Celebrating Australia Day!

Our poor garden is looking the worse for wear after the 40C and 44C temperatures we had the week before last. A lot of plants just went underground and won't come out again till the first real rains. I always think our summer has the same effect on plants as the Northern European winter-- they hide underground not wanting to know those extreme temperatures, hot or freezing cold. It was interesting to see on a documentary about ducks that the eider duck has a sort of anti freeze mechanism in its feet as do the Mongolian horses I was reading about in Tim Cope,s book who traveled those freezing steppes 

on horseback.
We decided today to celebrate Australia Day on our front verandah with a traditional sherry for Sunday lunch. It was a truly beautiful day with glorious sunshine and a little cool breeze.
We know how fortunate we are in this country and it is good to sit on your own deck and think what pleasure we get out of our surroundings here.

The pond still attracts various birds that come in for a bath and a drink while we are sitting there quietly sipping our Spanish sherry. It is amusing to see the Greenies dive in and out from the Holm oak to the Wisteria tree where they sit and preen themselves. So do the wattle birds.

On the left is what we look out on from our front verandah. Our crucifix orchid has been very slow to show any progress but it does have what we think may be a flower spike with tiny buds on which will hope fully develop into the stunning orange flower head. The poor daylillies are looking dry but they have been watered and the Queensland man says you cannot kill a daylillie.
Our new young roses are struggling too and the week ahead has been forecast as more over 40C heat. 

We were enjoying sitting here so much we decided to have lunch here as well. So I got a bit of finger food from inside and as you can see on the right Brian was bringing the white wine, a Hugo's of course....
Tonight we watched some of the migrants becoming Australian citizens and the very impressive venues the ceremonies were performed in. When I was naturalized in 1956 it was a very plain affair in the Kapunda Town hall. I have a certificate to prove I am Australian....and how fortunate we are that my parents were brave enough to bring their
four remaining children out to this wonderful country.....