Morning walk with birds

 It was a glorious morning cloud and some sun a bit of humidity to warm us up and as we walked down to the beach there was this lovely pelican, I so love our pelicans, large and magnificent and beautifully black and white. He wasnt too pleased abut let me get up close and then waddled into the water.
They get quite tame as fishermen feed them.
Further on was a duck in the water, I need to work out what this one is as its not a mallard, then a cormorant drying its wings on the channel marker and finally a sooty oyster catcher who was up the beach searching for sand worms. So smart in his black and red.
A bit of fine drizzle today and I need to get the washing in off the line.
I dare not let the chooks out as that wretched fox might be around.
I am off tomorrow with Sarah, going over the border into Victoria to look at shetland ponies, not my pick but our grand daughter wants one for her 21st, she had a lovely one she rode to Royal Show standard when she was small.
We are also going to look at a couple of Welsh Pony studs as well.
We leave early tomorrow and come back latish on Saturday. John will be in charge so I hope nothing dire happens and Fenella is home to do the ponies. The weather looks as if it will be cool and damp, much better than hot and awful. It should be a lovely break.

Wet and cool

 What a day, floods in Queensland, and terrible ones at that, we had to ring friends to see if they were ok. Thankfully apart from some rain blown under roof tiles and a new carpet wet all was ok, so far. It is such a slow moving low and it is creating havoc all along the east coast, one minute bushfires, now floods.
We had a lovely walk this morning, getting wet ourselves as a very welcome almost 10mm fell, a lot of it while we were walking along the cliffs and I was soaked through! I didnt mind a bit as it was so nice to have any rain at all. You will see how dry it is by the photo of the hill on the bottom right.
As usual click twice to enlarge the photos.
When the east coast floods we often are terribly dry here in the south.
So a collage of this mornings photos and all taken before the rain really fell, it was quite magic as not terribly windy.
My daily collage, I dont think I am getting any better but they are fun to do.
We sat for a lot of this cold damp afternoon watching the disasters unfolding in Queensland, I am so glad I dont have to contend with floods. Bushfires are bad enough but floods are horrid.
So I sat and untangled a heap of embroidery threads so now they are usable.

Australia Day

 A collage of photos of my Australia Day.
Up early and a walk on the beach, a visit to the market (no photos of that) down to the Australia Day celebrations on Warland Reserve in Victor, a nice shot of the Town Cryer (left) and the Mayor (on the right). Ten new citizens were taken into the fold and there were very worthy recipients of the Australia Day awards.
John was an Australia Day recipient quite a few years ago and also has an AM so we always try to support the local event.
From there we headed up to lunch at Pt Willunga with friends and see the Tour Down Under pass by, always terribly fast and very exciting.
Home to do the animals and have a bit of tomato, cheese and bacon on toast as that was all we needed after such a lovely lunch.
So another Australia day has passed, I am very proud to be an Australian although I was rather surprised to be told in one of the speeches yesterday that only 50% of Australians today were born in the country. I am a proud third generation Aussie! Which means my great grand son is 6th generation.
Interesting as South Australia was only founded in 1836, much later than the Eastern States but my ancestors (on my fathers side), and John's, came out to South Australia and not via the other States.

All a bit depressing

The results of the MRI dont look terribly promising. I dont see the specialist until latish March so I will go on with my pain relief and walking as I have been. No good worrying too much until I really know what it is all about.
Two more of my little collages. My faces are not sticking down terribly flat but these are really for my own amusement and I supose I will get better.
we had a lovely walk this morning and after yesterdays heat today has been wonderfully cool and a bit windy.
I just hope it stays this way, we actually had .04 mm of rain overnight but you really wouldnt know it.
A decent rain would be wonderful.

Horse tram Clydesdales

We went in for a walk this morning and had to do a few other jobs and as I sat in the car and waited for John to come back the horse tram Clydesdales went past, they usually go through the back streets but have to get onto the busy road through town for a short while, I couldnt believe how many cars had to go slowly after them! I had to take this photo as I am not often in the right place at the right time.
We had a lovely walk this morning, around at the Bay, and although there were a few clouds and it was a little cool it was lovely walking and listening to the waves lapping on the beach.
Another batch of my little jewels, I have been asked what I will do with them, I think possibly on cards but also if I get enough who knows, I think they are a little big for brooches but on presents they would look nice as well.
I read on some ones blog that they take out a few minutes in the morning to do little collages and I thought it was a great idea, too big and I lose interest but small ones? perhaps, well I made one this morning and I will see how my mood takes me.
It will be hot tomorrow, today was lovely.
Yesterday I paid for my Bali flight so early June and it is actually going to happen!
I cant wait, although I have travelled a lot I am a bit nervous as I am doing a tour, but on my own, no John to pick up the pieces, I think my main worry is sorting out money, just because in Bali they work in huge numbers which are not worth much but it means keeping track of thousands of rupeah. Perhaps I wont buy very much!
MRI on my knee tomorrow, means an early start.
Oh and double click to see the photos better.

Glorious morning walk and a few more jewelled patches

 Look at that reflection of the clouds on that damp sand! I love mornings like this when we walk, there were a lot of people and dogs around and I quickly snapped this when the beach was relatively empty and until I loaded it to the computer hadnt realised what it looked like.
Overcast and cool but the sun has burnt the clouds away and it is now quite warm.
I am washing and trying to tidy things up so I can work on some beading. I want to re do a necklace.
The piece of kelp washed up had a lovely design to it, not a lot on the beach this morning, and it was a different beach but things keep changing.
John went fishing yesterday, we did have a lovely feed of fresh fish, yummy, not a lot but enough for us and some for the cat.
So in between doing a massive tidy, why do I get into such a muddle? While he was fishing I did some sewing, when I needed to sit down for a few minutes.
I have three more of these to do and then I am not sure what the next thing will be.
I have to get ready for a selling exhibition in April so I will have to get my thinking cap on.
Double click for a larger view.

Bits and pieces

If you click or even double click on the top photo it should be clearer.
They are little bits of precious 'stuff' I have been sewing together, so much fun when it is hot.
we walked along the beach at the bay this morning and saw this pelican flying by, of course I had just shut the camera down so had to aim blind and hope I got something, he came up reasonably well when I cropped the photo.
Then there was this strange piece of jelly, looking alm ost like a starfish but its not, whether it is a jelly fish or the remains of some sort of sea creatures eggs I am not sure.
The brown jelly fish from the other day have moved around to where we walked this morning but I wasnt going to take their photos.
I had gone in to the market early this morning and as it was lovely and cool we then walked.
Bother I have lost a photo it was of the rather ominous looking clouds with the sun peeping through, perhaps tomorrow!
Yesterday a friend of mine and I went for lunch and then wandered down to have a look at the Rotary art show, first time for her, second for me, it takes a while to get around and we kept bumping into friends so it took even longer. We needed a cup of coffee and a cake shared afterwards.
Lovley to catch up.
I had also had a doctors appointment and we have arranged for me to have an mri on my knee to see why the wretched thing is still aching, something else to look forward to but my polymalgia rheumatica seems to be clearing up which is great news now to slowly get off the rest of the cortisone I am on.
Not this stops my arthritis pain but that I can sort of live with.