Back home

It is getting cooler and some of the leaves are beginning to find their autumnal hues but in our garden the flowering plants are also doing their bit. We cannot claim too much credit for many of the exotics in the garden, to the former owners goes that accolade; nonetheless we have a number of plants which are at their best at this time of the year. The bromeliads which thrive under our careful husbandry have a very short but spectacular flowering cycle - they have been beautiful this year.

No less beautiful are the strelitzia of which we have 3 or 4 around the yard.

Our single cyclamen has produced (so far) a single flower but we are expecting better things from it...

And I am reliably informed by Judy that one of our camellias has seriously miscalculated the season and is flowering months early (possibly trying to avoid the spring rush). It is actually white but so confused it is also produced blooms like this one.

And finally we arrived home and were able to harvest the first of our vegetables from the small patch we established 6 or so weeks ago.

Lilydale to Warburton and back!

Judy and I are offically veterans of the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail, a former rail corridor now dedicated to cyclists and walkers - good on you Victoria!
It is 40 km each way and something of a climb but well worth the effort and exertion, the views are magnificent and as suits the serious cyclist, you are never more than 5 or 6 km away from another place to have coffee and cake.

On the way out I took this short video of Judy crossing one of the many roads the trip involves, the spot was idyllic, the peace and quiet broken only by the incessant, raucous calls of the Bellbirds.

Not far from the spot in the video we came across this coach company plying its wares...

More disturbing was the "Martyrs Express" I saw today! Trust they all arrived at their destination safely (wherever it was).

We did both days (arrive safely at our destination), yesterday evening we luxuriated in at least 2 star comfort at the not too recently refurbished Warburton Motel.
The room was tastefully decorated with an original mural! Signed and all.
There was no sign the plastic flowers needed dusting and the mural put us immediately in mind of Switzerland which seemed strangely inappropriate in the Dandenongs but there you go.
The best part about the motel was that the news about water saving showers has either not yet arrived or else it has been studiously ignored - good for them for going against flow.
Yesterday's run out to Warburton was uneventful unless you count a little bit of rain - it was not heavy just a bit of a nuisance and not even people from NSW on holidays would have had it any other way.

Today was more eventful - 3 punctures, Judy set a new record by having two within 5 km.
Here I am working on the second or third - who cares?

I was repairing mine (the second of the day) when she noticed her second, just after we had put most of the tools away.

I believe I was under instructions to smile for the photo I am not sure that I am.

In any event a puncture or two was not going to spoil it for us.

Take a look at the autumn leaves below typical of the whole trip - it was beautiful..

The secnery was spectacular - matched only now by our (equally spectacular) post ride thighs!

Chez Phil

I have become used to resort style living. Each day I come home to a clean, tidy house and a beautiful meal ready. I love our new arrangement but keep worrying that dad will grow tired of the boredom of it. I've got to say that there have been a few anxieties in the transition. I still feel like a guest at the resort and keep asking before I use anything. Dad too has taken a while to get the hang of shopping. At first it took him all day and most of the month's pay.
But now things are delightful. On Thursday I came home for the school hols to champagne, roast lamb stuffed with rosemary and pine nuts and this dessert. How lucky am I!