Morning sights

When I got up this morning I went to check my little window sill garden in the loungeroom to see if anything needed a drink and something caught my eye...

So close! It sank quite low and I thought it was going to land in Gosch's Paddock across the river, but then it rose up over the city. Such a captivating sight. 

Then sSomething else caught my eye...

The chain of hearts plant I bought Friday has sprouted a flower! A strange little flower, but a flower all the same. 

Balloon, blimp, glow, run

There were three hot air balloons floating above Richmond(ish) when I left the house this morning. I haven't seen any that close for ages. It's a magical sight. 

When I got closer to the city I saw something hovering high up over the CBD which looked like a blimp. I lost sight of it for a minute when some trees blocked my view, but when I looked again it was nowhere to be seen. That's weird, I thought. Then when I was crossing the street to get to my office, I looked up just in time to see it bob up over the top of a low building next to my work and then disappear again! What's that all about then?

The sun rises at almost the same time as me at the moment. I love getting up to that golden glow shining into my flat. 

Tonight at the gym I ran more than I walked for the first time since I started my health kick. I sweated A LOT. When I finished my cardio and lay down to do my stretches, my glasses fogged up. 

A marvellous Melbourne morning

Dawn from my laundry window

I was up before sunrise this morning and left for work earlier than I needed to, which gave me time to skulk about with my camera. I couldn't choose just one to post over at Girl in Melbourne...

Sunrise from my window

Ooh, fluffy!

Federation Bells at Birrarung Marr

Let's go for a ride

Floating

Jogger, Birrarung Marr

Balloon sunrise and a tree of my own (sort of)

I was rewarded for dragging myself out of bed a little earlier this morning by the sight of two hot air balloons wafting past my window. I love the hot air balloons. They inject a little magic into a week day morning.

One of the balloons (above) was so close to my third floor flat that I could hear the blast of the gas burner and make out the pink faces of the passengers. They would have been able to see me taking their photo. It floated over the top of my building and, I'm assuming, touched down in Fawkner Park.

Even without the balloons, I enjoyed getting up earlier while the sunshine was still golden and glowy. My living room was awash with sunlight. The sky was blue and cloudless. We are in for more mornings like this in the days ahead. I'm going to try and keep getting up earlier to make the most of them. (I'm talking 20-30 mins earlier, at 7.30, so not really that early.)

A tree of my own

I discovered today that it's possible to sponsor a tree in the Botanic Gardens. For $50 a year, you can choose to sponsor one of four landmark trees in the gardens or enquire about choosing a different tree that has a special meaning to you. The money goes towards the development and growth of the gardens. It's not on the list, but I'd love to sponsor one of the tall, white-trunked eucalypts on the Huntingfield Lawn (below).

If you did sponsored a tree for 10 years it would cost the same as sponsoring a garden seat, which is what I'd really love to do. Sponsoring a seat means a little stainless steel plaque with your name and a personal message is fixed to a wooden park bench. It's $5,000 for 10 years. Mostly people sponsor a seat in memory of a loved one who had a soft spot for the gardens, like I do. It probably sounds maudlin and egotistical, but I think I'm going to direct that $5,000 of my estate goes towards sponsoring a seat in my memory. I'ts not like I've got a spare $5k lying around now.

Cookin' the books and the wallabies

Did you know that the International Edible Book Festival is coming up on April 1? No? Well, now you do.

I got an email about it from the Athenaeum Library the other day. Apparently this "ephemeral global banquet" is held every year in many parts of the world. Bookish types get together to whip up culinary delights that either look like books or are inspired by a book. Then they take photos of them, judge the winner and then gobble them all up.

You can see some photos here. I like the Clifford the Big Red Dog one (2007), partly because we had a Clifford book when I was a wee one.

Ballooning

I was up earlier than usual this morning and although I can't lie and say I liked getting up before 7.30 (go on, scoff!), I did enjoy seeing the sun trying to burst through the clouds on the horizon and the sight of three hot hair balloons drifting in the misty sky in the distance.

I'd forgotten about the hot air balloons that float by in the early mornings (though not usually on drizzly mornings like this). It's a nice way to start the day, sitting on your couch eating breakfast while watching hot air balloons. If I could just get out of bed earlier more often...

Once one went right over the top of my flat and was so close they probably could have seen what I was having for breakfast.

Speaking of the sky...

Check out this website, Sky Watch Friday, where people can send in their own pictures of the sky. Make sure you scroll down a bit and see the picture of the winter sunset over Riga. How spectacular is that?!

Coincidence of the week I

I rang the Blood Bank the other day because I hadn't heard from them in relation to an appointment to donate. It had been six weeks since I lodged my details online and I wanted to make sure they hadn't been lost. But then when I got to work later that day, I found they'd emailed me late the previous night to tell me they hadn't forgotten me! They read my mind.... (They've been inundated with donors since the bushfires, you see).

Coincidence of the week II

The Infamous Mrs Blueballs left a comment on my Myspace page today telling me about the Taste of Australia cookbook she picked up while she was visiting, which has recipes such as Yabby Bisque, Emu Slithers on Pumpkin Scones, Kangaroo Pot of Gold Pasties, Wallaby (gasp!) Savoury Crepes, and Quandong and Peach Melbas. Then tonight I caught the tail end of The Cook and The Chef on the ABC in which they were cooking with native foods, including quandongs!