Golden Wattle

It's the morning. A lovely winter sun is lighting everything with long shadows and a warm glow. There is a crispness in the air, the kind of crispness that one can smell and only comes when it's below 8c. The dew is thick on the grass making me move quickly to the path so to not get my shoes too wet. It's the kind of day that I'm are thankful that I reached for my scarf on the way out the door. Yes, the scarf is probably overkill, but the warmth around my neck give the morning walk a warm comfortable feeling.

As I turn the corner on the last block before I reach work, I inhale deeply. There's a delicious scent somewhere between baby powder and honey suckle lightly hanging on the air. The warmth of the sun makes me turn my head up and close my eyes. The lorikeets are playing in one of the tall gum trees... it must have been in bloom recently as the ground is covered with gum nuts.

Just a head of me is a bush that has tried desperately to grow across the sidewalk. Over the past few years, the offending branches have been broken or bent back but the bush is stubborn enough to continue trying. The result is a lovely canopy just barely above head height. To add to the perfection of this bush, it is in full bloom.

Wattle is a beautiful flower. The blossom looks like little pompoms creating a fuzzy cone of yellow at the end of every twig. Every time I walk by this bush while it is in bloom, I can't help myself - I must stop and enjoy.

The golden wattle is Australia's Floral Emblem. As soon as I can figure out how to insert a link, I will add it.

taken July 2010 - roadside, Macquarie Park, NSW

Art Gallery of NSW

The Art Gallery of NSW is a treat that should be regularly enjoyed.

On this trip, I discovered that the public is allowed to take photos of the permanent collection. What joy! I very carefully ensured my flash never went, and thoroughly enjoyed a new way to experience art. The use of lighting to accent different pieces made more sense, the use of space... it just makes more sense now.

I would encourage you to go to your local gallery and see what's on show. Many are free to enter and their value is much greater than any assigned dollar figure. You never know, someday they might be showing a work that simply captivates you. Micah is still talking about the above, and I look forward to showing you some of my favourites from here and around the world.

Taken July 2010, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW

Botanical Gardens Sydney - Miner

We are now in the middle in of winter here in Australia. This concept of winter still baffles me. As I spent most of the day outside in a sweater with 3/4 length sleeves, without an undershirt or jacket, I think of this weather as more early autumn-ish.

As the day was so very beautiful, we decided to head into the city and visit the botanical gardens. Most of the flora and fauna are in their rest and regeneration phase... it is winter after all. This made it almost impossible to miss the blooming cherry trees at the foot of one of the paths we were walking along. N and I spent several minutes taking pictures of the beautiful pink flowers against the pure blue sky.

Just as I was about to join the boys back on the path to continue on our way, a miner bird flew into the tree on a branch less than 2 meters away from me. My first reaction was bewilderment, my second was to yell at it. (The bird managed to send half of a freshly caught bee at me hitting me in the shoulder, while it ate happily ate the other half.)

Normally I yell at miner birds, basically because I think they are bullies and a nuisance. I have recently come to understand that there are actually 2 notable species of miners in Australia, one is native, the other introduced.

On a personal note, I think this is the best photo of a bird I have ever managed to take. I hope you enjoy!

Taken July 2010 - Botanical Gardens, Sydney, NSW

Mount Tomah Gardens - Mistery flower

Hilarious! I have just spent the past hour searching for the name of this plant. To me, it looks very much like the kangaroo's paw, but the stem is completely wrong. Upon giving up my search I started to think about the botanical garden I was visiting when I snapped this lovely picture. Low and behold - what is the 'plant of the season'? Why it is the South African Rarity, of course!

Mount Tomah Botanical Gardens is a lovely day-trip outside of Sydney in the Blue Mountains. I highly recommend visiting here as the grounds are stunning, the views are impressive and the flowers are amazing.

taken May 2010 - Mount Tomah Gardens, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia

Peppertree Wines

There is nothing quite like a grey day to make every colour pop.

On a drizzly Saturday morning, Micah and I along with a couple of friends piled into a bus filled with mathematicians and physicists and headed out on the road for a day trip. Hunter Valley, here we come! This Hunter trip was the third one that I've joined this group on. It really is great to get a group of people out of the office to enjoy some random activity and build friendships. Each trip I come home with a case of beautiful wines and a couple more people on my list of I-know-you's.

This trip we stopped at this absolutely fantastic winery. If you ever get a chances to try any of their selection it is well worth it. We came away completely content, carrying more than a case of wine and a membership to their wine club. Let's hope we can head up again later this year to check out their next batch of new treats!

As for the winery itself, the site used to be a convent. The grounds are wonderfully maintained, with long driveways to rustic buildings. There's even a chapel still on site which is used for the occasional wedding. The walkways between buildings tend to be brick cobblestone, and there are lovely flower patches accenting the vineyards and buildings.

taken May 2010 - Peppertree Winery, Hunter Valley, NSW