Rambling round the Block

These are some photos I took at my brother-in-law's property in Albany.  I love the way he re-uses things.

A Bush Christmas

This year we spent Christmas on my brother-in-law's property in Albany.  It's the first time we have broken with protocol and not had a sit down Christmas lunch indoors.

We started the day with breakfast by the beach at Frenchman's Bay, where we arrived so early we had the whole place to ourselves.

In the meantime our Christmas lunch was merrily turning on its spit back on the block.

The children dug holes, but buckets and spades were soon abandoned as the day quickly warmed up and the sea was a better option.

We then retreated to the shade of the verandah

where lunch was finished off with some amazing miniature Christmas puddings

Our jack russell was in lizard chasing heaven!

Albany in April

As we do most years, we spent the Easter break in Albany.

This year the weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time out walking on the beaches.

The island just off Emu Point

Emu Point

I liked the opalescence of this shell on Goode Beach

A lone fisherman on Goode Beach

A 2m python on the side of the road to Goode Beach.  He was just basking in the sun.

A spectacular orange moon over the wheat silos in Albany port.

Salmon Holes

Faded Splendour

Going to Liberte at the London Hotel in Albany is like stepping back in time.  

The London Hotel is an old hotel which has been in Albany for as long as I can remember but the current owners have worked hard to create an atmosphere not unlike a splendid old-fashioned drawing room where you can have coffee (in fact on Saturdays you will be lucky to get a seat, it has become so popular).

It also has a wine bar at the front of the Hotel which is also very popular, particularly the local oysters and chilled champage.

Albany in Winter

We spent the weekend in Albany.  Most uncharacteristically for Albany in winter, there was absolutlely no wind and the sky was blue.  We went for a ramble along the new foreshore development and the old boat harbour, which is where I took these photos.

Strolling around Albany

Strolling around Albany at the weekend I noticed that there is a lot of beautiful stonework which we don't see much of in Perth.

Unfortunately the art of stone wall building seems to be losing popularity, presumably due to the time-consuming nature of having to select each stone individually to make it all fit together.  It's a shame to think of such a wonderful skill disappearing.

The street light has obviously got absolutely nothing to do with stone walls but sometimes it's good to do something random!

Cool Christmas

We spent Christmas and the New Year in Albany. It was a welcome relief from the heat in Perth.

My brother-in-law has a beautiful bush block there and has done some really interesting things in his garden.

It resonates with me because he has recycled things and made them into decorative features.

There is also a resident frog who has lots of shady ponds to hide in.