A little closer to home.....

After our fabulous weekend in West Gippsland it was time to spend a week or so closer to home.  Bill had been away in Townsville for most of the week and he didn't come home until late on Saturday night.  He had been lucky enough to spend the day exploring and found a few little feathered friends to keep him amused until he caught his plane home.  

The next day we just spent at home with a walk up to South Melbourne for lunch at Panette's before settling in for a quiet afternoon and evening at home.

The following Saturday we walked into town so Bill could visit the barber as he thought he was looking a bit shaggy.  While he was being made beautiful again I went for a walk to Myer to pick up a few things from the final weeks of their sale.  

Crossing the road into Australia on Collins I found that the decorative balls of wool had all been replaced by some very colorful umbrellas in plant pots.  A wonderful and whimsical display reminding us of the fun and festive days ahead during Springtime in Melbourne - so the website says.  Walking home again after lunch at Lorca's we decided that a quiet night in was the way to go.

The next morning we packed a picnic lunch and set off to visit Coolart at Somers on the Mornington Peninsula.  We love coming down here to spend a few hours wandering around the fabulous woodlands of this lovely old homestead.  Of course the manicured gardens are nice too but it is a bit further afield where we find some lovely birds on most occasions and today didn't disappoint.  I must say the first bird I saw was the easiest to photograph as it is a bronze sculpture.

It wasn't long before Bill was snapping away at some lovely little feathered creatures and we  were able to lose a couple of hours quite easily.  It was as we came back to the gardens for our lunch that we came across this handsome fellow just watching the world go by from his vantage point high above the other trees.  The Black Shouldered Kite just sat there watching for ages and gave Bill lots of time for photo opportunities.

After lunch we headed out again this time taking the wetland track and spent some time in a couple of hides watching the water birds.  The second and largest hide looks over a lagoon where just in front of us were dozens of Ibis nests.  Most of the birds had chicks and together with another couple there we were fascinated by the antics of both the parent birds and the chicks.

Soon after it was time to say goodbye to our feathered friends and make our way back home.  The new Peninsula freeway has not long been open and this made the trip both ways much quicker - and all with no tolls - bonus!  

Once back at home we set about getting ready for another week.  Bill was traveling again and my job was to get ready for a camping trip to Linton the following weekend.  The weather seemed to have turned the corner after our very cold start to Spring and we were looking forward to seeing some sunshine at last.  But right now it's time to go

until  next time.........