Fire in the sky.

Tonights beautiful sunset from our loungeroom window.

Operation Sick Roo.

Errol the kangaroo whisperer (David's dad!) got quite close with the lure of a piece of Rockmelon!!

Cath just managed to trip and fall over the vegetation!

We had a little, or rather big, visitor again today. We thought it was the same Kangaroo that David bumped into on our steps eating apricots from our tree a few weeks back. I also met him laying by the fish pond a few weeks ago. Both times he has stood taller than David - about 7 feet tall. But on closer inspection, this handsome boy was actually badly injured with a swollen back leg that he cant use. He is very skinny and quite weak. He doesnt seem as tall as our other friend. We are hoping it isnt the same majestic boy that has come to visit us before. If it is, he has become sick very quickly.

So, we figure we cannot leave the poor roo in pain and suffering and we just happened to have a trained wildlife carer over for lunch who is a roo expert, at the time the roo visited (clearly the roo knew this!). He has been laying by our back fence all day, not worried about us at all, most likely because he is unwell. So the plan is to give him fresh water and food over the next few days, see if we can get close as he gets sicker and humanely put him out of his misery. Not a nice thing to do, but it will be much nicer for him. The leg looks beyond help and really painful, bless him. He cant use it, so escaping any predators would be useless for a roo of his size, on 1 leg.

The laundry.

Everyone needs to have a designer laundry! Well maybe not! I just wanted light and bright really. Top tile is the border tile, then the laminate bench top, cupboards and limestone floor tile.

Cope Place goes on the market!

In the next month, the place we call home will be up for sale to make way for our new home in the hills. We have had some profoundly special times and memories here - our first home together, our engagement, our wedding, the birth of our first child. Not to mention the many summer BBQs and partys!

R.I.P Lilly Rose.

We thought, while on the topic of animals, that Lilly-Rose deserved an honorable mention, seeing as she passed away before this blog was started.

Lilly-Rose was the first of our fur kids, an important and much loved part of our family. She was with Catherine before the husand and daughter arrived!

Such a loyal, funny old girl, Cath rescued her from being euthanased at the vet where we worked. Despite her many ailments, she went on to have a happy, fulfilling 7 years with us. She came away on all our holidays and we will forever miss her waggy tail, cute arthritic waddle and loud snoring!

RIP Lilly-Rose, October 2009, 17 years of age.

The fur kids and their latest dramas!

Glad there is a vet in the house. In terms of fur kids, we currently have 3 Whippets and 2 cats. Catherine has had to take a break from dog showing due to the shortage of a healthy and non injured show team! Ripley, Scarlett and Leroy (Whippets) managed to get themselves into a fight over a dog chew, leaving Scarlett scratched up, Leroy with grazed pads and Ripley with a very long term injury to his stifle tendon, which he is curerntly having Physiotherapy and laser treatment for. Leroy has gone to live with a friend temporarily so they can show him. Scarlett is fat and has been on a weight loss diet so Cath could get her back in the show ring, when she came into season ..... Ripley proved to be not so immature in mind, despite being only 10 months old .... without going into details, Scarlett is most likely now pregnant!! Not what i had planned just yet, as Ripley was meant to be the new star in the show ring and to gain his championship title before sireing ANY puppies! Scarlett was surposed to be back in the ring after her litter last year, but will be taking time off for maternal duties now.

The cats - Benson is on antidepressants for his anxiety. He has also just finished his 3rd course of antibiotics for antagonising the neighbors cat who rightly so, beats the living daylights out of him - giving him nice big cat fight abscesses! I wonder why he is anxious?!

Dylan came home last night, very sore and irritable, with a swollen chin and fever.

I wonder if goats and sheep are less trouble?!

Glad there is a vet in the house!!

Our newborn friend.

This tiny little gecko decided to pay us a visit today. Im guessing there are eggs somewhere as he was very newborn. He was climbing up our linen cupboard door! We left him be, to explore his new surroundings and find food. Glad i havent sprayed the spiders in all the corners lately (do geckos eats spiders? ....)

Tiles in the bathroom

Our bathroom - feature/border mosaic tile, benchtop, cupboards and olive coloured floor tile.

Kids bathroom - feature/border tile, benchtop, cupboards, olive coloured floor tile.

Malmalling Winery

We visited this winery one day when we were visiting our block. It is a 5 minute walk down the road from us! The wine was lovely and there is a nice little cafe too. What luck - a cafe and winery within walking distance from home!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo ...

On Sunday 14th March, we decided to visit the Perth Zoo. Aunty Stephanie (Laura's godmother) came with us. It was a glorious day, not too hot. Daddy had some fun putting a bit too much tomatoe sauce on Laura's hotdog! The wet wipes were at the ready! The crocodile floating in his tank watching us and the Lions laying right next to the window - were the highlights.

The Invertebrate Collectors.

This was David's project that took him months by hand to complete! He did it in bed, he did it watching TV, he did it till 2am! He made hundreds and they worked a treat. He ventured off the coast of Rottnest and Busselton to sink the collectors into the ocean. A month later, he pulled them up to find millions of critters had made their homes in these very hospitible works of art. These critters are now his focus for most days at uni, sorting, identifying and disecting!

David at uni with his Invertebrate friends!

David is busy at uni, sorting through all his weird and wonderful ocean life that he managed to collect in his home made collectors. These invertebrates that he is studying managed to attach themselves to his collectors by the millions, off the coast of Rottnest. Now he has the task of sorting through them all, identifying them and studying them! Some of them are microscopic - not an easy task.

We survived the BIG storm of Perth, March 2010!

On the 23rd March 2010, Perth had the biggest storm in 50 years (or so they say!). We had little warning and fortunately i was at home that day as i was on night shift that night. I went to pick up Laura from day care at 4pm and at 4.30pm the skies looked very grey and the storm rolled in. We have very impressive views of storms coming in from our loungeroom window. These photos show before, during and after. It was all over by 7pm, but not without causing millions of dollars damage around Perth. We didnt recieve any damage and got off quite lightly - for once, the hills area didnt cop the full force. Nor did we lose power, some people are still without power even now, 4 days later. Below are some news links about the storm.

David was at work so missed it all! I went to work at 9pm that night, to King Eddies in "Code Yellow" meaning - Internal disaster!! Much of the hospital was flooded, the birthing centre roof collapsed and every pregnant woman in Perth went into labour that night - it made for an interesting and busy night shift!!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/23/2853848.htm

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wild-storm-throws-city-into-chaos/story-e6frg1rc-1225843883475