joonjoo trail walk

after saying goodbye to my mom, hannah and i drove back to derby. we were both exhausted. i felt homesick like i've never felt before. jose and i had a quiet evening and then the next morning we got up very early to go to the joonjoo trail walk put on by the healthy eating promotion group in town. we were taken on the trail by one of the men who founded the creation of said trail. he explained a lot of the plants and history along the way. it was a lovely event. it's one of the only places left in the kimberley that hasn't had a fire - in over 40 years! so the underbrush is remarkable and the variety of plants more prolific and diverse. it was interesting to imagine what the kimberley used to look like before white people came and did scheduled burnings. we saw beautiful flowers. the one above is kimberley heather. below is a bush banana.  very cute. after the walk we had a yummy breakfast and then wiled our sunday away inside because it was so beastly hot.  the buildup is already upon us i fear.

happy easter!

happy easter everyone in the us...a day ahead anyway.  today was more of a day of rest for us which was nice. got up and had a stroll at lake monger across from where we're staying. it is a beautiful lake with lots of wild birds and a lovely walking track. only 3.5k but still a nice walk.  then emmett came by and we walked into leederville and saw some of the shops (very quaint) and had coffee, tea and milkshakes at a place called green & co...although the picture shows what some inspired artist turned the name into :)  see photos here  then i went across the street and had my first frozen yogurt in about 10 months!  it was an american company and it was so nice to have my favorite treat after so long. then we went into subiaco (another suburb) and walked the mostly closed shops there.  but it is a very cute area, much larger than leederville with more cafes, etc.  we went to the markets there again and looked around and ate vietnamese food again (jose's choice).  very yummy but not as good as the day before.  jose found a clothing store he really liked and bought his first hoody ever! looks great on him. then we headed home, relaxed, watched documentaries online, had another lake walk, ate fabulous open faced sandwiches with wine and watched punch drunk love.  a nice day :)

flight to perth

woke up lazily on thursday and had a walk on cable beach, which was gorgeous. then ate a lovely breakfast at ra ra's.  it was jose's first time there, my fourth. he got the mexican omelette and i had eggs bene. so yum!  he also got a milkshake, which was fantastic. then we went to the tiny airport and got on our 2 1/2 hour flight to perth.  uneventful and rather nice.  we had a beautiful view of broome as we departed.  got into perth and emmett picked us up which was so nice! we went to his brothers house where we were to stay. lovely place and his family is great!  we went out to a place called the flipside and the stanley in wembley. it's a great burger joint next to a pub.  we had great beer (white rabbit and some belgium stuff) and to die for burgers. heaven!  slept like a log. more photos here Perth 2011

golf course walk

this is one of miski's favorite places. the golf course is beautiful. well maintained, nearly always deserted, and full of boab trees, plants and fun insects to chase.  the sunset on the way home was also spectacular.  sadly my camera doesn't do it justice but i think we've decided to get one that will capture the amazing skies and other things we see around here :)  more photos here Derby 2011

walking on the golf course / race track

took little miskers (as we call her) for a stroll on the golf course here in derby. it's actually the nicest one in the kimberley. that being said there are huge termite mounds and boabs to get around. it's a dogs paradise.  the race track is also wrapped around the golf course.  can't wait to see those going this dry season. miski had an amazing time on the walk with her friend cora, and even went swimming in the pond!  then we had homemade pizza with friends. yum! more photos under Derby 2011 album.

jetty walks

well it's officially the wet season here. most days we have rain in the afternoons and big storms at night.  this, plus the cyclones, plus the king tide schedules has flooded the marsh across from us. makes for beautiful and interesting walks. miski has really been enjoying this and on our last jetty walk miski finally started playing in the water! big step for her because she's been really afraid of the water until now. i know i am an obsessed puppy mum but she is so cute! she waits for her food until i tell her ok and then she'll go get it. now i just need to get her to come when i call her on the marsh. anyway i've destroyed my sandals and my feet are stained red now....seemingly for good.  we've had to say goodbye to two sets of really good friends this week which is incredibly sad. luckily we still have lots more friends in town! only one month until Sarah comes to visit us too! i can't wait!  See the Derby 2011 album for more photos