Summer Blues

Blue Agapanthus are common plants

in both New Zealand and Australia.

It's a sign of Summer in both our countries.

I took these photos when I was in Maldon, Australia

at Christmas.

In New Zealand 

Agapantus have been declared an invasive weed

by The Department of Conservation.

It is thought it arrived here with soldiers returning

from the second Boer War in South Africa.

It seems growing conditions here are perfect

and they can be found from North Cape

to Stewart Island, the southern most point of 

our country.

Aggies - as they're affectionately called

line the pathway to the house where we stayed.

Needless to say I felt quite at home here

thanks to the gorgeous blue aggies!

I'm joining Jeanne for 

Blue Monday

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Australian Sojourn

 I took the above group of photos at dusk

it was the most beautiful evening

and the light was quite magical.

It's times like this that I wish I had a camera

with a better lens (or two).

I love landscapes

however with my little Point and Shoot

I get limited results.

I would like more definition and I now know

from what Brian told me

it's all about the lens and the range!

I'm in the process of deciding which camera

I should buy, and weighing up the pros and cons.

I've already asked a few of you

who are keen photographers,

for your recommendations and the reason behind

your choice of camera.

Thank you for your feedback so far.

So please let me know if  you think your camera

is a great one - I would love to hear from you.

This is the main street of Maldon, Victoria

at dusk on a Sunday evening

not exactly buzzing - but I love that!

If you're interested you can see 

my previous Maldon post here

I'm joining Jeanne for Blue Monday

Judith for Mosaic Monday

and

Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer for

Our World Tuesday

Thank you all for your visits

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Thank you all for hosting!

Who'll Come a Waltzing Matilda with me?

I love ‘outback’ Australia.

In summer it is dry, hot, parched and dusty

with a raw beauty

that has found a special place in my heart.

In my twenties I lived and worked 

in both Sydney and Melbourne

I preferred Melbourne.

Maldon where our son lives 

is an historic mining town from the

goldrush days of the 1800's.

It is made up of gold miners cottages

an interesting array of shops worth perusing and

footpaths shaded by wide corrugated iron verandahs.

There are deep gutters

to cope with flooding when the rains come.

Any new buildings are governed by strict building codes

and must be within keeping of existing.

Two styles of early Australian houses in Maldon.
I was surprised how lovely some of the gardens look
considering the dry climate.
Roses seemed to do very well
and hedging using native plants were lovely.

There were interesting shops to peruse
and I bought several bits in 'Much Ado'.

How about some dinkum Aussie country music

Waltzing Matilda

We enjoyed our week in Maldon
soaking up the Australian landscape, fauna and flora!

I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt



Shane

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Five on Friday

My daughter emailed me some photos this week.

This is Megève a little ski resort village in the French alps

where they rented a chalet for a week.

She said it was very family orientated

and had everything they needed for the girls.

There was a sad note to the week for me when

my son flew to Australia to work for a couple of years....

I'm trying to see the positives...

it's not as far away as France

and the flight to Melbourne takes only 3 hours 46 minutes.

Whereas the actual flying time from Auckland to Paris

is 26 hours - add to that hours spent waiting

at an airport for the connecting flight!

On a brighter note I celebrated my birthday

on Thursday.

I was at work and we had a Tiramasu cake for

afternoon tea

I totally forgot to take a photo!

I have a small collection of bells

and this is one of my favourites...

from time to time I'll show you the others too!

Do you have a special collection?

Tell me what you collect.

I walked past this sweet little cottage recently

beautiful roses  adding character to the house.

I'm joining Amy for Five on Friday

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane