And then it was August....

and a burst of lovely fine weather that brought with it the promise of an early Spring. The last three weeks of August has seen some warm sunny days and so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get out and about each weekend to make the most of the sunshine.

Saturday's sunshine was too good to pass up and we jumped in the car for a afternoon at Werribee where Bill gave the camera a bit of a workout. Home then to get ready for a big event. My good friend Joy, who I have known since I was 11 years old had turned 60 during the week and the party was on Saturday night. We had a lovely night at the Mitcham Salvation Army with Joy's family and friends helping her celebrate the big day. I know she had a wonderful night and enjoyed every moment of it. It was lovely to see her Dad, Uncle Harold, again and we had a good night catching up with him too. Joy's daughter-in-law made the Rainbow birthday cake and it looked amazing. A real work of art. And just a note here - not one drop of alcohol consumed.

The next morning we decided we would make the most of this taste of Spring and we drove up to Olinda for an afternoon at the National Rhododendron Gardens. It was a little early for many of the plants there but the Magnolia trees, stunning Vireyas, Camellias and Daffodils added some colour to the gardens. Lots of buds on the Azaleas & Rhododendrons so it will be a blaze of colour again in a few weeks. We might make it back but not sure yet. We had lunch in a cute little Pie shop and the Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Pie was pretty good. Who said they have to have meat in them to taste good.

The following weekend promised sunshine again but not really believing the weather man, we didn't venture too far from home, though by Saturday lunch time we decided it was too good to waste the day so put on the walking shoes and headed off to the Botanic Gardens where we spent a few hours wandering around the many pathways and lakes. It really is a beautiful place to while away a few hours and the cute little hummingbird lookalikes we found were a joy to watch. Decidedly peckish by the time we got home I decided that cooking was not an option so we walked over to the Rising Sun hotel for a steak and a nice glass of Red.

An early start on Sunday as once again the walking shoes went on and we headed off to South Gippsland to Uralla Nature Reserve. This is a 40 ha bushland reserve just a few minutes out of Trafalgar. A predominantly damp forest where Mountain Grey Gum, Messmate & Silvertop are the main species. There are beautiful damp gullies and glades of ferns along the many well maintained tracks. We spent a couple of hours exploring the reserve and completed one full round of the Donaldson Track before we decided that lunch was next and we found a little cafe in town to take care of that. From there we drove on through Moe to the Moondarra State Park and spent the next couple of hours driving through the many tracks that meander through the park. It was at the end of one of these roads that we came across the Moondarra Reservoir. This supplies the local area with water and looked in good shape with water flowing over the spillway. We enjoyed a walk here before turning the car around and heading home with the sun setting on another weekend of adventure.

Another busy week at work as August turned into September and another birthday took centre stage with yesterday being Maree's Birthday. We joined her and the family last night for dinner at Montezuma's in Parkdale for Mexican. Very yummy and good to see everyone again. Coffee at Faye & Rem's finished off the night and a quite Sunday has followed as we prepare for next weeks work. We are looking forward to new adventures in September.

Until next time......