They were here for a while .....

.... before the wind blew them into every nook and cranny and they were eventually consigned to the compost heap.

Japanese Maple.

Smoke Bush and Silver Elm

Pear

Mountain Ash (Rowan Tree).

Sage.

Silver Elm

Liquidamber.

Japanese Maple.

?

Cornus (Dogwood)

Rowan Trees.

?

Plectranthus (yours, Shannon)

Another trip North

First of all I must apologise to, and also thank, all of the people who have continued to check my blog throughout my 'lazy phase', and enquired as to our well-being during that time. I sincerely appreciate your care and concern.

Let me assure you that we are perfectly well and enjoying life. We've been busy in the garden, and then enjoying our new loungesuite when it's too cold to work in the garden.....lol. We've had some glorious autumn weather interspersed with some very cold windy days, but not much rain. The frosts are here but they usually herald a fine sunny day. The day may begin at -5º but if it reaches a maximum of 15º then it actually feels quite warm (relatively) with a 20º range.

I've also spent quite a bit of time in my sewing room, primarily making things for the smaller grandchildren. It's warm and cosy down there and I can play my music and sew to my heart's content.

Earlier this month we flew to Qld again to spend time with Russ and Michelle and their families. Unfortunately I seem to forget about taking photos much of the time. On Mothers' Day we visited the Cabarlah Markets and then had lunch at a delightful outdoor area a short distance away. The rest of the week passed far too quickly but enjoyably - playing with the Evie and Liam, relaxing with Russ and Shannon, plus planting bulbs, shopping, sewing curtains, while Richard had great fun in Russ's shed, sorting tools and building a few things like planter boxes and bird houses.

At the end of the week we spent a few days with Michelle and family, which is always a pleasure, as well as spending one day in Brisbane primarily to indulge in one of my favourite pursuits in that city - travelling the Brisbane River on one of the City Cats.

Whilst I was very happy with this photo with the grandchildren, we hope it will be superseded in a few weeks when Tanya, Geoff and Arlo arrive from China. There's still space there for Arlo to complete the Grandparent/Grandchildren photo.

I must say that I really love this photo - three generations - father, son and grandson. We must do the same for the ladies of the family soon.

A few (or more) shots of Brisbane from the City Cat.

I don't know the names of all the bridges .....

..... or buildings.

But I'm sure it doesn't matter! Those who know Brisbane will recognise them.

Well, that was a BIT more than a week, wasn't it !!!

We had a fantastic week with Russ and Shannon and the children. We worked hard painting and building picket fence, lots of weeding in the garden, cutting back of trees and shrubs, but also time to relax and enjoy their peaceful surroundings. Even before we left there we were looking forward to our next visit.

Breakfast time for Evie.

Liam wants a chat.

Russ and Shannon checking what the postman brought in the rain.

Morning tea on the front veranda.

A delightful spot for a warm afternoon.

At the end of March we spent a week at the Nepean Country Club, at Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. It was one of the best resorts we've stayed at in Australia. Of particular interest to me was the lovely indoor pool since I have been learning to swim (better late than never) - with varying degrees of success.

Swimming pool area with gymnasium on upper level.

Outdoor pool and Spa.

Indoor pool.

View from our resort unit.

On the water at Hastings.

Not the water for a novice swimmer.

Another view from the unit.

Down the boardwalk at Cape Shank. Lots of steps down means lots of steps back up too, but it was worth it.

Portsea.

Back home in early April for a little spot of gardening....

..... and the first of the autumn leaves.

After I selected these photos for posting and sent them to the blog I got quite annoyed at how long it was taking. However, it didn't seem so very long at all when I discovered that all 18 photos had posted at once - instead of the 4 at a time as in the past, followed by lots of time-consuming cutting and pasting.