A TROPICAL GETAWAY AND SPECIAL VISITORS

 

Recently we had a short getaway in far North Queensland...

by the beach near Cairns...

Leaving behind the mid-Winter cold of Brisbane, we flew much closer to the Equator, and into Summery warmth for a few days.

This was a very special occasion:  Our daughter and her family had flown in from Canada to spend a whole month with us.

We had not seen each other for over two years...

I loved walking along the esplanade, and occasionally ventured on to the sand...

It is necessary to be wary, because:

Fortunately, a short drive away there were safe, patrolled beaches for swimming.  And swim our grandsons certainly did, in the sea and in a pool at our beach house.

And when we came back to Brisbane, they were in our pool frequently, ignoring the Winter weather.  

Canadians are tough people!

Our French-speaking grandsons are big boys now, the older nearly a teen.

They really enjoyed their Australian adventure...

Back at the Red Cardinal nest, our visitors enjoyed the birdlife of our garden.  Our daughter named this cockatoo 'Bob', because he bobs his head up and down.  

Bob is not my favourite bird.  He and I are constantly at war, because he wants to decapitate my flowers, and throw things around on our deck.

Just for fun.

Given a quiet day, sometimes he completely destroys a few pot-plants.

Hmmmm.......

Bob is not afraid of the tin kookaburra from K Mart, which frightens off all the other birds.  Bob likes to toss it onto the floor with a great clatter.

Naughty Bob....

Due to the antics of Bob and his mates, we do not see the lorikeets as frequently these days. However, we did have a gorgeous red King Parrot the other day:

My daughter brought me this brooch from Canada, a replica of the Queen's Canadian maple leaf pin.

It even came with a photo:

It will be a treasured piece, and I have worn it several times this week.

With bad luck, I came down with another bout of RSV flu while our visitors were here, and missed quite a few family excursions.  That's life!

As Spring slowly arrives, the Red Cardinal garden is pushing up a few blooms.

Our compulsory daffodil or two have managed to defeat the neglect and have arrived.

Spring will hopefully bring me better health, and I am back walking again.

There are some mini horses in our neighbourhood...

and this beautiful white horse which watches us walk past with a careful eye...

Our creek, always a running stream..

The Iris patch is thriving this Spring.

They are such a joy every September.

And so is our King Orchid (Dendrobium) grown from a cutting from my late father's beautiful plant:

This year there at 15 beautiful fronds of tiny creamy white orchid blooms..

    

Are you watching the historical images coming through from the UK?

To watch the passing of a monarch and the installation of the next is both sad and fascinating.  

Enjoy the change of season.

XXXX