Annual Leave Break – 2 Weeks Off

Let me just take this opportunity to thank all of the visitors to my Blog(s) – except the spammers of course. Thankfully the majority of spam is removed without having to check it over. I would love for the real comments to be posted without having to check them first, however there is still a lot of spam that makes it through and that needs to be separated from the good stuff.

It is time for me to take a break from Blogging and I have chosen to take my break while on annual leave from work, which will allow me to do a number of things – get healthier, get some rest, hopefully travel a little at some point, read some books, etc. It will also give my regular visitors a chance to have a break from my ramblings and carry on. There is plenty of content to look at in the archives though, so feel free to browse those while I take my 2 week hiatus.

So thanks again and feel free to leave some thoughts and comments along the way. Have a great couple of weeks 🙂

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Back to Work

That dreadful noise at 5.30am is the alarm signally a number of things:

1. It is time to get up.

2. Yes, it really is time to get up – it is not a joke and not a dream.

3. GET UP – NOW!!!

4. It is back to work day. Annual leave is now over and it is back to work day.

5. GET UP!!! GET UP!!!!

So Tired

I’m on holidays – so why am I so tired??? Small post – too tired. Sorry.

Where Has That Week Gone?

I am currently on two weeks annual leave – actually I only have a week to go now. That last week disappeared far too quickly. Only one week to go and so much to do. I feel pretty crook at the moment actually, so pleased I’m not working.

Note to self: ‘Must enjoy this last week.’

Busy Week

As seems to happen on a regular basis, life gets in the way of my Blog posting plans and schedule. This week has been particularly difficult with various family members in hospital and a serious car accident involving my mother. So again I find myself playing catch up with emails, Blog posts and the like. At the very least I am back on annual leave for another two weeks so that will help enormously.

So that is just a quick post to let readers know why my ‘extra’ daily posts seem so few and far between at the moment – hopefully they will soon become more regular.

Spring Has Sprung

Here in Australia it is now officially Spring. In reality I think Spring sprang a couple of weeks ago, when the temperature reached a balmy 26 degrees celsius. However, it is the real thing now according to the calendar. Having said that, the nights are still quite cold and the temperature is expected to get close to zero tonight. The days have been fantastic though and it is a great time of the year. It is very pleasant to be outside at the moment (during the day I mean) and working in the gardens where I work is quite enjoyable also.

The usual external activities continue – hedging (we have lots and lots of hedges), weed control, mowing, etc. I am currently getting the lawns ready for fertilising, with lawn weed spraying being a major part of my work at the moment. I’ll be on annual leave for two weeks at the end of this week, so when I return the lawns will get fertilised – I don’t want the lads having too much work to do in my absence.

Tiredness

I have just one more week until I’m on annual leave again (for two weeks). I am so looking forward to it and will use the time as wisely as I can – especially to rest, ensure correct sleep patterns, etc. I am so tired at the moment and need to discipline myself to ensure I have adequate sleep. I must tell myself, ‘sleep is my friend and is not a waste of time.’

Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

 

ABOVE: The Southern Wetlands Boardwalk – Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

Late last week I decided I should do something with the final day of my annual leave that I had taken this time round, so I thought I’d pop into the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens near Raymond Terrace in New South Wales, Australia. I had been here before, but that was a long time ago. I wasn’t impressed on that first visit, so after more then a decade had it improved? Well that was the question I was keen to answer.

ABOVE: The Rotunda  BELOW: Succulents Section

There was a $4.00 ‘escape’ fee, which would allow a token to be purchased and then the boom gate would rise once it was placed into the proper slot at the exit. So no entrance fee, just an exit fee. I was willing to pay this for a quick look and wander around the gardens.

So has it improved. Yes it has thankfully, but I still don’t rate it as brilliant or even what would come close to mildly impressing me for a botanic gardens. It is probably on the right track, but has a long way to go. And here’s the thing I think – a botanic gardens really needs time to develop, so those who will really benefit from the gardens are those who will visit it in about 25 years or so, when the plants have been allowed to mature somewhat across the gardens. It will also allow other pieces of infrastructure to be completed and for the gardens to achieve some ‘polish,’ so to speak. The central section of the gardens is very good and has been progressing well over the years (yes, it is a relatively young botanic gardens) – areas such as the bromeliad section, orchids, etc – even the succulent section a bit further away.

ABOVE: Orchid  BELOW: Bromeliads

So should you go? Look, it’s only $4.00 to get out of the place once you are there and you can get to see some great plants and do some good, easy walks – especially into the natural bush and wetland areas. So I’d say yes, just don’t expect a fully developed botanic gardens.

For more on the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens visit:
http://www.huntergardens.org.au/

ABOVE: Tree Ferns and Palms

From My Armchair: 4 August 2012

At the BookShelf

I am into my last days of annual leave, so it is doubtful I’ll be able to read anywhere near as much as I have this last week. I’ll probably have the Kindle out at lunch for a bit, so I’ll still be getting some reading in even while I’m at work. The Kindle has certainly made it a lot easier to have good reading material available no matter where I am. Loving the Kindle.

 

Social Networks, Web Applications & Other Tools

Not a lot has happened with the social networks in the book/reading niche over this last week, except that I have been updating Goodreads on a regular basis as to what I am reading, progress and cataloguing the books as I go.

I did do a quick addition to Quotista, which has a lot of potential but doesn’t appear to be being developed any further, which is…

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Myall Lakes National Park

It was my first official day of annual leave from work today and of course it had to start with a good sleep-in, which I might add I’m going to try and avoid doing for the entire period of my annual leave – just the first couple of days. I have been extremely tired, so a few sleep-ins will be helpful – for my health and well being you know. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about and agree with me entirely. I take your silence as tacit agreement. Thank you for that.

Once I was up I thought I should do something – so the day wouldn’t be viewed as an entire waste. So a drive to Bulahdelah was on the cards via the Myall Lakes National Park and the Bombah Point Ferry. So that’s what I decided to do, after I thought through a few more possible options for other things to do during my holidays. I have come up with a reasonable list I think – I just need to see them all through now. Hopefully that will happen – just need to keep myself from sleeping-in too often.

So I headed off for my drive through the park, which is only a very short drive from where I live, just on the other side of Hawks Nest.

One of the things you notice when driving through Myall Lakes National Park at the moment is all of the Wattle that is flowering. The Wattle (Acacia) is a native shrub – actually there are many species of Acacia, with the one pictured being Acacia longifolia. Everywhere you look in the national park along the road you see masses of Wattle in flower. With the growing conditions in recent times they all look magnificent.

Of course the Wattle isn’t the only wildflower currently flowering, but it is probably the most prolific of all of the wildflowers at the moment. The Banksia is another very noticeable wildflower that is flowering at the moment and there are several others also.

ABOVE: More Wattle

I spotted some more wildflowers when I stopped at the place known as the ‘Hole in the Wall.’ Hole in the Wall is a picnic area providing views of the coast and Pacific Ocean. It also provides access to the beach. I didn’t head down to the beach, but I did enjoy the view. It is a great spot on the coast here on the Myall Coast.

ABOVE: Banksia Flower BELOW: View from Hole in the Wall

So after Hole in the Wall it was pretty much straight to Bulahdelah, via the Bombah Point Ferry, but that can be tomorrow’s post as I won’t be doing a great deal tomorrow. So until then, enjoy looking at that panoramic shot above.