That's all folks !!

That's all folks  !!

Pop Up Patch

When you live in a city of over 3 million people there is always something interesting to see or do. People come up with crazy ideas - and some of them work!

I came across this Pop Up Patch on the open top floor of a carpark in the city centre. They have built raised garden beds and you can rent them. They supply the seeds and the water and you nurse them and watch them grow and then take the veggies home to eat! It will be there for a year and then they will move on...

Christmas in Melbourne 2012

As everywhere, the holiday season gets an early start in Melbourne. The tree was up in City Square and ready for the lighting ceremony on December 1st. The street decorations were up earlier.

The small city museum in the city centre has a lovely display of local buildings every year - all made of gingerbread and sugar icing. Any snow or ice depicted is just imaginary! It's a rare event when any snow falls here, though hail storms occur now and then. Anyhow, it's almost summer! 

The stadium, complete with lights.

The Arts Centre with the Sunday Market stalls

Luna Park

It's Spring in Melbourne and even though we have had a few very cool days the flowers don't seem to mind. Especially the roses - they are blooming in profusion in the gardens on my street.

I'm back in Melbourne! So good to see the "kids" and little Elsie, who is 10 months old now.

Patriotic House

For some people flying a flag just isn't enough.

Cambridge, Maryland

Jenkins Creek & Blackwater Wildlife Refuge

Linda and I and our friend Robert enjoyed a three-day getaway on Jenkins Creek near Cambridge, Maryland. We rented a house with a swimming pool and hot tub spa. Getting into our kayaks wasn't as easy as we would have liked but we managed! We prefer a sandy "slide in" but we had to step in from the dock. That made us too dependent on the tides. We had two lovely days of beautiful weather and one very rainy/windy day. The house was comfortable and had a 52 inch TV, DVDs, books, Wi-Fi, a large kitchen and a screened-in porch.

The morning before we left we drove the short distance to Blackwater Wildlife Refuge for a drive around the wildlife loop and a little walk.

A beautiful September morning at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.

Muskrat "houses" in the marsh.

Chestertown, Maryland

Exploring more of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Linda and I spent three days on the Chester River across from Chestertown. We brought our kayaks and were delighted that the river was so calm and the weather so beautiful. The river was about one kilometre or a little more than half a mile wide where we were staying and quite safe to cross. We only saw a few pleasure boats. One highlight was the large number of ospreys that we saw. Paddling slowly below them didn't disturb them at all.

"Chestertown has served as Kent County's seat of government since 1706. It has been a Royal Port of Entry and the hub of a thriving agricultural and seafood area which shipped its products on the once-ubiquitous steamboats."

Washington College, located here, was the first college chartered in the nation after our Declaration of Independence.

The physical aspect of Chestertown has changed over the centuries, especially the disappearance of the commercial wharves, but there are an astonishing number of original (1700s and 1800s) brick buildings still standing and lovingly renovated .

A ten mile drive took us to Rock Hall on the Chesapeake Bay also founded in 1706.

Lola Schindler

My dear friend Lola Schindler passed away on July 19. She lived 11 days past her 100th birthday! She lived a century with a loving extended family, through very good times and very bad times. Her life took her from Nowy Sacz in Poland to Melbourne, Australia. She will be missed by many people.

Lola Schindler

1912 - 2012

Berlin, Maryland

The small town of Berlin has made itself into a tourist attraction. The buildings from the nineteenth century have been cleaned up and have attracted lots of antique stores and cafes and restaurants. Events draw even more people.

Without the cars you could be walking in the 1800s

Windows in the Atlantic Hotel built in 1895

A carriage ride around the quiet streets...

Tucked away behind an old building is the largest Cedar of Lebanon
on the Eastern Shore, the 4th largest in Maryland.

Every year the "Bathtub Races" thrill the crowd!