#180

I know, it's boring, but I like photographing raindrops on leaves :D

#179

The neighbour's dam, looking very pretty. I love the weeping willows! You can't really see, but there is a flock of about 30 wood ducks at the far end of the dam.



Here is Wombat, crouched in a puddle, quacking like a duck and trying to convince them to come over to him. You should have seen the tantrum that resulted when it was time to go and the ducks still hadn't answered his call!

#178

Very pretty orange fungi at the base of a gum tree. Thankfully they were on the other side of a neighbour's fence so I didn't need to worry about Wombat wanting to play with them.

#177

What is Munchkin laughing at? See below!



A muddy driveway with lots of big puddles! Now can you guess what Munchkin is thinking? He can't wait to get out there and join in!!!

#176

One of the things I love about Australian native flowers is how tiny and unobtrusive they can be - you hardly notice the tree is flowering, but if you take the trouble to look closely, they can be astonishingly lovely, in a strange sort of way. You would not think it, perhaps, but the flowers on this Native Ash have a sweet, subtle scent as well - but you have to be right next to them to notice.

PS. each flower is only about 5mm in diameter!

#175

Munchkin investigating a half-open pine cone. He puts so much concentration into his observations!

#174

A Glossy Black Cockatoo in flight. There were a pair of them wheeling overhead. This was the best pic I could get!

#173

Wombat is big enough to pull the empty wheelie bin in by himself now. My special helper!

#172

The boys on the slippery dip - Munchkin loves it, and his interest has reignited Wombat's joy in something he otherwise hadn't been bothering with.

#171

Wombat demanded his macaroni 'al fresco' and Munchkin thought a picnic was a brilliant idea. They both napped perfectly afterwards. I can see this being repeated whenever the weather is nice!

#170

Munchkin is now learning to walk - with considerable determination. He hasn't taken an unsupported step yet, but he is very close. Thankfully (I think), he has finally learnt how to climb down from the bed FEET FIRST! Head first was getting to be a bit of a problem. Thank Goodness my boys have solid skulls. It is a mixed blessing, because the other night he waited until I was asleep then climbed out of bed to play banging toys on the floor - three times! I finally had to turn off the nightlight and tie him up in his blanket to get him to sleep!!!

#169

Gordonia axillaris - the "Fried Egg Tree"

Whacky name - beautiful flowers!

#168

Wombat looking terribly disappointed because the wind blew all the leaves off his favourite autumn tree and the frost turned them all brown and crunchy, instead of lovely colours. His cubbyhouse tree (where he is standing) is just starting to change colour, but he would not be consoled. "Never ever ever" is his favourite phrase at the moment, uttered in tones of absolute heartbreak. Poor Wombat. I think he might be a natural pessimist :P

#167

The past few days have been windy, so I have taken the boys down into the bush where it is more sheltered. It is probably only the third time we have been down here since Munchkin was born, and the first thing Wombat did was pick up a rock and throw it (not at but near) his brother... so I had to find a more creative use for rocks lol...



It is just the right size to walk through, and as Wombat says "It makes my brain work."

When he gets tired of this double spiral, I am going to try making a real labyrinth like this or this!

#166

A lovely little native flower down in the bush, whose name I am too lazy busy to look up just now...

My first thought was hibbertia - but I don't think that's right.

Dad?

#165

Munchkin is getting a lot of use out of the wet-weather overalls I made when Wombat was smaller. I love that they trail about 10cm past his toes as it keeps his socks clean (no shoes for him yet) and it slows him down enough so I can keep up!!!

#164

From Autumn... with love.

:D

#163

Munchkin the mechanic.

Steff, you will be glad to know that "Cornpopper" is still going strong - Wombat actually scoots around on it more now than when it was new (it was a gift for his first Christmas, when he was Munchkin's age), and Munchkin loves it too!

#162

Munchkin... moving in on Wombat's apple! Nothing shy about this little boy :P

#161

My camera takes great photographs of kids, flowers, insects and frogs... but it is not so good with birds! These pretty parrots are Crimson Rosellas.

#160

This week we finally got around to installing a tree swing. The boys love it. (I only have photos of Wombat though, because Munchkin's habit of swinging with his head tilted backwards means Mummy must stay close!)

#159

This time we took Wombat's tricycle to our playdate. I carried it to the top of the hill, and then he rode the rest of the way. It took quite a while before he would actually put his feet up on the pedals, and even then you can judge how fast he was going by the direction his handlebar spangles are blowing... but I was very proud of him.

More importantly, he was proud of himself!

#158

"I am slothing - what sloths do best."

(That is, word for word, what he is saying. Tigger gets misquoted a lot around here...)

#157

"Take a photo of this, Mummy."

Wombat with Carolina Jasmine.

#156

Don't you hang upside down to 'vrooom' your trucks?

#155

Today was the funeral for my great uncle Corry - my grandmother's brother. I snuck out at dawn and picked a bunch of flowers from the garden - jonquils, daisies, lavender and some lovely japanese maple autumn leaves in red and gold. Grandma was buried in the same grave back in 1997, and my great grandma is in there too, so there is a full house now.

#154

Red Lion violet - with rain...

#153

"The rain rain rain came down down down
In rushing, rising riv'lets..."

#152

'Twas a very cold autumn day so I pulled out a hand-me-down from Munchkin's cousins - a very cute little rabbit suit with mittened hands. It is really too tight for him and this will be the first and only time he gets to wear it, so I just had to get photographic evidence :P

#151

The break in the rain didn't last for long - today the clouds and dripping sky are back, and it's predicted to last all week. This beautiful orange tree fungus brightened up the day...