Autumn's last hurrah

Late last week it was a gorgeous Autumnal day - about 18C with a slight crispness to the air, so I took a drive 1.5 hrs north to the lovely Clare Valley - one of the top wine-growing regions of South Australia.

Won't you join me on a brief tour? ......

This was the view looking back towards the Mt Lofty Ranges

.... pity about the pylons !

This pub was established in 1860

There was an abundance of new lambs

Mintaro - former slate mining town with a delightful historic "feel"

Attractive entry to one of the B&B's in the town

The Teapot Inn - sadly now on the market, but a visit there a few years back with a friend for Devonshire tea was a charming experience

I bet the walls within this homestead have some stories to tell !

Stockpiling feed for possible harsh days to come

A tragic story behind this headstone no doubt...

A wide brown land indeed . . .

Linking up with 

Up Island

My previous visits to Vancouver Island revolved around the southern and mid island regions, so this time I decided to spend a couple of days exploring the north

 En route to Port McNeill, Port Hardy & Telegraph Cove

 Edge of Roberts Lake

Ditto 

Roberts Lake itself 

Approaching Telegraph Cove 

Telegraph Cove 

It pays to obey !! 

Am guessing this is where logs are brought to for storage and "weathering" before being gathered again and transported for use 

Caught this chap stretching his wings 

He he - figured one of these birds was "all dressed up for the formal dance", while the other was looking to hit the nightclubs!

Linking up to Our World Tuesday and

Wild Bird Wednesday

with grateful thanks to those managing those sites.

Keep safe everyone.

Bald Eagles

Whenever I've been blessed to visit Vancouver Island, my eyes

always look to the skies (well, not when I'm driving obviously!)

as I seek out the magnificent and majestic American Bald Eagles.

This one was a frequent visitor to the tree out front of the house I was "sitting"

(sorry for the graininess of this shot)

. . . and this poor blighter was "drip drying" - January was purportedly

the wettest on record for the island !

Happy and thankful to be once again linking up with Stewart's

Wild Bird Wednesday

Stay safe everyone !

Grateful

This post is titled Grateful because I am just that, for all the travel my health, savings and house/pet-sitting opportunities have enabled me to enjoy these past several years.  Given the world's "challenge" with corona virus, the possibility of future trips hangs in the balance.

 Having recently returned from yet another wonderful 4 months on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, thought it was time to share some images from that experience and also get my blog up and running again. (I've missed interacting with you all!)

This trip spanned mid November 2019 to mid March 2020, arriving in Winter and happily leaving behind South Australia's insane 45C temperatures!  

Desolation Sound on mainland British Columbia

(a day trip by ferry across from Vancouver Island)

 Ferry from Powell River across to Vancouver Island

 This cute fellow was spotted by the pier in Sidney
(not far from Victoria, BC's capital city)

 This was typical terrain throughout many Provincial
Park trails I experienced across the mid-island region

and this was dawn captured from the delightful ocean-front property
in my care for 10 weeks (in Bowser)

With grateful thanks too, to the team operating

Our World Tuesday

Praying for your safety and well-being at this uncertain time in history