Tag: family visits

Australia · clouds · daughter · grandson · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · palm trees · rain · subtropical weather · summer · Tweed Valley

It was a dark and stormy night …

Joanne16 Comments

Well, it is dark and stormy now, a complete contrast to the brightness of the valley this morning. Even though there were a few showers of rain about, the rain did not deminish the brilliance of the valley, mountain and sky colours.

The little Pee Wee bird who recently found my bird bath at the side of the house ventured around to the back of the house in time for breakfast this morning for the first time. Most of the regular gang had eaten and gone, leaving just a few scraps on the feeding table, which seemed to keep this little guy happy.

Today has been dreadfully humid. I spent most of the day with my daughter and her baby boy, Eli. Eli is the most kissable little man, and I would have loved to have held him all day if cuddling him hadn’t made us both feel even hotter.

Quite loud thunder has been rolling and rumbling around us for the last couple of hours, but so far we haven’t had any rain. The severe storm warning issued this afternoon may be relevent to other areas around us, but we haven’t seen a spot of rain. It did go dark earlier than usual though, hence the cliché title of tonight’s post. 😉

And once again, the daylight hours ended with a touch of drama in the sunset sky over Mount Warning. ❤

Australia · clouds · family · Mount Warning · rain · spring · subtropical weather · Tweed Valley

Getting used to a new normal …

Joanne4 Comments

Being a creature of habit, today has felt a tad odd. I didn’t have to spend hours sitting at my desk, and I didn’t read or write a single word of academic writing.

Every time a semester ends, I’m happy it’s over because I need the rest! But last night, my dreams were filled with assignment writing. I need to get used to a new normal, again.

Knowing I missed seeing my family, all of my kids visited today. At one stage I had my four-year-old grandson, two-year-old granddaughter, and two-month-old grandson all sitting with me. Not far away on the next couch sat my 22 week pregnant daughter-in-law. And it was wonderful!

We finally had some rain today, not much, but enough to give the garden a good watering. I’m looking forward to spending more time in the garden now uni is over until next February.

Today’s photos, as you will see, are taken “where-Mount-Warning-should-be”! The cloud is so low that I haven’t seen the mountain all day, but I love the rich blueness of the ranges, and their blue reflections in the clouds. 🙂

Australia · family · grandchildren · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · pets · spring · Tweed Valley

Another day of visitors

Joanne3 Comments

Regular readers of my blog will be familiar with my lovely kookaburra visitors, but today, this particular kookaburra was joined by a very unlikely companion – a Currawong. It could be my imagination (although I don’t think it is) but the kookaburra does not look very impressed to be sharing its breakfast table. And the currawong, usually very shy birds who wait in the background to clean up any tiny droppings of food after the other birds have left, looks very – let me think – Entitled? Dominant? Demanding?

There’s nothing unusual about my next photo. Brontë always uses Forrest as a cushion when they spend time lying around outside.

I spent a while out in the garden this morning, working on an area that needs a fair amount of attention. I need husband’s help with this particular garden though. My son-in-law used wooden sleepers to build the garden edges about ten years ago, and now the wood is starting to rot and needs replacing. There’s a low retaining wall that needs replacing as well, so we are working on getting the job done before summer.

Around midday, my first “people” visitors arrived – my daughter, and baby Eli. I got a few adorable little smiles from six-week-old Eli today, and my goodness he is growing fast! His little neck is so strong and he moves his head around this way and that, seeming to want to take in everything around him.

Just before my daughter headed home, my eldest son arrived. His wife is away in Sydney for a few days, so Ben visited for dinner. I think I’m appreciating my visitors more than ever before, now the Covid restrictions are easing.

And once again, a very enjoyable day ended with a beautifully tinted sky. 🙂