Sculptures at the beach

It has been a very difficult week with the loss of a very dear friend. 
Today we decided to get out and headed to Brighton, a beach suburb of Adelaide, as there was a display of sculptures on the beachfront.  We had a great day out and enjoyed the fresh air as we strolled along the beachfront.  The weather was perfect too, such a bonus, as we have had heatwaves here over the last few weeks and I am definitely over it.
I hope you enjoy my photos.


The Nippers (I think) marching along the beach



Brighton Jetty



Lonhearted - This magnificent lion was made from scrap metal, tools etc.

A lovely Kangaroo

I think this represented muscles of the human body - should have remembered the description

A

Love this sculpture



I think the kangaroos are my favourite, but then again the next one.....

 

Magnificent

Thursday 21st January

Not much has been happening around here - it is just too hot to be doing much at all.  Today is 35C again and very humid.  It is difficult to get a good night's sleep, and keeping up with house work and watering the garden is about all I am managing to do.  Now that I mention the garden - my tomatoes are looking very sad, I think they have the dreaded Russet Mite so I have sprayed them but I think they are not going to produce much at all.  I am really disappointed as they were looking so healthy last week but I think this last bout of very hot weather has been too much for them.  I have decided that I am not going to plant tomatoes next season as over the last few years, but not every year, the results have been pitiful despite the watering and fertilising, not to mention the time I spend talking to them!  I think I will plant flowers as I am sure they will give me more satisfaction.




Adelaide sunset last night

The lovely sunset last night was beautiful and makes you feel happy despite the heat.

Despite the hot weather this beautiful grevillea is looking good

My Evelyn rose has managed to produce a few lovely blooms.

Sunday Selections

This my first  post on Sunday Selections.


I am enjoying the photos posted by other bloggers and hope you enjoy my selections.


I like taking photos around where I live and these are some lovely old rustic cottages in the Tea Tree Gully area.  The first photo was taken in winter a couple of years ago and I went back recently and took another couple of photos as I am not sure how long it will remain as the property is deteriorating.  The other photos are of a few other rustic buildings that I think are very interesting.

Breakneck Cutting cottage in winter



Breakneck Cutting cottage in summer

Breakneck cottage

 


Lovely old cottage at Inglewood

Old barn at Inglewood

Inglewood

Fox & Firkin - a lovely old restored building

"Welcome back to Sunday Selections!

This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs.

The rules are very simple:-

1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title

2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post

3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted."Sunday Selections

A new addition to the family

We have a new family member -   a grandpuppy!  He's very cute and like grandchildren we can just go home and leave him with his own family which makes it a very enjoyable relationship for us and leaves us free to travel in our caravan whenever and where ever we want to go. He's so cute that I don't like leaving him, but he has 2 very attentive and loving children to keep him company.

Closer to home

Well it's far too hot to do anything in the garden, and in fact all I feel like doing is sitting around with the air conditioner on.  The weather has been in the high 30C for a few weeks now and I am getting sick of it.  I always said I liked the hot weather better than the cold but I think I am about to change my mind.  I decided that I had to get out and do something so we went for a drive into the hills in the north east of Adelaide as I wanted to get some photos of some of the old cottages that might one day be demolished or just fall down because they are not being looked after, and once they are gone no-one will remember them, so I decided to take some photos and then I will do some watercolour paintings.  There have been so many lovely old buildings around that have now been demolished and we wish we had taken photos before the developers came along. 


Old house in Gumeracha

We stumbled across this lovely old house when we were trying to find Kenton Park, which was originally Capt. Randall's father's house, who was the first man to navigate a steamship up the River Murray, and who eventually settled in Mannum.  We couldn't get to see Kenton Park as it is concealed in a large area of mature trees and undergrowth and a new housing estate has been developed around the original property.

Breakneck Cutting cottage

 The cottage I call "Breakneck" is situated on the main road to Mannum and is near Breakneck Cutting.  This cottage has been in this dilapidated state for many years now, and I am surprised that it is still standing, but it has been fenced off and secured so hopefully it will remain as it is or maybe somebody will restore it.

Tea Tree Gully - old barn

 This is another "find" when we were on a "back road".  I love the  stone work on these old buildings.


Inglewood Inn- one of our favourite places to have a meal

The Inglewood Inn is a landmark in Tea Tree Gully, and we have enjoyed many meals here over the years, but in the last couple of years it has undergone a "makeover" and is better than ever, and the views from the dining area at the rear of the building makes for a perfect way to spend a few hours and in winter it is so cosy with the lovely woodburner.

Photos of Darwin

Here are some more photos from our trip to Darwin.  We spent a week there and then moved on to Kakadu but I will post those photos separately on another post.

The US George Washington in Stokes Harbour, Darwin.  Crustaceans Restaurant is dwarfed by the huge ship.

 

Crustaceans Restaurant, Stokes Harbour, Darwin

Darwin view from around Fanny Bay

View of  Darwin

US hovercraft at Lee Point

We drove out to Lee Point as the US Navy were loading their Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV) onto the hovercraft which arrived on the beach.  We saw a small speck on the horizon and within minutes the hovercraft had landed on the beach, what a sight with a lot of noise and sand being blasted onto the beach.  The Australian Military Police were supervising the area and the US marines were very welcoming and showed us around their vehicles, we were very impressed by it all and lucky to be so close to the action as part of the Talisman Sabre war games.






Ron at the Military Museum

Darwin Military Museum

The city of Darwin is a very modern city with lovely beaches for walking and the area around Stokes Harbour has lovely restaurants and a wave pool which is very popular.  We also went out to the Military Museum and spent a few hours there and had a good look around at the many displays both inside and outside, we could have spent more time there but we were struggling with the heat a little, even though it was only in the 30's C, we had come from the winter in Adelaide and needed a bit more time to adjust!  I am embarrassed about this as I left Adelaide because of the cold winter and was looking forward to the warm weather in the north!

View of Darwin



Sunset at Darwin