A flash of blue

 Spring has sprung, even on the road sides.

Rounding a bend on the way to Pelican Point yesterday brought the sight of a flash of blue beside the roadside. I don't know why I've never noticed it before. A sea of grape hyacinths, bringing some beauty to a normally drab stretch of road. 

There were a few times when I'd driven past a scene along the drive and turned around to get a photo,  before the drizzling rain sent me back to the car.

There is certainly no shortage of water around these parts at the moment.


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Taking the back roads

Well I've come out the other side of the school holidays intact, but my sanity has taken a beating. Kids are just bloody relentless aren't they?

The last Friday before the holidays begun, I'd been over to Pelican Point setting up the holiday house for visitors. This being the last opportunity to be on my own for a couple of weeks, I decided to take the scenic route home, down Three Chain Road.

I'd driven along this backroad before, but had never noticed the turn off to Lake Bonney, and set off on an adventure along a bumpy little track. 

Lake Bonney is a coastal freshwater lake that spans 23 kilometres and 4 km wide, in the Canunda region.  Truly amazing. It was a popular place in the old days for boating and the like. Due to being polluted it wasn't used for a long time, but these days, the all clear being given the possibility to throw in a kayak is real.

It was a refreshing little drive home for me. Fresh air, and fabulous views of the towering wind farm, sheep grazing on the greenest pastures, and the lake. I love the ranges as I get closer to home, the mounts that surround me like a welcoming hug. There presence on the horizon is so comforting.

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Wattle Range Photographic competition 2018

The Wattle Range council photo competition is on again. I attended the opening, on the evening of the 6th of July at the Millicent library gallery. I've chucked a link to the librarys facebook page so you can have a look at some of the winning entries. 

There were over 400 photos entered from 74 photographers. It is wonderful to have our council area on show like this, and I believe we are the only council area in South Australia who has a competition exhibition, where photographs are used in a free council calendar.

Photographs entered must be taken within our local council area, with several categories of entry, like people, business and industry, black and white and landscape.

I didn't get any prizes for my photographs, so many amazing photographers in our region. I do enjoy entering and being a part of it. I enjoy putting my perspective of our council area in with the mix. Community is so important and I am proud of our community and what our area of South Australia has to offer. 

Photographs from the competition are chosen to feature in our local council calender for the following year. These are my entries I put in for this year. I was lucky to have a couple of photos in this years calendar, so hoping I'll see a couple of these in the 2019 calendar!

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Yallum Park homestead

Contrary to popular belief, usually those beliefs that go on in my own brain, I do manage to do shit away from the four corners (well six actually) of my home without the shitheads that relentlessly test my sanity. Namely, three kids, one who is an adult, and a equally childish husband. It is rare, and when the opportunity strikes, you can bet, I am jumping in the car like some sort of demented magician and disappearing.

I was under the impression that the Yallum Park open garden day finished at 2pm. So when I finished baking a sourdough loaf at 1pm and googled the actual times of a 4pm finish, I chucked on scarf, grabbed my camera and handbag and said, "hasta luego" to my people and dashed out the door.

Yallum Park is  an eight minute drive from Penola in South Australia's south east, gateway to the Coonawarra wine region.

The Yallum Park homestead is a Victorian mansion, built for John Riddoch between 1878-1880. John Riddoch was a Scotsman who had made it rich in the goldfields. It is one of the best preserved historic houses in Australia, boasting original wallpapers, 500 pounds worth of gold leaf trims, 11 Italian marble mantle pieces, cut glass door knobs and five acres of gardens, including 70 different types of conifers. 

Some of the noted famous people who haved stayed here are English novelist Anthony Trollope, King George V(when still the Duke of Cornwall), Adam Lindsay Gordon, and many other princes and political dignitories.

Along with the five hectares of garden, the house was also open for tours. The open garden day cost $8 per person, with a tour of the house and extra $10. I was not lucky enough to do a tour of the house, but caught a glimpse through the verandah windows of the well preserved bedrooms, with original carpets and furniture.

Yallum Park homestead and the way it has been preserved by the Clifford family is a credit to our region and is well and truly worth the visit if you ever have the opportunity.

I do love the drive to Penola, the trees that line the road are amazing and took a couple of photos along the road, of the gums making a cathedral arch, and the red growth of she-oaks on the way home. The afternoon light that made them more amazing is not justified in the last two photos.

I am ever so glad I took off in the car this day and saw it for myself. As I walked down the driveway and the house came into view, I was awestruck by it beauty. It is a vision and experience that can only be appreciated in real life. Breathtaking!

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