The lo-o-ong hot summer

Here I go carrying on about the weather again. But that's all anyone seems to talk about any more in Perth. The weather here doesn't seem to know that we've now passed the autumnal equinox - 7 days ago (not that I'm counting).

Our poor garden has taken a real battering with all this hot weather, and after such a dry winter last year. Yet the Pollyanna in me can see small signs that the garden thinks summer is nearly over.







Our last zucchini vine is having one last burst - it's a Tromboncini (sic?), and it's very prolific and hardy. The basil is happily going to seed after supplying numerous pesto dinners, and the quinces are almost ripe.

There are some plants which don't seem to mind the heat at all - the flowers are really lovely when you look at them up close.







I'm going to stop talking about the heat now - in 11 days, I'm off to northern Europe. All of the cities we're visiting are still cold, some are even having snow. May it last a few more weeks!

Sculptures by the sea

Although I'm way past being over summer now, it can still deliver some lovely surprises.

We paid a visit to Cottesloe Beach this morning to see the annual Sculptures by the Sea exhibition (is that the right word if they're on the beach?). What a perfect morning - sunny, breezy, the sparkling Indian Ocean, people strolling, fishing, swimming, sunning themselves, kids playing. The sculptures were just a bonus!







There were even kookaburras. Nowhere does beach like Western Australia!