Audrey on her motorbike in our garden - again a bit more of a demonstration of her walking skills!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Audrey on Her Motorbike
Audrey on her motorbike in our garden - again a bit more of a demonstration of her walking skills!
Audrey takes some steps
Audrey has been mastering her walking skills over the last couple of weeks. What began as one or two tentative steps has quickly turned into a lengthened walk. It's been lovely to witness.
Being such a proficient crawler, crawling still appears to be her preferred mode of travel but she's gradually stepping out more and more. Here's a short video clip of Audrey walking around in her bedroom. If you've got sound on your machine it also gives you some idea of what a chatterbox she is!
Being such a proficient crawler, crawling still appears to be her preferred mode of travel but she's gradually stepping out more and more. Here's a short video clip of Audrey walking around in her bedroom. If you've got sound on your machine it also gives you some idea of what a chatterbox she is!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Breakfast with the Birds
We enjoyed a lovely trip to the Botanic Gardens last weekend and had "Breakfast With the Birds".
The morning trips only run for a short period during Spring, and we were lucky enough to get a booking. Unfortunately our booking co-incided with the start of Summer Time and so our 7.30am start actually transoformed into a 6.30am (urrghh). Still, it made a pleasant start to the (chilly) morning to be in Canberra Botanic Gardens so early.
Our guide informed us that the walk would last one and a half hours (I had expected a 30 minute stroll followed by a cooked breakfast) so with rumbling tummies we set off through the Gardens.
During our walk we saw many birds from the obvious, Cockatoos and Magpies, to the more exotic wottle birds, superb fairy wrens, Chuffs and even a Gang Gang (honestly) which flew overhead. We even disturbed a family of 3 large kangaroos who hopped off into the garden.
By 9am we were getting pretty peckish (geddit) and so returned to the Visitor Centre for a yummy breakfast. (pics to follow)
The morning trips only run for a short period during Spring, and we were lucky enough to get a booking. Unfortunately our booking co-incided with the start of Summer Time and so our 7.30am start actually transoformed into a 6.30am (urrghh). Still, it made a pleasant start to the (chilly) morning to be in Canberra Botanic Gardens so early.
Our guide informed us that the walk would last one and a half hours (I had expected a 30 minute stroll followed by a cooked breakfast) so with rumbling tummies we set off through the Gardens.
During our walk we saw many birds from the obvious, Cockatoos and Magpies, to the more exotic wottle birds, superb fairy wrens, Chuffs and even a Gang Gang (honestly) which flew overhead. We even disturbed a family of 3 large kangaroos who hopped off into the garden.
By 9am we were getting pretty peckish (geddit) and so returned to the Visitor Centre for a yummy breakfast. (pics to follow)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Greening Australia
Last Sunday we took part in a nature conservation project organised by 'Greening Australia' and DFAT.
We drove over to a beautiful spot just west of Cotter Dam, a lovely area about 30 mins drive from Canberra. The plan was to plant 1,000 or so local trees and shrubs. The area had been destroyed by the bush fires which had devastated large areas of Canberra in 2003. Previously the hillside had been planted with pine trees (there were still plenty of charred remains) and the plan was to encourage the re-growth of indigenous plants and trees - thereby stopping the topsoil from washing into the Dam!
There was a great turnout of probably 50 cars. Everyone was equipped with a bucket of plants and a pick or shovel (nobody really got my 'take your pick' jokes - I blame cultural differences) and we headed off to the hillside.
The lady from Greening Australia showed us how deep to dig our holes, how to water our foliage etc and during her demonstration a HUGE spider hopped out of the hole she had started to work on. I was ready to get straight back in the car and drive off, but Amy persuaded me to stay - I think we were probably only a couple of hours drive to the nearest hospital!
We planted and watered our bucket of plants. It was great fun - we had predicted that Audrey would get tired of it all after a while, but she loved playing in the dirt(!) and fortunately didn't encounter any more spiders.
We had a sausage sizzle for lunch (v.popular!) and they even laid on veg-burgers for me which was great. It was a lovely day out!
We drove over to a beautiful spot just west of Cotter Dam, a lovely area about 30 mins drive from Canberra. The plan was to plant 1,000 or so local trees and shrubs. The area had been destroyed by the bush fires which had devastated large areas of Canberra in 2003. Previously the hillside had been planted with pine trees (there were still plenty of charred remains) and the plan was to encourage the re-growth of indigenous plants and trees - thereby stopping the topsoil from washing into the Dam!
There was a great turnout of probably 50 cars. Everyone was equipped with a bucket of plants and a pick or shovel (nobody really got my 'take your pick' jokes - I blame cultural differences) and we headed off to the hillside.
The lady from Greening Australia showed us how deep to dig our holes, how to water our foliage etc and during her demonstration a HUGE spider hopped out of the hole she had started to work on. I was ready to get straight back in the car and drive off, but Amy persuaded me to stay - I think we were probably only a couple of hours drive to the nearest hospital!
We planted and watered our bucket of plants. It was great fun - we had predicted that Audrey would get tired of it all after a while, but she loved playing in the dirt(!) and fortunately didn't encounter any more spiders.
We had a sausage sizzle for lunch (v.popular!) and they even laid on veg-burgers for me which was great. It was a lovely day out!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Floriade
Floriade is a BIG deal in Canberra. It is an annual flower (and cultural) event that takes place in the centre of the city. It's a fantastic show (free admission too!) and is mobbed everyday with visitors.
This year the theme was Australian film, and so the flower beds were laid out to represent Australian Films (Muriels Wedding, Kenny, Crocodile Dundee, Shine etc).
It's a lovely day out and Audrey seemed to enjoy the bright colours of the flowers.
She enjoyed the 'Petting Paddock' slightly less! There was a small paddock given over to children where kids could pet assorted farm animals from cows(!) to sheep, ducks, chickens, rabbits etc.
I'm not sure if Audrey has ever held onto me quite so tightly - even the docile and placid rabbit seemed to terrify the life out of her. Once we start giving her pocket money we can get a pet (so she can pay the vets bills)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Still no sign of the PC
Still no sign of our computer, and the digital camera is officially dead. I'll try and keep a few posts going with my trusty disposable camera ($6.99) and the occasional visit to the post-office/library internet pc.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Normal service will resume shortly!
This blog has gone into temporary hibernation recently essentially because
1. We rather carelessly packed the laptop in our 'uplift' from Warsaw to Canberra so it is currently on the high-seas somewhere
2. I managed to 'zap' my digital camera last week by charging it at too high a voltage. The said camera is currently on its way to Melbourne to be fixed.
Once technical problems are overcome then the blog will re-commence!
1. We rather carelessly packed the laptop in our 'uplift' from Warsaw to Canberra so it is currently on the high-seas somewhere
2. I managed to 'zap' my digital camera last week by charging it at too high a voltage. The said camera is currently on its way to Melbourne to be fixed.
Once technical problems are overcome then the blog will re-commence!
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