Name this flower!

It's springtime and we're really enjoying watching the flowers pop up. Being our first spring here, every flower is a surprise! We have no idea what this glorious flower is but it's a sight to behold... each individual flower spanning bigger than my hand.

Massage wall

We have friends in Ballinyup WA who have this great wall made from smooth rocks and painted over. Tania lovingly called it their 'tits and bums' wall. Well, we have a similar wall here running from the lounge to the kitchen, except the rocks they used to build it weren't quite as smooth as the Ballinyup home. This one has little 'pokey out' bits everywhere. Trust Curt to find a good use for it. He reckons if you lean into it with your back and give just the right amount of pressure, you can massage all those little spots that are out of reach.

Curt does stuff!

We drove to Ballina the other day and bought a tank....it was gonna be a dishwasher but the tank won out...I don't believe it! Seriously though, what with the weather patterns and less rain, tanks are hard to come by, you normally have to wait months to get one as they're very rarely available for sale. So we jumped at the chance. It's a slimline one so it's sits nice and flush to the wall without blocking the view or taking up a ridiculous amount of space. I was told a woman designed it!

Racehorse goanna up a tree

This gorgeous goanna ran up a tree in the back yard when we were walking there this morning. Such a magnificent creature. Look at that skin! (Be sure to click on this pic to get a close up) I was torn between moving closer to get a better look or leaving him in peace on the tree in what no doubt is "his' back yard too. Curt blocked the hole in the roof so he doesn't live in our ceiling anymore so the least we can do is leave him in peace in his own home. Fair trade.
Nothing much going on this week. Curt's been mending things, gutters and hot water systems, I carted several bags of mushroom compost up the stairs and planted all kinds of seeds. Cucumber, basil, sunflowers, okra, nastursium, sweet potato...lots of little heads popping up this week. So lovely.
Everythings become so greeeeeeen with the rains. And those jacaranda trees are starting to bud up. Little leaves appearing on the grape vine. Buds all over the mango trees. Frog noises coming from the valley. Life is good.

More about Strangles the snake...

Look what we found hiding at the top of our water heater in the cupboard off the studio! A snake skin! I've placed my foot there so you can get an idea about size. Certainly answers the question about how big Strangles is. 7 foot! For those into symbology, the act of shedding skin, of sliding out of the old and being reborn, speaks of transformation and healing. The Greeks used the snake as an emblem for healing through wisdom. So there ya go...it's a good sign! No sign of Strangles though...maybe he's gone out to show off his new skin to his friends!

Blood red moon

Remember the eclipse of the moon last week (in Australia)? I sat out on the deck for a while, enjoying the spectacle. It not only disappeared as it does with an eclipse, it turned this amazing deep red colour. Here's a pic!

Up up and awaaaaaaay

Look what we saw from our deck the other morning...ahhhhhhh