Australia · Changes · family · gardening · grandchildren · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · Tweed Valley · winter

Approaching the middle of winter

It’s a glorious time of year in the subtropics! Each night is cool enough to warm the house with our fireplace, I can wear cosy winter clothes for a few weeks, and on Monday I spent the whole day gardening without breaking out in a sweat at all.

Today we had our third day of rain for the week, so gardening has been put on hold. It wasn’t too difficult to stay indoors to keep dry and warm though. The valley – and most of our garden – has been hidden by mist all day, so todays photo of Mount Warning is one I took last week.

It had been overcast weather all day, then as nightfall approached, in the distance, beyond the mountain and grey sky, a strip of light sky appeared. It was a stunning sight, and something a bit different to our usual sunsets.

“Life” has taken up more of my time than usual recently. What with final university assignment writing at the end of semester 1, and various family events, my blogging, and visiting blogger friends’ sites had to be put on hold. Also, my son, daughter-in-law and two of my grandsons have moved in recently. They sold their home, put a deposit on a new home, but when the building report on their prospective new home wasn’t up to par, they pulled out of the sale.

Meanwhile, houses in our area are in high demand. With more people buying than selling, house prices are on the rise, and Covid 19 is the culprit. People are selling up and leaving the capital cities, where covid “lock-downs” have become a regular occurance. Many people are relocating to areas such as ours where we have been virtually covid-free from the beginning of the pandemic, searching for freedom.

The changing market has forced many locals into a similar situation, so they simply have to be patient. The right house will become available for my son and his family eventually. In the meantime, I can enjoy grandson-cuddles every single day, which isn’t a bad thing at all! ❤

I have one last photo for today of a pair of kookaburras, taken last month, looking at something that obviously caught their eye. They are gorgeous characters, these birds. 🙂

Hopefully by tomorrow, the weather will have cleared and I will see the mountain again!

5 thoughts on “Approaching the middle of winter

  1. Wonderful skyline and kookaburras! They are such adorable birds.
    There has been massive urban flight here as well, and similarly, the real estate market has skyrocketed, putting even more strain on local buyers, who are being priced out of the market. It makes it hard for young couples to make a start on their first home.
    (Sigh), life isn’t easy, is it? But I imagine seeing your grandson daily is definitely a happy thing. Kids bring such joy to a day.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Love your photos! It sounds like your housing market might be much like what’s going on here – maniacal selling and buying and prices going crazy. We happen to be doing both – or my daughter and her husband are – I’m just along for the ride.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. What a beautiful photo of your mountain. The same is happening here in Germany and in the UK too – housing prices are astronomical and people are desperate to get out of the cities. Love the photo of your kookaburras. They are so pretty.

    Liked by 1 person

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