Thanks to Adventures and Musings of a Hedgewitch I now know the name of the fantastic flowering trees that bring colour to our home suburb. What coincidences that the inspiration for Peace at Home is the shadow of a Crepe Myrtle tree in Winter and that I read about them for first time in Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches based in New Orleans!
The intensity of the sunshine in the pictures gives you a hint of the difference in temperature we experience in Sydney in June compared to January.
Quite soon after moving to Sydney a friend gave us a dracaena, it is hardy, easy to grow and prune. The large black plastic pot it came in also had begonias and this succulent. It sends out runners with long fleshy, serrated, elliptic shaped leaves and tall spikes with delicate looking pink bell shaped flowers.
I like that flapjack succulents are easy to grow from cuttings, their sculptural appearance and their colours which intensifies in direct sunlight.
This building in Dulwich Hill, Sydney, NSW, is in the process of being demolished to make way for a development of apartments.
I can imagine a corrugated metal bull nosed roof providing shade for the occupants of a balcony that is adorned with iron lace work.You can see how the former roof has protected the paint from the sun’s bleaching rays, marked by shading of the painted surfaces.
I particularly like the blue French doors contrasted against the yellow wall, it reminds me of the heat of a European Summer. It is a shame that the whole building wasn’t painted with the same colours.
A southerly front has cooled Sydney by ten degrees to a comfortable 23oC. Friends from Brisbane arrive tomorrow to join us for the festivities, Christmas lunch at Catalina Restaurant, Rose Bay.
It is too warm to light the fire, we will pretend with candles.
I hope that you have an enjoyable holiday, thank you for reading my blog,
Robert
I took this picture in February 2013 between showers from the balcony of our room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel facing newcastle Harbour. A cool, wet Summer’s day by Australian standards.
Have you seen the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert? If not, I suggest that you do as it is an Aussie cinema classic made on a shoestring budget. If you have seen the film, the Sydney drag shows are shot in the front bar of The Imperial Hotel, Erskineville. Up until 2009 we lived a short stumble from the pub, spending many a happy hour with friends in the bars, show room and the basement nightclub.
Heading east along Erskineville Road you will pass The Floral Decorator on the left hand side, one of our favourite florists. The interior has a cave like feeling with flowers arching overhead. I like the way the window display appears to tumble onto the pavement.
A little piece of France
Proceeding further on into Alexandria the road becomes Copeland Street. Bitton is a frequent destination of ours. You can see the back of Frenchman, David Bitton wearing a blue polo shirt on the left of the picture. Great food with a French edge.
Related information:
The Imperial Hotel
The Floral Decorator
Bitton
A Taxing Day
Sydney is located on the east coast of Australia, experiencing temperate Winters and warm humid Summers, it is unsurprising that Sydney-siders are fond of being outdoors.
One of the popular destinations for visitors and locals is Bondi Beach.
The above were taken around 4:00 pm on a Tuesday in Spring, I will leave it for you to imagine how busy it gets at the weekend.
While growing up in ’60 s and ’70’s Summer in England was this esoteric amorphous entity, I cannot pin point when it started. Perhaps it relied on nature’s direction; March winds and April showers brought forth May flowers.
Antipodean Summers are different they start on 1 December. Over the time we have lived here some years on the dot of 1/12 the temperature has soared to a point that when you subject yourself to the elements, your body is enveloped in a cocoon of moist warmth.
Not so in 2013 with a top of 23oC it is too cool to go for a dip in the pool.
Stan is happy, his shaggy coat grows by the second. 
I hope that you enjoy the pictures I took during his walk around Lewisham and Marrickville.
Stan
I believe that a lighthouse’s credibility is threatened without rocks, here they are…….
Related
Lighthouse at South Head
Camp Cove to the South Head
theINFP 