A slithery visitor...

Hello!

You may have heard. Queensland has been subject to terrible storms bringing high winds and flooding rains. Today we had a sunny day and this fellow decided he needed a little drying out. He took a long nap in the foliage along our back retaining wall.

It's a Carpet Snake, also known as a Carpet Python. He's probably longer than 2 metres if he was stretched out. That would make it an adult. I don't think it is big enough to eat my dog, but I'm not that keen on finding out!  I love Carpet Snakes, they're really beautiful. They're also great for keeping the local rodent population under control. They do have a tendency to steal eggs from hen houses though, so I'm sure my neighbours are glad he is visiting us and not them!

Here is a closer look at his head. The colouring is so beautiful, all olive, bronze, and gold.

I don't think I shared my other snake photos from when the kids discovered the cubby house had a new resident back in October. Here is one.

Thanks for dropping by. I have a couple of weeks off work at the moment, so hopefully I'll be back with more photos sometime soon.

:-)
Michelle

I forgot my poppies!

Hello,

In my tour of the garden, I forgot my poppies! They are the most exciting part of this spring for me. For the past 20 years I have tried on and off to grow Flanders Poppies, with zero success. This year, I have had several plants survive the winter and give me flowers this spring. :-)

They are all different. Although they are all bright red petals, their centres are all individual.

These flowers have been endlessly fascinating for me, and I have taken huge pleasure in each and every bloom.

:-)
Michelle

It's Spring and my flowers are blooming

Hello!

I'm still taking photos, I just don't seem to find time to blog about it. This post is about our garden. :-) When spring arrives, the flowers appear.

First the begonias (and they are still going).

The passionfruit is LADEN with fruit this year. After three years, it has finally decided to flourish!

 This one is a little strange. It thinks it is an avocado. :-)

Our rose bushes received a hard pruning this year, and have rewarded us with non-stop blooms.

 The white rose is Magaret Merril - floribunda and highly fragrant.

 The yellow rose is Friesia - another highly fragrant floribunda.

Just a little sample today. I hope you have enjoyed my garden. I have some sunflower photos to come, too.

:-)

Michelle

Some from July - beach, pasta, me

Hello!

I'll go back into the archives of July again, but here are a few to start.

Brisbane City, Adelaide Street on a foggy morning.

Me. Self Portrait.

The Beach with my little girl.

 Our shadows on the beach.

 My little girl again, chasing waves.

And some pasta making - I made a batch of pasta with the kids. We had so much pasta that we made ravioli, then lasagne, and then fettuccini to finish it off!

 Coco the Spoodle.

And the last photo for this post, my eldest daughter's floor when she arrived home from holidays with a friend.

See you again soon!

:-)
Michelle

Some of the photos I took in June

Hello!

I'm not going to go back and do a post about all the photos I've taken... just in case you were wondering if I would bombard you. :-)  But, here are a few of the photos from June that I didn't share.

A few of Brisbane City.

A worksite on Adelaide Street.

 Statue in ANZAC Square.

 100 Creek Street, the National Australia Bank building. Terrica Place in the reflection.

 Alley between Adelaide and Queen Streets, near Creek Street. It was raining.

 Looking out the doorway of Bar Metzo at Adelaide Street in the rain, waiting for my coffee.

And a couple of black and white photos taken at home.

My bathroom.

And my daughter's rose. It's Margaret Merrill, a beautiful white rose with frilly edged petals.

I might go and see if there was anything worth sharing in July.

:-)
Michelle

I'm back, hopefully! 2 August 2012 - lemon

Hello!

I have been so busy and found myself unable to keep up with the daily photos on the blog! I have been taking photos all year (except for a few days off over the last couple of weeks), but I'm not sure if I'll get them loaded up here.

Here in Brisbane, it is the last month of Winter. Traditionally about now, the freezing cold westerly winds arrive, just in time for "The Ekka" (the Brisbane Show). Today, I am sitting here in a t-shirt and long shorts enjoying what is essentially a beautiful spring day.  My lemon trees think it is spring also.

While the last winter lemon hangs on the bush...

The rest of the bush has flowers bursting forth all over...

Excuse the ants and the scale, I just gave the citrus a good dose of white oil last week-end, so they'll be pretty again in a week or two. :-)

I love this time of year!

:-)
Michelle

Days 161 - 162, 9 - 10 June 2012: netball and Tim Holtz

Hello!

Day 161, 9 June 2012 - My View
I spent the morning at the inter-school netball carnival with my daughter. She played four games and had a wonderful time. This photo was looking back over the playing fields, towards the sun. It was funny weather, cold one second, hot the next, cloudy and sunny all at once. The sun is that bright patch in the middle of the cloud. ;-)

Day 162, 10 June 2012 - The best part of the week-end
What a great theme for today. Today was the annual Brisbane Papercrafting Expo at the Brisbane Convention Centre. And it certainly was a highlight of my week-end. I bought myself an OTT light, so I can set up  my crafty corner in the {dark} rumpus room and move off the dining room table.  I bought some new Hero Arts background stamps {yay!} and a few other little bits and pieces. The highlight, though, was to see Tim Holtz demonstrating his products. In particular, he was working with alcohol inks. He's fantastic! I learned heaps and also developed a massive desire for a full set of alcohol inks {oh dear!}. Here he is.

I like this photo for all the colour and product, but I thought it was a bit "clean" for Tim Holtz, so I edited it a little.

There we go, that's better, more grungy!

:-)
Michelle