Belonging and choosing happiness

Sol-y-Sombra Spanish Dance Company

It's December and things are winding down towards the end of year and Christmas, or is it winding up as we plan our Christmas festivities?

For us in Australia at least, this time of year brings with it the end of the school year, summer holidays and the closing of groups we belong to for the year. I belong to three groups: a writing group (once a month), photography group (once a month) and a dance group (once a week). I will miss these people, my friends through shared interests, over the break till we meet again in January or February next year. 

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A walk through Ambergate Reserve, Busselton, Western Australia

pea flower growing over grass tree

In late October we visited with new friends who we had met at Mt Augustus in the Pilbara during our July trip.  They only live about 45 minutes south of us. 

I had been wanting to visited Ambergate Reserve at Busselton and they were happy to come along for the bush walk. It was spring time and the area was ablaze with wildflowers along the four kilometre bush trail. I wonder if they realised what they were putting themselves in for  - it was spring, the wildflowers were fantastic,and I had my camera with me!

Only 9km from Busselton, Ambergate Reserve is a 75 hectare remnant of the southern Swan coastal plain woodland, much of which is now cleared.  The Reserve contains a wide variety of vegetation types and includes both natural and artificial wetland area.

 

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Hello sunshine yellow and lemony delights

Yellow is such a happy colour don't you think?  I love it when the yellow daisies start to flower in my front garden.


 To me yellow is also the colour that says summer. In Australia spring is on the wane and summer is moving in. My front garden is starting to put on its brilliant summer display -  red Coral Bush, purple/blue Agapanthus, yellow daisies, green kangaroo paws, pink hydrangers, roses, and sprawling nasturtiums. Someone called Agapanthus "Aggie's Pants" the other day - I love that.

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Walking down memory lane

This is not what I was originally going to blog about today. But it was my birthday on Saturday and my sister sent me the most amazing gift, hand made by her. She makes beautiful greeting cards - they are works of art. Her gift came in a hand made and decorated box, a piece of art itself. Inside was the most beautiful book, which folded out as it opened, with pages decorated around photos of us as children, and adults with our Mum and Dad.  I will treasure this very special gift.

Can you see the message: "Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters".

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Cook it, plate it, take a photo, and pack it for a picnic

Prawns in Penang

It has been a little while since I have done much food photography as life seems to have gotten in the way over the last few months.  Any food photography was at best just a snapshot before I ate it! 
This is a pic of a delicious food-hall dish we ate in Penang in October.


So last Monday, my day off work, I rectified this and had a day in the kichen cooking and taking pics.  I have just bought a long cable so I can attach my camera to my laptop while I am shooting. This is called "tethered" shooting. You work through "Lightroom".

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Continuing my Project 365

Hi everyone! Welcome back.  I am now into the last two months of my Project 365! I can hardly believe that the end is in sight and that I have managed throughout everything that has happened this year to keep going faithfully taking a photo every day. It is a habit now, though sometimes it is a quickly snapped shot at the end of the day.

 

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Exploring the Kennedy Ranges, Western Australia

Hi everyone, as promised I am back with my Pilbara trip account. This time from the Kennedy Ranges in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Last post you may remember we camped at Mount Augustus. If you missed it, you can catch up here - Mount Augustus walk trails

We left Mount Augustus just before 9am in the morning. It was another beautiful blue sky day. We had about 260 kilometres to cover over gravel roads to get to the Kennedy Ranges, although we found the road was in pretty food condition, varying between sandy flood plain country to rocky through the mountains - watch out for the sharp dips, and drive to the conditions.

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Penang travel tips for first timer

I don’t profess to be a Penang travel authority. Far from it.

The last time we visited was in 1995. We were there as part of a Western Australian team competing at the Penang International Dragon Boat Festival along Gurney Drive.  We didn’t do a lot of touristy things, mainly went for long sweaty runs along the roads and beaches, and paddled madly at the regatta, although we did have a few days after the regatta finished to have a look around.

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Penang in bloom

We have just returned from a lovely week of R&R in Penang. After the emotions of the last couple of months the timing couldn't have been better for us. We must have known something when we booked in February!

I have always loved tropical gardens and the gardens of the Park Royal Hotel where we stayed were amazing. 
 Our first view - welcome -


I could easily have just laid by the pool and done very little. Nice? Wouldn't you just love to have just a little bit of this garden at home?








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Mount Augustus walk trails, Pilbara, Western Australia

Have you ever been to Mount Augustus in Western Australia’s Pilbara region?  We hadn’t before this last July. I wondered why we had never been there before! If you missed my first blog post about it you can catch up by clicking here – Wildflowers that bloom in the red rock of Mt Augustus

Mount Augustus, or Burringurrah, as it is known by the local Wajarri indigenous people, is the largest rock in the world. 430 kilometres from Carnarvon via Gascoyne Junction or 360 kilometres from Meekatharra, via gravel roads either way, it is easy to explore Mount Augustus from the Mount Augustus Outback Tourist Park, located only a short drive from Mt Augustus National Park. If you stay a few days you can enjoy the numerous walk trails through Mt Augustus.

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