Farewell winter

Fitzroy North is a good place to winter. It has of course been cold, but still affordable heating keeps the shelter at 20.4C. Outside the sometimes very dry air was enough to burst a nose blood vessel more than once but nothing the medicos couldn't fix.

The inner city back yard is a Garden of Eden. Persimmons to eat every day until a couple of weeks ago. Quinces abundant and Avocadoes super duper abundant- we can't even give any more of them away, so they're in fridge.

Yes, that mark on the bottom left is from possum teeth, and we might have left them for our furry friends to have a party, but the trouble is they take too many liberties.

The limes await more cocktails on return, the lemons are destined for? The grapefruit are thick-skinned but can also wait; the oranges have been consumed. The asparagus spears have been few but sweet and the rest will live to grow tall. The multicoloured chard has reached a height of about 75cm and is far too thick to wade through. The rhubarb is muscling up again after being downtrodden during fitting of a shade blind. The garlic and broccoli are mostly thriving, as are the fava bean plants. Other miscellaneous greens are happy. The summer fruit is in bud burst- pears, apples, and plums.

The NBN is coming soon, though we would be content to communicate with what we already have.

The public transport mostly runs (except on weekends while route works are under way.) The car is mostly uncomplaining and if it's not the service man is just along the road.

The church, the Club, the theatre, the Rotary are all in fast reach.

Nevertheless here we are, forsaking Paradise temporarily,  for an airline lounge, and soon to be conveyed overseas far away: family beckon.