It was HOT today. I think the temperature climbed above 37C for a good portion of the afternoon. Now I know I'm not going to get any sympathy from my Canadian readers if I complain about the heat, so I won't. I'll revel in it instead. :-) Since Jen and I are planning on going to the desert in January, I figure I'd better start getting used to the heat here. So instead of hiding inside by my computer all day, I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens.Melbourne's Gardens are only about 1/3rd the size of the ones in Sydney, but they're still huge and impressive. I took it easy as I wandered - it was very hot, after all - and just kinda meandered down the paths, looking at all of the different trees and flowers. Maybe it's because I've been here for a while now, but I found I wasn't spending as much time closely inspecting each and every tree and bush. Don't get me wrong - I'm still fascinated by the plants here - but at least now I've seen most of the species and they're not 'brand new' any more.
Having said that, I did still encounter a number of interesting plants in my wanderings. I especially liked the Buena Buena Pines. I don't remember where they come from, but their leaves are arranged to look almost exactly like those thick-thin-thick-thin chenille stems we use in crafts. They were cool - and pointy and sharp! Upon closer inspection I realized that there were some sort of caterpillar munching away on this tree - they were white and had all these hairs or something on them... I decided it was best to look but not touch. I took some pictures though (that camera of mine is sure getting a workout!) and posted them in a new album on facebook - Royal Botanical Gardens.
I was also captivated by the birds in the gardens. Many of them were completely unafraid of humans and either came right up to me or completely ignored my presence, allowing me to take a number of good photographs. The coots and moorehens cracked me up - they both sound pretty much exactly like a dog's squeaky toy when they're angry! I sat in the shade of a big fig tree for lunch and I guess I was a little too close to one coot's nest - she squaked and glared at me the entire time I was trying to rest (I just wanted to be in the shade for a bit!). I also got pretty close to a kookaburra... I keep forgetting how BIG they are. I spotted a pair of possums way up in a palm tree - they were having a disagreement of some sort and squealing up a storm, which made them easy to find.
I found some relief from the heat this afternoon in the tropical section of the gardens. There is a sprinkler system set up there to keep the humidity levels high - and I was walking through this section when the sprinklers came on. Let me tell you, the rain sure felt nice - even if it was artificial! I sampled a true "Icey Pole" too - this one was real lemonade frozen on a stick. Yummy.
On the way home from the gardens, I stopped in at K-Mart and bought a pair of small fans for our rooms. My poor computer is not so happy in this heat - it has overheated and shut down on me twice this week. NOT HAPPY. I'm hoping that the $8 fan I bought will keep me from having to do a $200 repair!
