A spring bush walk

It was an overcast, mild and rain-free day last Thursday when we decided to visit the Mount Billy Conservation Area and do the Mount Billy hike. It's an easy, pleasant walk through scrubby woodland trees, some of it along a fire track so the walking is easy. An incentive was the sentence on the Walking SA website that said 'In spring watch out for wildflowers, especially orchids'. With this in mind we set off.   

The Hindmarsh Tiers form a wonderful backdrop of rolling hills and wooded slopes.

After our recent rains the forest looked refreshed and quite lush.

Of course I was keen to be the first one to spot an orchid  - and indeed I did! 

However my photograph attempts were a failure.

They all were either slightly blurry or completely out of focus.

I'll now show you Steve's photo as it is (of course) a much better image - and the lengths he went to get it.

On we strolled. That's the thing about wildflower spotting - you can't walk briskly. I was peering intently at the litter layer looking for more orchids which I have to say were rather scarce. After our first encounter I didn't see another one until the end of the walk. But what a variety of colour and style the other wildflowers presented. Some were very tiny.

 Some were very colourful.

Some were more delicate.

It was such a pleasant walk in the fresh air.

I'll finish with a couple of Steve's photos which perfectly capture the beauty, elegance and unique quality of our wildflowers. 

Where have I been this winter?

It seems so long ago that I wrote about anything, and indeed it was. Our day trip to Mannum and our cruise down the Murray River was way back in April. So what on earth have I been up to? The simple answer is nothing much and that has a lot to do with Covid still hovering about and the unbearably wretched wet and windy winter weather. It's been so cold that venturing out even to the letterbox has to be achieved with clothing equivalent to an Antarctic expedition. Ok - so I've embellished that a bit but honestly, I'm over all these layers of clothing I have to put on.

Three visits

1. Daughter Kate put in a most welcome visit in June. We didn't do much except cook, eat, and watch old movies. A wonderful sojourn.

And she cleaned the washing machine for me!

2. A bright spot the following month (July) was a visit from my Melbourne friend Kim. Her initial visit was curtailed when she was laid low-ish with Covid but she eventually made it here. We went to all the places that we show visitors when they visit our bit of the Fleurieu peninsula, and did all the nearby scenic walks. And she brought some sunshine with her.

A walk over the causeway to Granite Island.

Watching the iconic horse-drawn tram wending its way across the Causeway.

And enjoying the views from the many lookout points. 

Then it was off on the Coastal Heritage Walk. Luckily, the sun shone and the rain kept out of sight, a minor miracle. How lucky we were. Looking at this photo you'd never know the miserable weather we'd been having.  

We looked for whales but no luck on this day.

As a break from sightseeing, Kim accompanied us to our community radio station one evening where Steve and I were filling in for a presenter on holiday. I had selected the music and introduced each track while Steve nobly (and expertly) ran the board for me. It was all my favourite music from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Kim took this 'in action' photo with Steve responding to something I had said.

Another day we energetically climbed the Bluff...

... and were rewarded with a lovely coastal vista. 

A trip to Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills included a visit to the home of iconic Australian artist Hans Heysen, where we joined a tour that took us around the garden and into his house and studio. 

The next day it was off on the Cockle train for a half-hour journey along the coast to Goolwa.

Blurry photo taken on board but you can see how close we are to the sea.

We did a brisk walk along the Murray as, despite the clear skies, it was very cold.

It was not all exercise and sightseeing. I made sure time was available for my favourite cocktail - a Pisco Sour! 

On Kim's final day we ventured to Port Elliot for another walk and a browse in the shops.

This time we saw pods of dolphins frolicking off-shore, but unfortunately they declined to be photographed.

Gardening notes

Gardening has all but ceased but I did get out and do a spot of weeding recently. Here are some winter delights.

    

                                                               

 

3. A week or so later in August and my friend Maggie from Tasmania arrived for a couple of days. We hadn't seen each other for a while so it was lots of chatting, eating and relaxing. 

The raspberry friands I made were a hit, though when I texted Kate to show her, the auto-correct named them (rather fittingly I thought) 'raspberry friends', so it's 'friends' from now on. I'm afraid they don't actually look like friands either because I haven't got a friand tray so I had to improvise with my muffin tray, hence the un-friand-like shape. 

And of course a visit to La Casa Dos Viejos isn't complete without my Pisco Sour. Steve thought it hilarious that his photo of us with the film poster for 'Attack of the Crab Monsters' in the background only showed the word 'Monsters' above our heads!!!! 

All too soon it was time to go. Another wonderful visit. Friendship is priceless.