A New Day, A New Week, A New Beginning, Same Old Blog!

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Well, it is a new day, a new week, and the new beginning for my Blog, which I hope will still be called 'A Growing Delight' when I get it all sorted out. I also hope the good things about the first blogger will remain whilst incorporating some new, improved aspects of this program - I hope there are some good things??? At the moment I'm already fed up with having to sign in all the time. Why does it say it will remember me if I tick the box? Has anyone ever been remembered yet?

I have several photos from our trip to the coast that I was going to post for GTS, but I'm pressed for time today, so I've posted this photo to represent the old (blog) being washed out to sea, and the new (Beta blog) washing in.

The Welcoming Waves

Who are we to ignore the waves of the south coast calling so urgently? We can resist no longer and will head off tomorrow for a few days. I hope the good weather experienced by Michelle and family last week will hold out for us too. On the other hand, we'll be just as happy if it rains, and so will a lot of other people.

I hope you all have a lovely week, too.

Back to Brown

Gundagai is another New South Wales town that we visited on our recent trip to Melbourne. I've often wanted to stop and take photos in this area and, as time was no object, we found two very good lookouts on hills to the north and south of the town. (Click for enlargement and more detail.)

Very long bridge carrying the Hume Highway over the Murrumbidgee River flats.

Two now unused bridges - road bridge on the left (this is where the highway used to run) and railway bridge on the right.

The hills are as dry and bare as can be.

View to the north. Green area would be irrigated from the Murrumbidgee River.

View over the town of about 2000 people.


Hume Highway descending the hill into the town.







Bridges from the south side of town.

Views over the Murrumbidgee.

If you click on this photo and enlarge it you will see a small stone cairn in the right third of the photo, among the trees. This is where the town used to be before being swept away in a flood in 1852 killing 89 of the then 250 residents.

A Change of Colour

Looking for a change of colour from dry, brown countryside, I took a short stroll around the front garden, camera in hand.



Miscanthus sinensus.











Limonium (Sea Lavender)

Smoke Bush doing its 'reaching for the sky' act.

Variegated Abelia

This is what happens when you don't prop up overladen fruit tree branches - they crash to the ground. Fortunately, this one (centre) is still attached to the tree so hopefully the nectarines will ripen in due course and then we'll remove the branch.

Trees, trees and more trees!

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All of these photos were taken on our recent trip to Melbourne. There were many more that I would love to have taken but it's not always easy to stop the car on a main highway to take photos, even though Richard offered to do so many times.

The first six photos were taken in Holbrook-Tumbarumba-Adelong areas of southern New South Wales.











Next three were from Gundagai.





Last four were taken at Berwick. Once a beautiful town in its own right, it is now an outer suburb of Melbourne.

Flowering gum.

Another variety of flowering gum (eucalypt).

Lemon-scented gum with smooth, creamy trunks.

Jugiong, NSW.

Jugiong is a tiny town of about 200 people, situated approx. 350klm southwest of Sydney, on the Hume Highway. In the past, one of Jugiong's claims to 'fame' was that, as it is situated at the bottom of a steep hill, the approach from the south side became a very lucrative speed trap since it was almost impossible to maintain the speed limit on that steep hill. However, the highway now bypasses the town and we had to drive off the main road in order to reach the lookout above the town from which these photos were taken.

Poplar trees at the approach to the town from the north.



Willows, Eucalypts, and possibly a few other decidious trees growing along the Murrumbidgee River.


Vineyards on the hill but I'm not sure what the crop is on the flat, possibly lucerne.

Murrumbidgee River on the right in the distance. Tall thin trees are Poplars.







Some readers have been surprised that there is so much greenery, but anything that is remotely green contrasts markedly with the extreme 'whiteness' of the landscape. The brighter green trees are decidious trees which are able to cope with short periods of dryness as they only have to produce flowers/seeds/leaves over a period of a few months and then remain dormant over the winter. The other trees are mostly eucalypts which are evergreen, although they continually shed and grow new leaves throughout the year. Whilst these trees are very hardy, and can even regenerate after bushfires, prolonged drought takes its toll, as evidenced by the hundreds of mature trees which we saw dying just on the 600klm trip to Melbourne. How many thousands/millions of trees are dying across the country?