Bright

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
― Edith Sitwell.

I love being curled up in our cosy home during winter but I equally love to rug up in layers and head outdoors to explore. We're home from a long weekend with a bunch of my in-laws in beautiful country Victoria. As par for the course, I have plenty of happy snaps, so make yourself some tea and get comfy.

It was a wet and unhurried journey south through the countryside on Saturday, stopping off at Gundagai for coffee and Albury for a spot of lunch. We arrived late afternoon in Porepunkah, staying in cabins surrounded by woodland and overlooking the Ovens River. The boys loved exploring the trails and roaming the holiday park with their cousins and the occasional stray kid who joined in their games. It reminded me of the wonderful freedom to roam I had as a kid when we holidayed in caravan parks...such a sense of adventure and excitement. I went for a bit of a ramble myself on Sunday morning, capturing the quiet beauty that nature reveals in mid-winter.

On the Sunday we ventured into nearby Bright for lunch at a local brewery, a play in the large adventure playground and stroll about the town.

 We stopped for an essential post-play energy fix at Bright Chocolates. The heady aroma of cocoa hits you in the face as you walk in the door and everyone's endorphins magically lift. 

Harry and I stayed in town for an extra hour to have a Harry/Mummy date. He raced alongside the river on his scooter while I strolled behind him, then we stopped for a coffee at the Blackbird Cafe and had a peek at a few stores including the divine Christmas All Year Round store. It felt absolutely perfect walking into such a glorious store in the middle of July. Christmas in summer goes against the grain with me. I know that's odd, given that I'm Australian, but there you have it. Some mulled wine and gingerbread would have gone down a treat! I found a new ornament for our tree that I couldn't possibly leave behind and was sorely tempted to bring home the sweet four-legged fellow we saw on our way out of the store. I really feel that his name should have been Engelbert.

Sunday night we toasted marshmallows over the fire and Husband took the kids for a moonlight walk across the river. When they got back the kids played with glow sticks and the eldest two put on an impromptu dance number for the adults just before the rain set in.

Monday morning we packed up, said goodbye to the Nanny & Poppy and set off for the historic town of Beechworth to do a bit of exploring. Its such a pretty town and I could happily spend an entire weekend nosying around all the historical sites. I think a trip next Autumn is called for. We had coffee and sweet treats at the famous Beechworth Bakery, went for a wander along the main street and poked about the museum, then bid farewell to the kids and my sister-in-law, homeward bound. 

Another adventure for the boys to file away in their childhood memories.

xx Em.

Autumn in Adaminaby

We're home from a beautiful long weekend in the Snowy Mountains.

Autumn in Adaminaby is so gorgeous and we loved exploring our friends' farm which is tucked in a valley with the Murrumbidgee river running through its centre.

The Jackman and Brock spent most of the weekend side by side, bounding about the place like the goofy puppies they are.

Claire and Paul are like family to us and it was so lovely hanging out together. It was our first time at the farm. It was always on our to do list to visit but life's distractions seemed to get in the way. Not anymore. We're chomping at the bit to return already and we'll make time for it.


The boys got stuck into some jobs with Claire and Paul...

... while I wandered about capturing all the colour and texture of Autumn.

Paul took us for a drive across the property up to the hangar where he keeps his plane. The boys were a bit chuffed to sit in the cockpit and check out the controls and I was a bit chuffed to see a mob of wild brumbies along the ridge and pretty faced wallabies everywhere.

In the late afternoon we wandered down the hill from the house to the riverbank to spot platypus. The boys managed to see a big fat wombat out the front of his burrow on the opposite bank. I wish I'd had a better zoom lense with me because he was well camouflaged against the dirt of the burrow. See if you can spot him in the pictures below. A couple of water rats were also paddling about getting their supper which made me immediately think of Wind in the Willows.
It was glorious to sit and enjoy such a scene together.

The adults sipped prosecco as the sun went down and then, when the chill set in, we all headed inside for a fabulous roast dinner. You know your kids have had a fulfilling day when you find them in an armchair next to the fire, asking if they can go to bed early, because they're so warm and sleepy.

We ate a hearty breakfast the next morning, watching the heavy fog slowly lift from the valley through the large kitchen window.

I popped out to capture images of the dewy spider webs in the trees along the river before the sun dried out the diamond like beads of moisture.

The weather was perfect for a paddle upstream. The sun was warm, the water calm and clear and the valley still. The only sounds we heard were the plink plonk of the paddle through the water, the occasional mooing from curious cows in the neighbor's paddock and birdsong along the bank.

The boys did a spot of trout fishing after lunch.
Those wily trout eluded their lines but they had fun trying.

We almost ended up staying another night, (you wouldn't have had any protest from me but Hubby had to work the next day), when we couldn't find our car keys as it was time to head off. After searching though all our bags and bedding several times over they were finally discovered, (boo hiss), and we bade our farewells to our beloved friends.

The drive home was both beautiful, (Bolaro Station, gorgeous), and heart stopping, (hello kangaroos in the middle of the road at night, bloody hell that was close!).

I adore the Snowy Mountains with its wild, untamed wilderness and pockets of autumn beauty.

Thanks Claire and Paul. We can't wait to return!

xx Em.