The sixteenth anniversary of my retirement

When I was growing up in nearby Maryborough, I always really enjoyed rainy days, particularly in Summer which is usually hot and humid. A cooler day is very welcome.

The view from our balcony.

The radar map. There is a small cyclone further north which will result in more rain later in the week.

We received a bit over an inch of rain.

Our big news is that Marianne will receive her citizenship on January 26 (Australia Day) which she seems to be excited about. No doubt it is because she will have to vote in Australian elections and eat a democracy sausage as her reward. In addition, she can get an Aussie passport and we can take a trip to New Zealand later this year. By the way, Robin is going to take the train to Brisbane and another train to Maryborough on the way up. I am so proud.

Otherwise, things are much the same as usual. My doctor tells me that I am trundling along fine based on my numbers. Of course, at 78 I have slowed down. But on Saturday, we will fly to Melbourne for five days to see my nephew Ned. You might remember that Robin visited him a couple of years ago in Japan.

We watch what is happening in the US with ever increasing disgust. Neither of us will ever go there again. We hopefully will just remember the wonderful time we enjoyed all those years.

Leura - Everglades House and Gardens

 It's always a pleasure to go to Leura in the Blue Mountains (in the mountains west of Sydney) and we spent four nights over Xmas in an Airbnb. The day after Xmas was cold, dank and miserable but the following day was gorgeous so we visited a special art deco house built in the 30's along with its gardens.

It's the Everglades House and is positioned at the edge of a steep cliff overlooking a deep valley. This image from Google Earth will give you an idea of its location.

We paid our entrance fee and were warned about a red belly black snake which was lurking in one part of the gardens. They then told us that closing time was 4 pm and I remarked that they should inform visitors that they would unleash the snake at that time. If you check out the link, you will see that it is not a particularly venomous snake by Aussie standards, but it does sound dangerous.

The house and garden belonged to Henri Van de Velde, who owned a carpet underlay business. The gardens were designed by Paul Sorenson who also designed several other gardens in the Leura area. It's worth taking the time to check out both links about these men.

Yes, the tall tree is a sequoia. It's the only one on the property.

The garden features numerous terraces.

The fences are all dry-stone laid.

We descended the steps that lead from one terrace to the next.

A studio.

The owners used this area to stage plays.

The valleys of the Blue Mountains.

The patterns are repeated in other areas of the house and grounds.

Inside the house.

I hadn't seen one of these in a while.

I think this would have been a bit of a shock to the eyes each time you had a shower.

The view is magnificent, but these mountains are very prone to bush fires. Any fire in the valley would quickly race up the mountainside.

You could swim in that tub.

The prosaic side of the theatre.

It was a lovely afternoon, but my legs were complaining so it was a pleasure to sit in a chair in the shade and relax.

Hydrangeas thrive in this area.

Because Marianne and I were tired, Robin continued down the mountain and took these photos. 

No snake was encountered.

The mouth of the Margaret River

During our drive back to Perth, we detoured a few miles to see the mouth of this river.

Apparently, these can be monster waves at times that scare the best of board riders,

Nice looking steps to the beach.

The mouth.

The river flows quite quickly.

Where river and sea fight each other.

We drove further north to Busselton which has Australia's longest jetty. It's roughly double the length of our jetty at Urangan.

Park near the jetty.

Parts of the jetty were destroyed in 1978.

Some large very dark clouds were approaching, so we scurried back to the car and headed back to Perth.

It was a very enjoyable trip, though the plane journey seems awfully long couped up in your seat.