Amy's Parrot

 Jack testing out the new cage

 Lyra's dinner- she is a lot healthier eater than Amy, hopefully that will rub off on her.

 Ready to tuck into dinner

 Lyra is about 16 weeks old and loves to  be spoon feed still.

The bird cage set up in Amy's room.

Amy finally got her eclectus parrot this week, a female about 16 weeks old. She has called her Lyra and is totally besotted by this parrot. It is sitting on her shoulder,lying on her while she lies on her bed, hopefully the novelty will not wear off and she will look after it well. There will need to be lots of cleaning ones room, opening up the curtains and letting lots of light in and preparing healthy food, so hopefully some of these may develop into good habits for Amy as well as the bird!

Camellias in Bloom

Our camellias are out in bloom and found a good use for some little glass yogurt jars I brought back from France. So glad spring is on its way, even if you do get swooped by the magpies!

Blog from the Dogs

 Amy had her friend Andrea over on Friday, it was a lovely sunny afternoon, I think she was a bit delirious from a full week of work, so she decided it would be a good idea and take her frustrations out on me and give me a hair cut- great timing after all the minus 6 and minus 4's we have had, just cause it got to 15 degrees on Friday, didn't mean spring was actually here!

  I think she thought I was a sheep and decided to shear me like one, I might be the same colour as sheep but I am not a sheep! 

 Now they think it is funny to take photos of me half naked and post on their blog, just like showing pictures of their kids naked at their 21st birthday.

So when they finally let me go, I decided to go and curl up and have a sleep in my basket and recover from the ordeal, and guess what, my basket- the smallest one, is occupied by the biggest dog in the house- Benji- life is just not fair.

So then on Saturday I am feeling a bit cold- well what do they expect, they shaved off my winter coat, so then they decide I might be feeling the cold and go out and buy me a jumper to keep me warm- they could have saved the money and just kept my hair on!

So the jumper says SECURITY- I think they are going to start sending me out to patrol the yard- and they well may need it. Luna- that is the black and white malamute, they decided to let come live with us 6 months ago ( why they need another dog other than me I don't know!) decided to take on Dog 4- that is the chook that lives out in the back yard. I could have told Luna that Dog 4 is one tough chookie and it is not worth taking her on, I did once over a lamb bone and she beat me! Anyhow I don't know what got into Luna, she decided to pick up Dog 4 and take her for a walk around the yard. The chook wasn't protesting but Bill and Sue were carrying on like a pack of galahs, chasing Luna all around the yard. Well Luna decided it wasn't worth the fuss and put Dog 4 down, Sue quickly picked up Dog 4 and locked her back in the cage, Dog 4 went off and had a little sulk for the rest of the day but she was wandering around her cage the next morning, maybe Bill will get over this mad scheme of getting Luna and Dog 4 to be friends!

Nothing Too Exciting to Report

After the busy time I have had travelling there is nothing much to report apart from just settling back into the normal routine of life!

Some recent photos of the dogs- Luna noticeably filled out while I was away, she has also seemed to settle down and losing some of those puppy habits and has certainly learned a lot from the other dogs. She also seems to be trusting us more and a lot more affectionate and involved with the family. She really is a lovely dog.

  Jack really needs a good trim but it seems a bit cruel when we have had the minus 6 degrees in the mornings, so he looks a bit of a scruff and looks like he has put on weight, but he really hasn't.

 Benji getting a scratch from Bill with the pruning saw! Benji loves it and if you stop, he looks at you as if to say, keep going! It is also a good hair removal comb!

I have tried for a number of years to grow hardenbergia, well  we have finally found the right spot, right outside Lachlan's window, lots of sunshine and sheltered from the frost it has grown really well and is flowering beautifully at the moment. 

Closing Ceremony at the War Memorial

A Closing Ceremony was introduced at the War Memorial a while back ( I think in the last 12 months) It is a simple but moving ceremony that starts at 4:55pm and goes for about 10 to 15 minutes. They sing the National Anthem, lay some wreaths while the bagpipes are played. then a member of one of the Armed Services does a short reading about one of the soldiers who died in a war and whose name appears on the Honour Board at the War Memorial. On Saturday 2nd August the Closing Ceremony was remembering Robert Bond Middleton of the 23rd Battalion who was my great-great uncle. He fought at Gallipoli and then at the Western Front where he died at the battle of Pozieres in France, his body was never recovered. My mum came up from Melbourne for the Ceremony, it was her great uncle. It was a moving ceremony and an honour to be a part of it and remember all those soldiers who have fought for our country. 

Mia and Pam laid the first wreath

 Charlie and I then laid a wreath. Charlie wasn't too sure about the whole thing, too many people watching him!

 Charlie, Sue, Mia and Pam after the Ceremony

                             Another shot of the four of us- Charlie, Sue, Mia and Pam

Mum and I