The Burn

Exactly twelve weeks after the horrific wildfires of summer, we decided to return to one of our favorite vineyards that was in the heart of the devastation that day. We had first stopped at Sutherlund Estate with Anna's parents on a rainy November day and were impressed with the Pinot Noir and Tempranillo wines and the beautiful setting in the rolling hills of the north Yarra Valley. The owner had suggested that we return in the fall to see the grape leaves turn color. After the fires in February, though, we weren't sure we would actually get to see any leaves this year. Fortunately we were not disappointed.

By shear luck not a single vine or building at the winery was lost in the fire. Most of the trees surrounding the estate we scorched but somehow the fire stopped just short of the vineyard. The grapes suffered smoke damage and had to be discarded but the vines survived.

Just across the road, the hillside was charred.

Further up the road, we passed through some of the worst hit areas. What had been a lush green forest full of majestic gum trees and tree ferns was now blackened.

But when we took a moment to look a little closer we found that the forest was already coming back to life. Green shoots were sprouting directly from the charred tree trunks and neon green fronds were curling out from the top of the tree fern stumps. All this in a mere twelve weeks. The Australian bush thrives after a fire and most native plants require it to reproduce and regenerate. Simply amazing.

Lunch in the Park

We took a quick day trip to Melbourne this weekend. As always happens with trips to Melbourne, we eventually made our way to the botanical gardens. It was a beautiful autumn day. Perfect for a lunch of tasty nibbles from the Queen Victoria Market.

Zach took a few bites but couldn't sit still to finish eating. It's hard to walk and chew at the same time so his cheeks were extra full in this shot.

Now that he has figured out how much fun walking can be, it's all he ever wants to do.

Mom could hardly keep up!

He's very pleased with himself.

Taking a moment to study his shadow.

Not for long, though. The park was all about walking.

And eating leaves! Yum!

Surfs Up

Earlier this month we spent a day over Easter weekend with some friends on the southern coast of Victoria near world class surf beaches. In fact, surfing in Australia got its start here.

Easter weekend is the last official weekend of summer and a school holiday so the beach was packed with kids as young as five dragging their boards into the surf hoping to catch the next big wave.



Zach was a little too young for this just yet, but he had a great time watching the older kids.

He also enjoyed watching Mom and Dad try to catch a few waves on boogie boards.

That's Dad engulfed in a wave.

Mom had a little better luck catching a ride on the waves.



Ahhh, that was fun!

Seasons Change

This weekend the rains finally set in for good, dumping almost two inches in as many days. With it, the temperatures have gotten downright cold. We promise not to complain about the cold weather, though. Not after the summer we had. The weather just gives Mom more of an excuse to knit. Maybe she'll have to make one last trip to the woollen mill in Bendigo (didn't she do that last weekend?) before our time here is up. Dad says Zach has plenty of handknit sweaters already.



Checking out the cows in the park.

Riding the Autumn cow.

Pointing out the Michelangelo cow.

Quiet Weekend

After so much travel this month, we decided to stay a little closer to home these last few weeks.



Last weekend we took a quick trip to Bendigo so Mom could pick up one last haul of her favorite yarn from the woollen mill there. How will she ever live so far away from her favorite yarn outlet? (Sniff, sniff).

With the scorching temperatures of summer behind us, the botanical gardens in Bendigo were full of color. Hard believe it was eight months ago that we were taking pictures in this exact spot when Grandma and Grandpa Maki were visiting.

Same spot, September 2008



We also took an evening drive up to Ulupna Island last weekend in search of koalas. As usual, there were plenty cute little critters to be seen.

Zach got very good at spotting koalas and kangaroos and seemed to understand what they were (just like his stuffed animals of course!).

The sunset that night was classic Australian bush.

Something fishy

Zach loves aquariums. Maui's aquarium was no exception.



Since he is not old enough to snorkel yet, he had to settle for the fish and turtles in the tanks. Mom and Dad, on the otherhand, managed to swim right past an ENORMOUS green sea turtle while snorkeling on our last day in Maui.



Watch out Grandma and Grandpa! There's a shark with scary eyes behind you!! (We think they were excited to be at the aquarium but we just couldn't tell by this picture.)

We didn't tell them there were sharks in the water until after they took a swim. They look like naturals in the water. Not bad for their first dip in the ocean!!

Grandpa even gave snorkeling a try. He was surprised at how easy it is to float in salt water.

We think he spotted a shark which explains the head out of water.

It took all week, but Zach and Uncle Denley finally became friends while reading Zach's favorite book. No fish in that story, but a great end to a great week.

Whale of a tale

One of the things Grandma and Grandpa wanted to do was go whale watching. Zach couldn't wait to get going once we were on the boat so he had to pop his head in the window and let the Caption know it was time to go.



The intrepid whale watching crew.



Thar she blows!

For it being the end of whale season we still came across a large pod of eight or nine humpback whales.

They put on a great show for us. At the end of the day the whales gave us one final wave goodbye with their tales.



Zach thought the whole thing was great and left the trip with a whale sized smile.