Back home once again and the chickens are running out of room in their little abode. We will start to introduce them to Hope and Noodle and the bigger coop!
The chicken grass nibble station was going great guns!
The small succulent flowered impressively!
Our last day in Perth was spent going to the beach (twice!) and loving the bucking pontoon at South Beach, doing a spot of shopping and dinner at Coast overlooking Port Beach and a gorgeous sunset!
After lunch with the Grandies, we drove down to Bunbury to stay with Annwen, Ashley and Nathan. It was good to catch up even if it was only for a short time! Ella rose early Sunday morning to complete her long run prior to our wild dolphin swim tour!
Bunbury is home to the Dolphin Discovery Centre, which I've driven past numerous times but never ventured in. From their website, this not for profit organisation together with
They are also involved in dolphin rescue, whale stranding and turtle rehabilitation.
A total of 10 people including us were on the tour and there were almost as many volunteers most who were in training. We boarded the boat via the beach and headed to the first of their normal hangout spots, the old power station. None of the 100 wild bottlenose dolphins were there. We continued on to Back Beach and found a cluster of dolphins close to shore feeding.
Regulations regarding interacting with these wild dolphins are very strict and one of the rules are that dolphins shouldn't be interrupted while feeding. We watched and waited to see if the dolphins would finish their feeding and show signs of resting.
We continued on to the north end of Back beach and south of The Cut hoping to intersect some of these dolphins. We kitted up and jumped in. The water was quite murky reducing visibility significantly. Guides on the boat were directing us to where various dolphins were approaching. Ella saw one dolphin but the rest of the group weren't so lucky.
Despite our wetsuits, we became quite cold and the lead guide called time so we all returned back to the boat for snacks and to warm up. We were all hoping more dolphins would arrive! On the final swim only Ella and I got back in with everyone else too cold. The sea breeze had arrived making the water choppy and spotting dolphins harder. We did though have more interactions on this last and shorter swim.
The dolphin tour was great. I had imagine that we'd be surrounded by a large pod of dolphins but am reminded that they are wild animals and we have no control over how they would like to interact with us!!
Back on shore, we were greeted with hot drinks followed by a warm shower. A visit into the discovery centre was a must. Despite its small size, there was lots of info. Especially interesting was the turtle rehabilitation program and we listened to a talk about this program.
From the dolphins, we began the drive home, stopping for lunch at the Crooked Carrot - a top spot!
With Andy away in Hobart, we decided to make a visit to Perth to see the Grandies. Leaving on Ella's last day of college, we arrived at the airport in plenty of time for the 8pm flight. Happily we noticed that all flights were delayed except for ours! Our happiness didn't last for long as our flight too flashed up as delayed but only by 15mins. Those 15 mins ticked by, followed by another 15 mins and then an announcement something about the temperature of the plane was too high so more waiting....I was getting a little nervous by now given recent disrupted flights.
The flight to Adelaide was fine. We landed and refuelled fairly quickly and were on our way again. Eventually we touch down in Perth just after midnight (3am Canberra time) and were struggling to keep awake on the way to the grandies house. A quick hello and straight to bed!
Next morning Ella wanted to do park run so we ventured to the local Bibra Lake park run. An impressive amount of people and dogs. Katy and I walked a bit while Ella got hot and sweaty running the loop around the lake. The morning was warming up so it was awesome to go straight to the beach. The swim was so refreshing. Coffee on the way home was great too.
In a record time, due to two busy weekends coming up, the advent calendar was completed way earlier than normal! With Ella away for 5 days in the middle, I had to make separate envelops for her to take. Glad to get it done.
Hanging out the washing, I was very happy to see loads of ripening cherries on the tree! Another few weeks a deeper shade of red and then we will be eating delicious fresh - yum!!
The chicks have certainly changed over the last month. All looking disheveled with their proper feathers beginning to emerge. Can't wait for them to be big enough to graduate to the outdoor coop as I'm over the smell and mess!
Ducky no longer looks like a duck with its white feathers; Soup the silkie is getter cuter everyday; Grout's brown are coming through and Penny and Beyonce are looking alike...
Katy is doing after school wheel pottery classes and ceramics at school. Is fantastic watching her techniques develop. This term she is focusing on making lots of xmas presents. Here are a few of her creations that have come home lately.
Indi has gone missing and we have a highland cow hanging around our house...thanks to the two cancelled grooming appointments!
Little aths coaching continued...with both girls enjoying telling stories about their session!
November is going to be a super busy month especially for Andy. The first trip has Andy heading off to China! A new and interesting experience for him. He tried to impress the girls with his recently learnt and poorly executed TikTok move...
