I’m still baking bread, but these days I’ve changed my method. The bread machine is still my number one helper. It mixes, kneads and raises the dough. I do the second knead and the proofing, and of course, the baking. When I get it right, the loaf is really wonderful.
One thing that can’t be beat is the smell of fresh bread.
On the way back home we visited Mount Gibraltar – a hill between Mittagong and Bowral. It had some great views west into the Greater Blue Mountains region.
I hadn’t noticed that there were so many significant peaks (and troughs) out there. The closest peak on the right is Mt Jellore, in the middle of a state forest of the same name. The plateau behind it, hubby thinks, is Yerranderie, all the way by Lake Burrangorang.
Even though it was overcast that day, it was clear enough to see all the way to the Upper Blue Mountains. Brilliant.
We took a drive through the neighbouring village of Tallong, out to Badgerys Lookout. It too is on the edge of the escarpment, but I’d never seen such expansive valleys before in the Southern Highlands. The river below eventually joins up with the Kangaroo River, which eventually flows into the Shoalhaven.
The bush looked much barer and drier at this end of the Shoalhaven Catchment. It also looked as if landslides were a frequent occurence.
When we emerged from the bush we were greeted by these views.
Below, Bundanoon Creek carves through the landscape towards the Shoalhaven River. I was surprised that the Shoalhaven River catchment stretched right up to these parts. The mouth of the Shoalhaven is all the way at Nowra (not too far away from Gerroa). I was to find out that the catchment area is very big indeed.
We encountered quite a few scribbly gums along the way.
These insects certainly have been busy ‘drawing’ during the year.
The gullies gave way to pretty open dry eucalypt forest. There was evidence of fire from seasons past, like this half-burned tree.
On the group, pre-spring was in full-swing with plenty of wild flowers in bloom.
Rice flowers.
Bacon and egg peas.
Native orchid.
We will be heading back into the bush, not too far from home. We spent a weekend in the Southern Highlands at the end of August. We chose to stay at Bundanoon at quite an extraordinary bed and breakfast called Yallambee. The house was on a suburban street, but right next to the boundary of Morton National Park. It was clear but windy when we took our walk to the lookouts.
First we walked through some cool gullies with plenty of fern and moss.
The morning light under the canopy was soft, making the ferns very photogenic.
Hello, it’s Bridie Beagle here. It’s been many months since I’ve appeared on the blog. Probably because my parents have been busy travelling here, there and everywhere during the winter. I’ve been at home, sleeping inside when the weather is horrible, and getting a suntan outside when it’s not.
I was really glad to visit the beach though. It’s a rare experience for me these days, so I like to make the most of it.
First, I sniff out a strand of seaweed, and make my mark.
Then I go on to the next one. And then the next, and the next after that, until I’ve sniffed every bit of seaweed along the beach (I have to be thorough).
I get so carried away at times that Mum and Dad think I’ve forgotten them. But I haven’t. I always come back.
The view of Broken Bay was breath-taking as usual.
We noticed changes to the beach since the autumn. The sandbar has grown, so the beach at low tide was expansive. There had also been some regeneration work in the sand dunes which was much needed.
I didn’t get to sketch that afternoon, like I did last summer.
Perhaps when the weather gets warmer.
Umina Beach on a calm winter’s day was the perfect place to be.
Static and Silence 