Another bit of the Heysen Trail done

Last Sunday we decided to do another chunk of the Heysen Trail, the 1200 km track that winds from Cape Jervis on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula all the way to the Flinders Ranges. We've done small bits of it a few times. This time we were still thinking small, but turned further east.

The part of the trail we decided on was not really a trail at all - more of a trial -  as it involved eagle-eyed spotting, then climbing, innumerable stiles and going up and down pastured hills through farmland, with the very occasional Heysen Trail sign to reassure us that we were going the right way.

But the views were lovely, we were all alone, the sun shone and all was right in this part of the world.

Once on top of the hills it was sea views all around.

The perfect jigsaw! That's Kangaroo Island in the distance.

 We perfected the art of climbing over the stiles. Here are two shots of our 'stile style'.

There were always good photo ops.

 We found a nice spot for a picnic.

Couldn't resist a still life of 'backpack and cap' to celebrate the Eagles win on Saturday.

Refreshed from our lunch, we then drove 4 kms on the road that was part of the trail, then picked up the route again as it wound its way through more farmland. 

  The sign on the gate was a little disturbing.

However, all was calm and the only activities we encountered were gambolling spring lambs and their mums. They looked gorgeous and I had to quash the memory of a leg of lamb and rump steaks in my freezer at home.

We walked for a way down the farm track ...

... then headed back to the car. All in all, it was a good day and we now know what another slice of the Heysen Trail looks like.

I visit some birds ... and a waterfall

A friend of ours has just bought two peacocks and invited us over to view them. I imagined that they would be strutting imperiously around the garden, reminiscent of an English country estate. But no, they were confined to a cage in the backyard, and apparently have to stay there for three months to get acclimatised. But it was still wonderful to see their magnificent iridescent plumage and turquoise blue head feathers.

Our friend also has a large number of aviaries and some wonderful birds that he lovingly cares for. At first I got tremendously excited and so was unable to focus well. The dratted things kept flying and swooping around being birds!!!! Here are my first attempts.

                                  

I soon calmed down and got some better shots. Our friend explained the names of all the birds as we went along, but I'm afraid it all went over my head so I can't record them here, but bird fanciers among my readers may well recognise these breeds.

Steve preferred to view them from afar, but I boldly stepped into the aviary to seek the perfect shot....

... which constantly eluded me.

Perhaps with more patience and less enthusiasm, I could improve.

A week later we revisited Hindmarsh Falls, which I blogged about last year. This time round I determined to do more creative shots. First up though, a straightforward record shot of the path to the falls and a section of the falls themselves. 

Luckily after our recent rains there was a generous amount of water cascading over the rocks. 

I zoomed in to get interesting aspects of the water and the surrounding vegetation. It was a pity in a way that the day was sunny because there was too much contrast between the water, the trees and the rocks and I'm not good enough to be able to compensate for that. An overcast cloudy day would have been better for photos - but where is the joy in that?

You can see by the colour of the water how the rains have washed the mud down the river.

When I got back home I turned two of my favourites into black and white images.

Steve attempting to get the definitive shot.

 Me posing at the lookout.

And finally, some flowers to welcome spring.

All in all, a lovely day out. 

A new garden emerges

Winter has seen a change in the landscape at the Robertson villa.
When we bought the property two years ago, a thin strip of lawn ran alongside the garden path at the side of the house, opening out to a small rectangle expanse of green fronting onto the courtyard. Pretty boring I'm sure you'll agree. (Just in case you noticed, it's the angle of the camera that makes the fence look as if it is leaning in; this was the real estate agent's photo.)

I was itching for a garden. We'd only been in the house a few weeks, when I dug out a bit of lawn and created a small garden at the side and along the fence at the back.

But it wasn't enough for me. We never used the lawn as there was so little of it, although it did add a cooling element in high summer. But mowing and edging were onerous jobs in such a small space. So I took the plunge in early winter and began to dig out all the lawn and existing plants.

The first sod is turned

Three weeks of hard but satisfying work and eventually the lawn was gone. I dug in mushroom compost, mulch, pea straw, blood and bone, soil conditioner - anything I liked the sound of at the nursery, in it went.

Now, of course, I had a large swathe of soil, and it started to intimidate me. What should I plant? Did I need a theme? What effect did I want? Was this going to be expensive? I called in the services of my good friend Kathy who is a whiz at garden design, and together we planned the new garden. What I wanted was easy care, hardy in both the winter rains and in the summer heat, and pretty.

We had to get the structure right first, so after a lot of discussion we decided to put in a path and a central feature. Off we went to a landscaping place that was going out of business, so we were able to get pavers very cheap, plus a pedestal.  I was also keeping in mind that the neighbour's crimson bougainvillea falls gracefully over our fence and dominates the area for at least 5 months of the year, so that had to be incorporated in our design. If you look closely at this photo you'll see the recently pruned bougainvillea in its dormant phase peeking over the top of the fence.

Here Kathy begins planting some succulents around the pedestal.

We retained the existing frangipani, the bird of paradise, and the cumquat, and added a New Zealand flax, succulents, lavender, statice, gaura, salvia, ground covers, all with a blue/purple tinge and with white accents from the butterfly bush, daisies and alyssum. Slowly it began to take shape.

Lots of watering in with Seasol, and then I applied a blanket of small bark chip mulch.

I felt it needed some height so I purchased a standard white rose.

Of course everything looks so small and itty-bitty right now; the roses are bare, the frangipani consists of three thick bare branches, and the gaura has been clipped back to ground level. But in spring and summer it should be a delight. I swear you won't be able to see any of the bark chips. And then I'll plant some winter flowering plants so it will look good all year round.

I'll keep you posted.