Orchids and Wildflowers of Eneabba

This month the orchids and wildflowers around Eneabba have been putting on a full show for us.  These are some of them spotted the past week!

We’ve spent a bit of time looking for Orchids in the area and found a few already we’ve never seen before which is so cool.  Wesley is my enthusiastic hiking partner and will follow me into even the thickest of bushes!  I’m loving that he’s agreeable (for now) to come out and see the flowers with me.

The past week we went out to a friends house for wine and woodfired pizza, which was such a nice evening.  Wesley played with the kids and we hung out chatting into the darker hours.

Here are a few items pictured here in no particular order:

• Daddy Long Legs Spider Orchid
• Hybrid
• Crimson Spider Orchid (quite small compared to the others)
• Bee Orchid
• Blue Leschenaultia
• Pea Flowers
• Drosera flowers
• Banksias
• Bearded Dragon
• Some kind of pink smoke bush – which is soooo pretty!
• One monkey jumping on the bed
• The Coorow Greenhead Road which takes us to the ocean
• The front porch of the house which is going to be getting a lil makeover soon

We also bogged our ute while we were out looking at some of these flowers.  Oops!

Grandma Izzy

This past weekend we dropped in on Mike’s grandma in Fielding.  She is a keen knitter, baker and gardener and can often be found piecing together small squares into special blankets whilst watching sports.  Wes was gifted a one of these blankets before he was born, and it now proudly lay on his crib.  During this particular visit she asked if Mike might like to help her put together some colours for her next blanket.

And so they began the process (it’s complicated) of sorting out what the design should be.

Wes played with his Uncle Glen, and I cruised around taking photos of everyone and admired the plants.

Just about each time we have been over for a visit we have been gifted these incredible bouquets of flowers from her gardens.  I don’t think you could find nicer ones in the stores… I was handed a massive armful of flowers and have placed them in water and now we are admiring them in our kitchen.

Karri Karri & Tingle Forests

We’ve just returned from a romantic, nature filled getaway.  Mike surprised me this past weekend with a getaway in Karri Valley.  The space is breathtaking… Emu and kangaroo greet you in an open field just as you enter the estate.  Further up the road the left opens to reveal a rather massive lake (full of rainbow trout!).  If you stay in a suite, you can even fish from your balcony…

         I am so sorry but this mushroom absolutely kills me…apologies to those of you may find it offensive.

I could have just posted entirely about the fungi that covered the woods…there must have been about 15+ species that we encountered on one hike alone.  Some of the species were small and dainty while others were absolutely enormous.    

We checked in, and Mike informed me he also made dinner reservations.  There was a fantastic meal of kangaroo steak (Mikes choice) with roasted vegetables, and duck confit on a citrus salad (my choice) for us that evening.  Our cabin was three bedrooms (excessive but the only one available as there was a wedding booked in for the weekend), and came complete with a kitchen, large deck, washing machine, living room and working wooden fireplace.  I could go on and on about the tranquility and the soft drizzle of rain on the rooftop…the crackling fire, and the peace we found in this space.

The cabins were so far apart you hardly noticed there were any other visitors in the area.  No radio, no phone, no tv, no internet.  We talked, drank wine, napped…and did plenty of hiking.  Fear of heights: first non attempt.  I pretended to climb the tree in the photo above, only to watch Mike in a total panic from the base of the tree.  It was pouring down rain, and he did it anyway.  This tree is probably about 13 stories high, it is also over 400 years old.  Fire fighters used to climb to the top and scout the region and telephone with coordinates.  One of the requirements for being one of the volunteers to climb these trees was…being sober.  The image below it, is what Mike saw from the top.Mikes second attempt to get me to face my fears, was in the Tingle forests 1.5 hours from the Karri Karri woods…I basically ran through this tree top walk…the swaying feeling, and the wind put me off.  Here you can see Mike eating my dust! This region is spectacular, and for those who do manage to venture that far south…it certainly is hard to return back to the city after absorbing the natural beauty of the majestic Karri Karri and Tingle forests.

Alt-J – Hunger of The Pine 

This song played for us on the way home…it sounds quite special.

Afternoon Delight!

I thought there wasn’t much left to capture in the bush as summer has come to us with a vengeance.

How utterly wrong was I?

Despite all of the heat and drought, these plants in the bush continue to flower.  It’s such an amazing feat, we have not had rain in ages.

I certainly do not look this beautiful on a 40 degree day!

This dragon lizard posed long enough for me to take two photos.

She’s all….”these is myyyyyy flowers”.  I’m actually not sure why she was standing there like this.

Either way…

It was the highlight of the day!  She’s beautiful.

I flew home.

On Wednesday I boarded a flight back to Canada.  I did not want to miss my grandma’s memorial, and so quickly booked a return ticket.

I’m home now and missing her like hell.  I went to her apartment today, and that was really hard.

I’ve never lost someone so close to me before and as hard as I try to stay positive, I know I’ll always feel sad coming home…it just doesn’t feel right.  It’s down right upsetting.

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What is also down right upsetting is being on an airplane for 24 hours!

Between the horrible food (I’ve flown with quite a few airlines now and it’s never impressive) and the flatulence (not only mine but the whole damn plane!), and boredom…I can’t imagine how flight attendants do it!  Some of them you can really tell resent thier job, and others are like little rays of sunshine beaming through the cold, smelly, dark hull we’re all crammed into.

Since flying through China, I’ve developed a horrible dislike of the smell of airline food.  It’s to the point where a lot of times I don’t eat.  On my flight from Perth to Sydney I refused breakfast (as I’d already eaten before boarding the plane) and the flight attendant (male) asked me if I was sure…?  I was ok.

I had a short nap, and fell asleep with my mouth wide open….(which I am fortunate Mike wasn’t around or he’d have been sticking his finger in there!).

When I woke I looked and the attendant had left me a granola bar and a bottle of water.  It was so sweet.   I appreciated it.

I paid it forward later on my flight to LA, and let a flight attendant have the magazines I’d gotten through in the beginning of the trip.  She was so stoked to be getting them, I felt pretty good that I’d given her something new (gossip/fashion) to read.  Whats one mans trash is anothers treasure…

Unfortunately on this 13 hour voyage I couldn’t sleep, and sadly the in flight entertainment (United Airways – fyi) was not working for the entire plane.  I actually felt worse for first class as they would have paid a fortune….and not gotten thier moneys worth!

The only way I kept myself entertained was by getting up and walking, and “hanging out” in the washroom for as long as possible.  I checked out some little wrinkles developing on my face, washed my face….made faces in the mirror, noted that I may have some zits in development…for probably 10 mintues and then went back to my seat.  I did this a few times…

It was honestly the longest 13 hours of my life.

Another 7 hours and I was back in Canada, and a little panicked as my faithfully late dad, wasn’t there to greet me….

BUT!

All was not lost he was 10 minutes late finding me, and we headed to Commisso’s (an italian place in toronto) to get some home made italian food.  (This is dad’s favourite thing in the whole wide world).

We talked alot about grandma, and came home to find my sister Andrea had arrived to say hello.

I miss Mike.  My rock is back in Australia, taking care of the farm, and our pets…

Tomorrow is the memorial, and all of my sisters will be here by tonight, we’re wearing red as it was her favourite colour.

xo

Holly

ps: these flowers are verticordia (a feathered edge) and I’m in love with the colours and details on them….