Pansies, lavender, sunsets and two cats

This is my sole pansy flower at the moment.

Hopefully they'll be blooming in profusion within the next few weeks.

Pansies are my favourite flowers.

This collage is the same photo with four different edits

courtesy of PicMonkey

I just love the way this lavender photo

has turned out.

I'm having lots of fun with my new Canon 600D DSLR camera.

The sunsets here at this time of year are spectacular!

These were taken on the shortest day of the year

otherwise known as the winter solstice.

My female manx cat

Her brother Gordon...

They look nothing alike but are from the same litter.

They're just on three years old now.

Thanks for visiting.

Hope you all like my new blog design.

I've had lots of fun this week as

the wonderful Karen Valentine brought my blog design to life.

Thanks Karen

A job well done!

Sweet peas, salvia and lavender

Spring has sprung!

I picked these this morning.

There's a crazy un-seasonal cool easterly wind blowing, so they are a bit battered looking.

Sweet peas are nearly my favourite, right up there with pansies.

They flower later up here on The Darling Downs than what I am used to in the sub-tropics.

The great thing is that they self seeded, so they came up just where they were last year and the trellis was ready and waiting, but the crop was much thicker.

The salvia was dormant throughout the long cold winter but has sprung into action the last couple of weeks and is nearly at its peak now, however will flower well until April I would think. Then I will cut it back again, it will lay dormant and the cycle will repeat.

As for the lavender, it loves the cold and flowered all winter.

After a good pruning at end of winter it has surged ahead and all the bushes

are laden with beautiful lavender heads.

The fragrance wafting throughout the house......sweet peas mixed with lavender is just heavenly.

It's a very respectable 19c here today and I wish it would never get any warmer.

Oh I do dread the summer.

However I have heard that the La Nina weather pattern has returned (I think it only briefly disappeared for a couple of months in winter) and it's looking like we could be in for a cooler and wetter than normal summer (just like the last year with the terrible flooding experienced in Queensland and some other Australian states).

 Let's hope that we do not experience the devastation of flooding and all the negatives

that come with it again this year.

The people, the local, state and federal governments and the economy

just would not be able to take it again.

Our scottish terrier, Liza, would like to show you around our garden.

Bee on Lavender

Plum Blossoms

More Plum Blossoms

Goldfish pot with wire lid,

no more stolen goldfish...

To all you cats & birds, sorry...

NOT!

Hoping to replace these crooked

stepping pavers soon,

they were here when we bought

the house 2 yrs ago

Bought these Australian Magpie garden ornaments in Canberra a couple of years ago, they are made from pre-loved corrugated iron..I just love them & when we 1st got them our dog actually thought they were real...
funny story!

Our outdoor area,

Aussie rustic style.

Bench style seat made by DH

a couple of weeks ago.

We got this timber from the end

of the street where a neighbour

had dismantled an old cattle loading ramp.

Bird Cage with ornamental bird

I could never cage a bird, even feel guilty about this fake one being caged.

Hope you have enjoyed the tour

of our spring garden.

It's a lovely time of year.

Still cool days and cold nights

but all around

the plants are blooming.

We take full advantage of this type of weather because soon the long days will be hot & rapidly becoming hotter....

YUK!

So for now it's goodbye from us

and our scotty,

Liza.

The fruit of the spirit is in all goodness.

Ephesians 5:9



-7 celcius this morning.

Well it was very cold today. The temp in the house stayed at 6-7c all day so I turned the heating on for an hr in the middle of the day. It was so cold that I didn't even take my scotty's coat off. Some of the frost tolerant plants are starting to suffer now as we have had 6 frosts in a row now.
 Walking this afternoon for 30 mins did not even raise a bead of perspiration and I was wearing 5 layers and a scarf. (Had quite a bit of pain today so the walk was very welcome. I have to wait 'til DH comes home from work to put my lace-ups on for me but I could have gone for a walk much earlier just for some relief).
Exciting times for me as I have always lived in the sub tropics. Don't get me wrong it can get very cold in Ipswich down to -3c for eg but the daytime temps would usually reach 20c or so. Anyhow it won't be long and everyone will be whinging about the hot weather.....YUK!
I'll take the cold thanks. Just have to remember to warm our coffee cups in this wintery environment as we have already lost 3 due to the sudden shock.

Here is a photo of the last of my geraniums and zinnias before winter took hold. The lavender does well here all year, actually it does extra well in the winter.

 Also I am posting 2 photos of a recent hail storm. Our plants were not too badly damaged so it was all good.
One of my favourite shows is about to start. It's called Winners and Losers and is only new this year on Channel 7, Australia. Australia's Got Talent is just finishing and I am eagerly awaiting the performance of Jack Vidgen, a 14 yr old who sings like an angel.
GO JACK!!!
His singing always makes me cry. His last 2 performances have been Whitney Houston songs so I wonder what he has in store for us tonight? Well I don't know the song he just sang and it did not make me emotional but still great.

Don't forget Where Bloggers Create 2011, get your photos ready to post on 14th July. I can't wait to see everyone's creative spaces!!!