Puddles And Spuddles

I am recently home from a quick visit to Perth for a few days.  It was nice to catch up with kids, grandkids and parents, as well as a visit with my old Willetton cross stitch buddies for a few hours.  Steve stayed home and tended the animals, and Neo expressed his displeasure at my leaving him by hiding behind the bed when I got home.  It didn't last long and he's been a big ball of sookiness ever since.  :-)

 The most important piece of information to come from my Perth visit was to find out what my granddaughters had named the ducks.  Riley named the white headed duck 'Puddles' (with Sparkles a close second), while Stevie went for rhyming and decided the black headed duck should be known as 'Spuddles'.  :-)
Here are all the feathered ladies out and about and another shot of Spuddles enjoying a float around in her little bath.  I must keep an eye out at the tip for a unwanted clam shell paddling pool thingy, I reckon that would be perfect for them, doesn't hold too much water but is a bit bigger, but would be easy to tip up and empty each day.

Steve stripped the last of the apples and persimmons off the fruit trees, which meant that the nets could finally come off until spring.  It may not seem so but the trees have all put on a good amount of growth.  When the leaves finish falling we'll do some pruning.

This is a Fuyu persimmon cut in half, aren't they beautiful!  And so lovely and sweet.  I can't really describe their taste, although Paul thought there was a hint of rockmelon flavour.  They are really crisp and juicy, can't wait for a bigger crop next year :-)

Steve has us all prepared for winter, with piles of chopped wood ready for the wood fire.  It's suddenly got rather cold, with the wind bringing a bracing chill factor on top of that.  The fire has been burning for the last week, and Neo is in warm pussycat bliss.

Yesterday I finally downed my spade, I have finished digging out the lower end of the creek.  Now we wait expectantly for it to start running and see what happens....

 Here are two of our four legged neighbours, it's so nice having them next door to say hello to.

Do you remember scrawny little Rabbit who was just venturing out of Lucy's pouch in March?  She's grown hasn't she!  Little cutie pie, and she is an independent joey now, no longer allowed in the pouch, instead popping her head inside for a nurse every now and then.

I am having another go at knitting.  I suck at knitting and usually fling any efforts into the darkest corner of the cupboard.  However, I really really want to knit myself some socks.  So, after some hours on the internet, studying the fine art of using five double ended needles, I am underway.  Slow as a tortoise, but it will be interesting to see if anything vaguely sock-shape comes out of it!

We dressed up like grownups the other night, took ourselves into town, had a glass of wine and some dinner at Due South, then spent a very pleasant evening watching a performance by Celtic Thunder at the Albany Entertainment Centre.  Thanks for the tickets for our birthdays mum and dad, it was a great idea! xx

Last week we drove down Frenchman Bay Road to see the newly opened upgrade to The Gap viewing area.  A new, wide path from the footpath took us to a specky new viewing platform that hangs right over The Gap and the ferocious seas below.  Even though it sticks out further it felt very sturdy and safe, not nerve wracking at all.

The new path also extended to a viewing platform of The Natural Bridge, another beautiful icon on our coastline.

It's sort of pointless trying to photograph the depth and grandeur of The Gap and the power of the water, it always looks pitiful in photos I take.  But I did anyway.

Information signs have been added here and there about the construction.  We think they've done a really good job.