Crooked Brook Forest walk, Dardanup, Western Australia

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend and had a chance to get out in the fresh air and do something enjoyable in the great outdoors. On Sunday we went for a walk along one of the walk trails at the Crooked Brook Forest Reserve, which is nestled in jarrah woodlands, about 10 km from Dardanup off Crooked Brook Road, and 25km (or 20 minutes) from Bunbury, in Western Australia's south west. 

I always enjoy getting out into the bush away from the stresses of life, especially on a sunny winter or spring day.  There really is something regenerating about it don't you agree. 

I was surprised when I discovered that we hadn't been to Crooked Brook for a few years despite it only being about 20 minutes from our home.  We had our grandson with us, and despite him not particularly wanting to go with us, he enjoyed running along the pathways and discovering things in the bush. 

What do Gerald Durrell and Nannup in Western Australia, have in common?

Do you ever have those "moments" when you have been talking or reading about or seen something or been somewhere and then something happens out of the blue that relates to it? I am not sure what you call those moments. 
Not really serendipity .... though the moment can prove truly delightful ...

I've just read that "analytical psychologist Carl Jung referred to it as "synchronicity" - the convergence of events. The universe's way of telling us that everything happens for a reason and there is self-awareness on a cosmic scale". You can read more here -   Wikipedia-Synchronicity

This "synchronicity" happened to me last week - which is why I say that Gerald Durrell and Nannup in Western Australia's beautiful south west have something in common. 

But first the back story.....

Winter days & an Energy Bar recipe

It's winter here down under in Western Australia. We had a slow start to winter this year. It was only a couple of months ago in June that I was rejoicing that the rain, and winter, had finally arrived and I celebrated by bringing you a soup recipe - you can see it here if you missed it - Winter Warmers

Since then we have had a very wet July and the start of August has been much the same. We had a rain front cross the coast on Friday night, and another one is due on Sunday.  In winter many of us hibernate, so it feels good to get out when we have some sunshine, or to meet up with a friend in a cafe.  

Too cold to sit here on the waterfront.....

TEDx Bunbury 2017

A few weeks ago I was excited to be able to attend my first TEDx which was being held in our home town. You might have heard of TED events. You might have even been to a TED event. But perhaps you have heard about them but never attended because you don't really know what TED is all about? 

 So what is TEDx you may well ask? 

TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

Please click on the link to learn more -  Ted - Ideas Worth Spreading


 You can experience TED for yourself here - The most popular TED talks of all time

So our TEDx  was an independently organised TED event. 

Down in the woods today - Gnomesville, Ferguson Valley, Western Australia

"If you go down to the woods today, You're sure of a big surprise" goes the song The Teddy bear's Picnic, but in this case they were not teddy bears, they were Gnomes. Thousands of them! Actually over 10,000! - though I am not sure how they counted them. 

Where were we? Gnomesville in the beautiful Ferguson Valley, about eighteen kilometres from Dardanup in Western Australia's beautiful south west.