My Bright Field

  Some weeks ago Sandra commented that the appearance of wattles is ‘sprinter’ with real spring around the corner. We have certainly been sprinting to spring this year with an unseasonably warm end to winter.  On this first day of Spring, it is bursting out everywhere about me both in the city and the country. 

The season is in transition with winter flowers still blooming and the early spring flowers coming along. The almond tree blossom, always the first, arrived bang on time on 1 August. I am getting excited to see what else has emerged when I return to Kandos tomorrow.  

  Winter is beginning to turn, the weather in Sydney is now very pleasant so we have continued to spend as much time as we can in our city apartment. After a brief stint at home in Kandos to prune the roses it was back to relaxing city days with excursions to the art gallery and fish and chips by the sea at Manly.

  Winter may be dreary but there is one thing that is cheery ... the golden wattle. This photo was taken our bush block this last week. Styphelia is another winter flowering wildflower on the block, though it is not as showy.   Are their winter flowering plants that you look forward to appearing each year in your area?

 I dislike winter and we are only half way through! We have been escaping to our apartment in Penrith as much as possible because the daily temperature is often as much as 5 degrees warmer than at Kandos. While we are there we frequently find ourselves doing things in the city, like this day at Darling Harbour where more and more glass towers have appeared in recent years. With a spare day in your city where are you likely to go?

  Winter is the season to leave the garden alone and stay inside making things.  Here is an embroidery I recently finished.  The camellias are in flower to give some lift to the drab winter garden, though I am surprised that there are also some roses still flowering.  With all of the rain we have been having there is not much frost this year. How are you finding this year's winter thus far?