MY BABY TURNS FIFTY

 It's a long time since reading and writing posts. Sorry friends. I have been sick with a gastro virus again and just trying to get through the day's chores was hard. I'm feeling better now but still have nerve pain in my thigh.

 However, we have beautiful Spring weather, birds and flowers. And it is my beautiful daughter, Sonya's fiftieth birthday today. She is my youngest, my baby, all grown up. The family went to Japan to celebrate. We will celebrate later when they return and her sister can come from Melbourne.

Spring is here.

Holiday in Japan with friends.

My baby is fifty.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SPRING

 August is usually our coldest winter month. This year we have gone from Winter to Summer without any Spring in between. The temperatures this week have been in the high 20C/70F and into the 30C /80F already. I love this weather but when it gets humid too that can be uncomfortable. It can get quite warm walking around the village but the flowers are looking great:

Magnolia

Grevillea

WOE IS ME

'Woe is me' is a very old idiom meaning a way to express sadness or disappointment at an unfair situation. It is regarded as a humorous idiom these days however it was first used in the bible in the book of Job, which makes it a very old saying.

Anyway I have had a taxing time of late so this felt like an appropriate title. I had spinal surgery in May. It was to decompress the nerves from L5 to take away the pain of sciatica in my right leg. The op was successful in that the pain has gone from my right leg but now I have it in my left thigh. The pain was so bad last week that I went to ER where they admitted me to the same ward where I recovered from the op. The surgeon ordered another MRI. He says I have two problems with L4 now. So more tests are in store. I was given a different pain killer and it is working well now. When I came out of hospital, Bill was coughing and tested positive for Covid and he hadn't left the unit the whole three days that I was in hospital but neighbours called in to check on him. One f them must have been infectious but didn't know. Anyway he is getting over it and I didn't catch it, thank goodness.

Views of the city from my hospital room.

I can still manage a walk around the village everyday and I love admiring all the gardens.

A SHORT FOREST WALK

 I decided to extend my short walks from the village into Daisy Hill Forest which I can access from the village as it was built right next to the forest. There is also a public access at the end of our road just outside our main gate. However, the forest access isn't the main entrance to the forest and not many people use it, just locals. So I ventured into the forest for a short walk.

I love being amongst the trees and seeing the winter sun dancing on the undergrowth.

There is a handy log for a rest.

While sitting there I gazed at the canopy and the beautiful blue sky.

Time to head back  over the storm water culvert and I passed an artistic stump.

I can see our village peeping through the trees.

The public access at the end of our road. The village Gate 2 is on the right.

Instead of going in Gate 2, I walked along the footpath to Gate 1.You can see it is a quiet street with large properties on the other side.

When I woke up and opened the shutters I saw these cockatoos having a feast of flowers from my next door neighbour, Rhonda's garden and then fly across the street and perch on neighbour Eva's roof.

SHORT WALKS

After walking with my buddies in the early mornings, in the forest for 4k, for many years now I'm only able to do short walks around the village because I still have back problems. However, there are still nice things to see on my way to brighten my day. Looking for the positives. These photos are taken in the village gardens and the resident's gardens.

Some trees in the Zen Garden have been imported from colder climes and they lose their leaves. Most of our trees are evergreens.

My front garden

Outside the pool fence.

Zen garden.

DAY TRIP

 Bill and I have been a bag of miseries lately. Both of us have back pain. We have been staying home most of the time. However, our lovely friends, Peter and Val, asked us if we would like a drive into the country for a day's outing. It was so nice of them to offer to drive us up the ranges to Toowoomba and Crows Nest. We stopped at Fernvale Bakery for morning tea. Country towns have the best bakeries. This one has become so popular it is now a big cafe.

We parked in the backyard of the cafe where we saw this old truck now a garden sculpture.

We walked through the outdoor area of the cafe, where people were sitting in the winter sun. Some even in shorts and t-shirt. (must be from the colder southern states) Not us we looked towards the warm interior of the cafe.

A typical country cafe. Bll and our friends Val and Peter.

While waiting for coffee and cake I admired the door windows.

After our refreshments , Peter drove us over the Wyvenhoe Dam wall and into the the ranges. 

We stopped in the small town of Crows Nest for lunch at the hotel, famous for good meals. We weren't disappointed.

Then on we went to Tooowoomba and took a drive around the new international airport. By now I was getting tired and didn't take any photos. In the afternoon winter sun we headed home on the new highway down the ranges.

The days are short now and it was almost dark when we arrived home. We waved goodbye to Val and Peter and thought how lucky we are to have such thoughtful friends.