...
“You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind.” ~ unknown It was getting time to leave for Australia. I was rather worried as I thought I was getting better, and then a few days before...
What sounds do dinosaurs make anyway? Ezra received dinosaurs for Christmas, but for his birthday, John and I couldn’t resist to get some more. Then came the time to open presents. In my defense, I saw that if you touched it, it would do something, but I didn’t pay attention...
So the dishwasher broke and the house got a few fleas. A few fleas was enough to call the exterminator. Which apparently they need everyone to be out of the house at the same time. Nearly a logistical impossibility, but Miranda went ahead and set up the appointment anyway. What...
I am hosting Christmas Day and the dishwasher decided to break. No time to bring out the Canon on Christmas, so I only got a few photos from my cell phone. And seriously? The dishwasher had to break then and leak water to Laura’s room below? As if hosting...
I love our family Christmas Eve – charged with Christmas spirit, love for one another, and anticipation for the surprises that are ahead. Christmas Eve at our house are sweet, and intimate (not that we haven’t opened our door to others on a few occasions), and one of our big...
You hear about the shave stories, it’s not every day you get to witness one. It has been a while now I admired Naomi’s long hair, not sure I was prepared to hear she was going to shave it off. Then she informed us that each day, 35 Australians will be...
I don’t know what happened this year with Rubí, but she turned into this Christmas details monster as soon as the season hit. It was a very precious kind of “monster” no doubt, but each day she seemed to hit me with some new details on her invisible list that...
The Christmas village in our household took on a few forms but nothing like this year…with Yowies??? Forgetting the yowies for a second, I should tell the history of our Christmas Village. As far back as I can remember, my dad was the main person behind the village, putting the...
“Our home, our family is a circle of strength of love with every birth and every union the circle grows.” As always-tragic to be away from John, always good to be in the home of my childhood and with my children, and their children. On this return, I didn’t even...
Our first attempt to the Berry Farm was rained out, so we decided on this pretty day to have another try. The Berry Farm is a very special and almost magical place and I love it there.
Driving in Western Australia’s Southwest one day, and we spot a sign that advertised something that looked like “G-Spot Ice Cream, the sexiest ice cream in the South West” definitely caught my attention. Over the years in the SouthWest, we had tried Simmo’s Ice Cream (once on our honeymoon), Miller’s...
“It’s true that shopping is cheaper than therapy” So it’s the start of November and Georgie and I decided for a girls day out shopping and lunch. Life kept getting in the way of some time out together, so I was so grateful for this chance before I had to...
Spring in Western Australia brings back the spectacular bird, the Rainbow Bee Eater. The rainbow bee eaters go north in the cold months, but return when it warms to our Perth region in Western Australia. From Birdlife: Rainbow Bee-eaters gather in small flocks before returning to summer breeding areas after...
Rain was most certainly the word to describe 2016 Perth spring. This day, we had planned to go to Margaret River to the Berry Farm, got there, but had to move on because of rain. Also called Rosenberg’s monitor, I learned something interesting. It lays its eggs in termite mounds...
When we first decided to go to Kojonup, it was to see the Everlastings at Lucinda’s. When we contacted Lucinda’s we found out that it was too late to see the flowers, but we decided to go to Kojonup anyway. For one thing, we had never been there together, and...
Normally when we go to the Zoo, we go on a Sunday after church. That usually makes our time at Perth Zoo rushed and we don’t get to see everything we want. This time, we went on a Saturday. They weren’t calling for the greatest of weather, and frankly, I...
With everything in bloom, I decided to get out my macro lens and take some photos of the flowers in the garden. It’s a very sweet lens, I should do macro more. John likes his yard to have native plants in it. So I didn’t have to twist his...
Some people attempt to answer Philosophical questions with Science. Given that Science has had some blunders, even in the recent past, I am not sure why they often speak with the arrogance and authority that they do. Physicist Stephen Hawking (an atheist) even told Google’s Zeitgeist conference that philosophers have...
As I write this, I just heard on the news that this spring has recorded the most rainiest weekends ever in Perth. With John only off work on the weekends, and our time limited to be together, we just can’t stress over it, we have to make plans and contingency...
Usually when we want to photograph a sunset, we make a rush to the coast. That coast isn’t called the ‘Sunset Coast’ for nothing, it’s a perfect sunset location. This time however, we decided on a different location: Perry’s Paddock at Yellagonga Regional Park. Perry’s Paddock is named after John...
And so the weather turns, another rainy weekend. Only it wasn’t just going to be rainy. The Australian Weather Bureau were predicting possible storms, hail, and near hurricane force winds. We packed up the truck and went anyway.
The last time we went to Katrine, it was summer, I thought it might be fun to see it in spring. The colors of Katrine in summer were browns and dry. I truly wanted to see the area with the lush green colors of spring.
