Evening Glory…

This is the small courtyard at the front of the house where Mitch has his evening dinner. It is a private, tropical looking space and I like to sit on a bench and watch the evening settle in as Mitch chews on his bones.

Most of this week it has been showery, overcast days, with the sun just making intermittent appearances. The rain has created a lush, green environment and today the sun came back out.

Looking over the back fence I noticed the setting sun creating a misty, aerial perspective. I had to rush in and grab the camera.

It caught The tips of the azalea on the corner of the neighbour’s garden.

And turned the bottle brush into tiny torches.

The grand, old tree across the road slowly sinks into the shadows.

This will be an apartment dwelling to thousands of insects and other creatures and I picture them all settling down for the night, or maybe just waking up to spend the night foraging.

We have been here 2 weeks now and only another 3 days before we go back home. How quickly the time has passed.

Time for walkies…

One of the main things I have to do on a house sit is “walk the dog”. All dogs love going for “walkies” and Mitch is no exception. It is also a good way to explore the new area.

So would you like to come with me for the afternoon walk?

The house is on a spur high above the surrounding bush, and it is hilly. Just across the road is where Mitch is taken for his morning walk, before breakfast!!! Then again at precisely 4-30pm…

That hill is very steep, it feels almost vertical and it certainly got my heart pumping.

I had to stop, catch my breath, and, of course, take a photo. I think Mitch was quite pleased to sit down and wait for me.

Almost to the top. This is my second stop, (puff, puff, puff) another photo of the view looking back down the hill. Are you still with me?

There is a picnic area with free BBQs and these lovely gum trees were casting elongated shadows, pointing the way through an avenue of trees

Finally we reach the summit and find a bench (this is for you Jude) and look at the view. It is late afternoon and you can see my long shadow.

But the walk isn’t over yet. What goes up must come down. So now I head down the other side of the hill.

This is not so steep, it has a path that winds gently down through the bush and steps make the descent easier.

It is an attractive and well maintained piece of bush and plantings of bottle brush, Grevillea and various other species line the track. I had to stop to photograph this unusual white bottle brush.

Mitch looks back “come on” he seems to be saying, “we are supposed to be walking”…

We finally reach the end of the track where it comes out onto a road, so now we turn round and go back up the track and the steps to the summit. It is still quite steep and a challenge going in the opposite direction. But here we are back at the summit.

This is the view inland over the Border Ranges. More areas to explore.

Just as we reach the bottom of the hill this fit young thing swished by.

That was my first walk with the dog, the day we arrived. It is now 3 days later and I have scaled the hill five times. I am very pleased to report that this morning I made it to the top without a stop…

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Restless jo is an avid walker and her latest ramble was on the Algarve border. She has inspired a cyber group of walkers from around the world to take us along on their walks. You may like to join them.

Welcome to my new house sit family…

This is Lenny, a Burmese cat and he has a brother.

Rainey is the cat closest to the camera. How do I know? Well because they are like peas in a pod Sue has put a dot of red colour on Rainey’s tail. But, though they look so alike, they have quite different characters.

Rainey is the extrovert, he winds around your legs, talks to you all the time and loves sitting on your knee. Can you see the red blob on his tail?

Where as Lenny is more aloof. He likes a pat and attention, but prefers to sit on his bed up in the top of the cupboard.

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Then there is adorable Mitch. He is a real gentleman. Polite and well-behaved. We have bonded and he follows me around, padding along 2 inches behind me.

Here he is waiting for me as I check the messages on the computer.

But they are not the only members of our new family. Sue and Norm (the home owners) love all wild life and they have an adopted clan of wild birds that they feed.

So the birds are also part of the extended family that we care for.

Jack is feeding a pied butcherbird, just one of many that arrive through the day and tap on the windows or sing out for their food. They form a constant source of enjoyment.

Meanwhile Mitch waits patiently for any meat to be dropped for him to vacuum up.

So we have settled in to our new home and I’m sure you will be seeing more of our surrogate pets over the next couple of weeks.