"Just living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." - Hans Christian Anderson

Friday, a week since we left Nova Scotia. It would be nice if time would slow down just a bit. We are trying to absorb every minute and cherish the time we have with these special granddaughters. We ventured out this morning to do our first bush walk. We decided on 'Sixty-foot Falls Walk' in the Ellis Brook Valley Reserve, about a 20 minute drive from Atwell. It was about a 2 km hike through the bush and uphill for the first half. The girls impressed me with their ability to keep up with the adults and there was only one meltdown, but that was quickly resolved. On the way up, Eden accidentally stepped on a little snake, the only one we've seen so far. Andrew and Eden were the only ones to actually see it, which I was kind of grateful for!! We were on the lookout for the elusive splendid fairy wren - a brilliant blue bird and we were treated to a couple of viewings - it was pretty exciting! I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

 "Lemon tree - very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon, is impossible to eat." 

 Andrew picking a mulberry - an unwritten law is that any fruit that is overhanging outside of private property is free to anyone passing by.

 A mulberry.

 My guy's creative photography - a frond of a tree fern.

 The beginning of our bush walk.

 Eden - the budding botanist, helping Grampie to see all the beautiful flowers; this one is a feather flower.

 Spring is here and along with it, many delightful, never before seen, species of flowers. This one is a fringe lily.

 Our first water break.

 The prettiest one, in my opinion, (blue lady orchid). Such a lovely shade.

 We've seen this one a lot but not sure what it is, I'll call it 'pretty in pink'.

 So many lovely flowers. We think this one is a graceful honeymyrtle.

 The sixty foot waterfall with only a trickle of water. Kind of disappointing, but they had a rather dry winter.

 Halfway through and enjoying our apples.

View of Perth from the top.

 One nasty inchman ant with a wicked bite.

 Stunning!

Last one, I promise - the dominant shrub was the one-sided bottle brush. 

  Two cuties having a rest - wandoo eucalyptus trees in the background.

 Overlooking a massive granite quarry on the way down.

 Having lunch at Macca's (McDonald's) - see the palm trees out the window??

And as we end our day here in Australia, I listen to Kathryn and Tim practicing the songs for the worship service on Sunday. My heart is full - no words.