Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts

Soggy days

Thursday, July 30, 2020

There is a walking track that runs from our local train station to an industrial area.  It is quite flat, well graded and goes through open paddocks - a popular track for dog walks and bike rides.  There are cattle in these paddocks, which is a novelty for the girls, as all the fields in our area seem to be busy growing houses.

Last week we had quite a bit of rain and it shows that, naturally, our local area would be quite swampy as the land seems to flood easily.  And the land this track runs through is no exception.

Jesse, our dog, has fallen into the habit of jumping in the car with us when I take Charlie to the train station in the mornings for school and a few mornings ago he struck gold - on the spur of the moment I decided to take him for a walk along this track, while there was a break in the weather (he couldn't believe his luck, normally I just do a u-turn and go home!)

And half way along, the track ended in this:


Except for the fence poles, you could easily think this was the lake's edge!


On the way back I spotted this massive fungi high up in the tree.

Two days later I took the girls and bikes (and dog) for a run before picking Charlie up.  The water had subsided somewhat (at least off the track), but there was still so much water around - and lots of frogs and ducks and other water birds.

There is quite a comprehensive drainage system under this track and the girls discovered mini whirlpools forming for each drainage pipe - the force was surprisingly strong.


Of course, there was quite a bit of "accidentally" falling in!




We went home happy and invigorated, but with with cold toes!


A Wedding

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

On 21 June Christina and Broyce got married.  It was a Covid-19 wedding, capped at 20 people, with Broyce's family zooming in from WA.  It was the perfect day - the weather all week had been rainy and cloudy only to be warm and sunny on the wedding day.

Joe and Erin

Hayden, Beau (Broyce's grandson) and Robin



Natalie




Autumn Leaves

Sunday, July 12, 2020
There are some beautiful crafts made with Autumn leaves.  I saw lanterns made by gluing leaves between two sheets of greaseproof paper and using fairy lights inside.  

We used tracing paper because I had a huge pad of it, and I just made some paper mache glue (with flour and water), and slapped it all together and let it dry.  I ironed them the next day, then stitched them together with string after holepunching some holes in the ends (it looked like shoelaces).

We found various fairy lights at Bunnings that run on batteries and just put them inside.

They look beautiful!







For a few years I have been wanting to wax some leaves - I finally did it!  I intended to make lots of garlands ... that may have to wait for next year now, as all the Autumn leaves have gone brown (and soggy in the rain).




Moments with the girls......

Thursday, February 21, 2019
Natalie finally lost her first wobbly teeth - two at once during tap class - it was a mix of trauma (with some blood) and excitement.


Natalie and I recently found a forest of toadstools in our backyard - quite surprising as our backyard is not the most shaded and sheltered place.  They were quite delicate and beautiful.


Erin working through her John Lennon glasses!


About a week ago we had a thunderstorm and we all were sitting on the upstairs balcony watching the lightening.  Rory was reminiscing about when they were young, and how as soon as it started to rain the boys would set up camp on the balcony to sleep the night outside.

This must have inspired the girls - they have been sleeping on the balcony for all week now!  But, it must be said, in "glamping" mode, not in "boy" mode - which is just to dump a blanket and sleeping bag onto the concrete!





 Erin practising her skills!



Inspired by the monthly free Coles magazine, the girls decorated these biscuits.  It was actually lots of fun (and easy) - decorated digestive biscuits.





Love Lanes

Sunday, February 10, 2019
We went to a local street festival last night - called Love Lanes, I think, because it's held close to Valentines Day.

Lots of food and performances, the best of which is a show by Avalon Circus.  As the girls now do circus classes, it was great for them to see people performing the skills they are trying to learn.


Natalie made good friends with this dog, Ruby, happily sitting with her and taking her for small walks (Natalie is very cautious around dogs, particularly big, bouncy ones, so she really enjoyed this dog's company).


The girls decorated biscuits with lots of pretty, sugary, yummy things.  And of course, you have to have an ice-cream!





The Murray River

Tuesday, February 5, 2019
During our recent trip to Victoria and back we (obviously) crossed the Murray River - the border between NSW and Victoria.  By chance yesterday at the library I found a book tracing the course of the river from the snow to the sea. 

Today I read the book to the kids over lunch.  It was great as the girls had first hand experience of what the book was talking about - the moment of crossing the border, the Tom Groggin camping ground, the Man From Snowy River, trout, bogong moths, etc.

This all lead to lots of googling about Australia's megafauna.


A road trip home

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Last week, from Monday to Friday, we took our time driving from Victoria to home.  It was the first week back to school which meant everywhere was a lot less busy.  It was a perfect week, just Robin and me and the girls, with a little bit of everything - camping, hotels, hot weather, rainy days and lots and lots of swimming.

First night was at Bright, a beautiful town in the mountains of Victoria.  The Ovens River running through town has been set up perfectly for swimming - there is a diving board and slippery dip into the river, and rocks have been arranged down the river creating a flowing path for people to ride on floating things down the river.

Alongside the river are picnic areas, bike tracks and a water park.






From Bright we drove the scenic route through the Alpine National Park (Victoria) into the Kosciuszko National Park (NSW) to our campground at Swampy Plains River.

We stayed here two nights, such a beautiful spot.  No crowds, not too many flies, river temperature wasn't too cold, Robin got some fishing in, we had a thunderstorm and the tent didn't leak - what more could you want!!

Looking out over the original site of Tallangatta - the town was moved when the Hume Dam was expanded,

Geehi Hut


Swampy Plains River at Geehi Camping Area



From here we continued north, staying a night in Canberra and visiting Questacon (the science museum) and then we had a Chinese dinner in Goulburn before making the last run for home.

The Man from Snowy River in Corryong

We got out of the car at this high pass with the wind blowing and the temperature much colder than we had been used to.


Hot chocolate in Jindabyne


Donuts in Canberra


Microscopes

Erin (and Robin) were both brave enough to go down this steep slide!





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