Skywatch, Friday - Thunderstorm

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Skywatch, Friday - Pacific Ocean

This spot is called "Diggers Camp" which is surrounded by the Yuragyir National Park (North Coast of New South Wales, one of my family's favourite holiday destinations) . It is a popular spot for fishing, bushwalking, snorkelling and swimming. You can see a slight curve where the Pacific Ocean meets the sky.

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Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater ....

Peter Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn't keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.

(English Nursery Rhyme)

I have been harvesting some of my pumpkins that I have been growing during summer. This variety is called Kent or Jap pumpkin. It is almost bright orange inside and has a wonderful nutty taste. I cook many recipes with pumpkin - one of which is listed below. You can use any kind of pumpkin.

Is it good for me?
Pumpkin is an excellent source of beta carotene. It also contains dietary fibre, potassium, and vitamins C and E.




Pumpkin Penne (Pasta)
Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients and Method:

½ tablespoon unsalted butter Melt over low heat in large heavy saucepan


400 grams fresh pumpkin, peeled & thinly sliced - 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced - 1 clove garlic chopped - 1 teaspoon curry - Add and saute until lightly caramelised (about 20 minutes - stir often) . You might have to add a little bit of water.


Pepper and salt to taste - Add and stir

½ cup of fresh cream - Add and stir


250 grams Penne pasta - cooked al dente in salted boiling water

To bring it altogether:

60 grams grated Parmesan cheese and 60 grams Cheddar cheese - Drain pasta return to the pot and mix in gently pumpkin onion mixture and cheese and serve.

Guten Appetit!

Today's Flowers - Hibiscus

These are some of the hibiscus that grow in my garden - they have the most gorgeous flowers, but the flowers only bloom for one day (a bit like a daylily).

Parts of the Hibiscus is often used in alternative herbal treatments to treat ailments and problems, such as loss of appetite, colds, wound healing, treating damaged and irritated tissue and rejuvenating the skin.

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Skywatch, Friday

Sunset with DRAMA

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A Visit to Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens

The Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens has a great array of plants and trees which flower at different times of the year. Here I have taken some pictures to capture the beauty and lushness of the sub-tropical summer when it receives enough rain.

View through tall timbers (eucalyptus which have shed their bark, hence their attractive white trunks).

Path through the rose garden with my family peeking from behind the arbour.

Large tree ferns flanking the side of the beautiful pond.

Cool path through the sub-tropical foliage.

Tamborine Mountain is a volcanic plateau set within the Gold Coast Hinterland. From Tamborine Mountain you can get great views over the Gold Goast to Brisbane and Far Northern New South Wales. Rising up to 580 metres above the surrounding countryside, flat-topped Tamborine Mountain (often referred to as Mount Tamborine) has long been a favourite weekend retreat for the city dwellers to the North, and is home for approximately 6000 residents.

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Today's Flowers - Blue Blooms

Blue Plumbago

Blue Ginger

Blue Agapanthus

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