This day is specially important to me as it’s the day Julie and I met 32 years ago 😍
So, when she stirred, I gently whispered: “Good Morning darling, do you remember what day it is today?” I was pleased to see this had clearly registered and she replied: “Of course I do, but thanks for reminding me – it’s my best pal Carol’s birthday today!”
Who said romance was dead?😉
So, after that rather inauspicious start we still planned another outing!
A warmer day welcomed us (21C max) and the 6 of us set off to visit the magnificent National Botanic Gardens and Arboretum.
The first part was this deep gully where they have replicated the conditions of a tropical rain forest – hence the mist!
Next came a visible reminder that we were sharing the garden with some very interesting wildlife, most of which we were delighted to meet, one other not so!
I asked Michael about this snake’s threat. You don’t really want to meet one, he replied, as it’s highly venomous and very aggressive!
So, with that thought ringing in my head, we carried on exploring, very mindful of where we stepped!
These gardens introduced us to plant species never ever seen before and more varieties of trees whose grandeur take your breath away😊
We then moved on to the National Arboretum, which has an interesting backstory; about 20 years ago a bush fire destroyed many of the trees in this hilly spot.
It was then decided to plant 100 saplings for each of a 100 different varieties – i.e. 10,000 trees – to create 100 mini forests, so each of these has only one variety growing. It’s still in it’s infancy, but will be a fabulous addition to the hillsides that surround Canberra☺️
The Arboretum also includes the National Bonsai Collection; Julie salivated at the prospect of seeing this as she is a volunteer that cares for Scotland’s National Bonsai Collection in Ecclesmachan🏴
And once this had become known to the local curators email addresses etc were readily exchanged together with mutual invites to visit😊
We then returned back to base where Calum & Morven eagerly accepted the invitation to try out the hot tub – as did I 😉
We are all hoping our pale blue skin “tans” to matt white 🏴😉
Suitably revived Ruth then served up yet another magnificent meal after having successfully completed some last minute urgent Christmas shopping with Julie which, oddly enough, involved calling in at 2 cocktail bars too!
Who’d a believed it, eh…..😉
BTDU 