Late Autumn

This is what greeted us on our return from Brisbane in mid May (the 18th to be exact).... magnificent Autumn foliage in our front garden!

There's a "grove" of Acer Rubrum "October Glory (maple)" planted in our apartment's north facing parkland (right in front of our unit). We think they were planted about 3 -4 years ago when Hassett Park was being established. They are really looking good this Autumn!

 Our apartment's volunteer garden group finally got approval, after a lengthy bureaucratic process involving both local govt. and federal govt. bureaucrats, to establish garden beds in the 2 metre wide piece of parkland that abuts our building. Our small group got cracking this week and got the job finished..... it already looks so much better than the scrappy grass borders established after the builders had finished. It is a huge advantage living in an apartment block with no gardens of its own to look after - but it does make it more complicated when we want to "take over" some of the "public" parkland for our own purposes.
As well as being a great month for Autumn foliage May is the month for some important birthdays too. We helped Wayne celebrate his (delayed) birthday today, at Grazing (in Gundaroo). The restaurant is in the old Royal Hotel (established 1865) so the atmosphere is very cosy, with fireplaces and lovely old timber floors in every room. The menu was very refined and layered with seasonal flavours. However, the very discerning people in our group decided that the wine list did not quite match expectations..

Happy birthday Wayne!