Our New Mantra...

 Tuesday 20th September We woke to a perfect Cowra day, cloudless be and with a prediction of 22 degrees. It was indeed the perfect conditions to visit the Japanese Gardens. The 5 ha garden was established to recognize and develop the historic and ongoing relationship between the people of Cowra Shire and the people of Japan. They were opened in 1979 and like most Japanese Gardens they are a place of beauty and serenity. This week was the perfect time to visit as the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is on next weekend. The majority of trees were in full Blossom and everything was perfectly prepared. Leaving the gardens we drove on to the Cowra Common which has a walk through it called the Garrison Walk. Another thing that was never mentioned was the presence of an army garrison during WW2 and there are several remnants of buildings and even the  Garrison Entry Gates...who knew! One thing I remember well was the new Civic Centre where our Year 10 presented the Pirates of Penzance...

 Sunday 18th September After the heartstopping match last night between the Swans and Collingwood it was a relief to wake up and confirm the Swans win was real. Previous experience has taught us that a full day wine tour is not a particularly smart move so we opted for the half day, so we started the day with a drive to Windamere Dam which like most watercourses out h ere was full to overflowing. It was  completed in 1984 to meet irrigation, stock and domestic needs in the Cudgegong Valley. I was pleased to see about a dozen Great Crested Grebe in full breeding plumage flirting on the water. As we returned to town I was saddened to take a call from Robyn, wife of my birding friend Rob, to tell me he had passed away on Friday. Rob has been a marvellous mentor on Australian birds and was full of encouragement and information. Ballina U3A will miss him immensely. RIP Rob. Meanwhile we had been offered the chance to join the morning wine group (of 2) for lunch. After our pickup, ...

 After a pleasant morning with my U3A Birding group at the Casino Wetlands Michael picked me up and we were off.  Between me leaving at 7.30 and departure time at 10.30 Michael had decided that his old favourite, Kookaburra Camp at Deepwater was our destination tonight. I'm happy with that as there are always plenty of birds to see and he can kick off with a fire. By the time we arrived in Tenterfield there was a noticeable drop in the temperature from 18 to 13. While we were having lunch another van pulled in beside us...some people sure do like to stand out in the crowd! Sadly the occupants didn't look anything like their murals! We had the entire Kookaburra Camp to ourselves so Michael wasted no time getting his fire roaring...with a little help from his latest idea. Friday 17th After a pretty ordinary night's sleep due to some wild winds and heavy intermittent rain we were in no hurry to get moving. The morning was thick with fog but the showers were delightfully warm. ...