Hello Winter!

Winter (one of my three favourite seasons) has returned, and I'm glad. To be honest, it probably started a couple of weeks ago, but Australian winter is quite mild and sometimes we can slip into it without even noticing. I've observed that a lot of the time, only every second day is really wintry, alternating with lovely sunny days. Here's a montage to illustrate. The photos were literally taken one day apart:

So what do I love about Winter right now?

COMFORT FOOD
A cheese toastie and a bowl of soup are the perfect lunch in Winter. (The bread is gluten-free as I'm still unfortunately gluten intolerant.) I also like noodle soups, we've made pea and ham soup a few times, and I want to try making minestrone with gluten-free pasta.

KITTY QUIRKS
Sharick will do anything to soak up some warmth in Winter, even to the extent of lying on my computer, which he's certainly not allowed to do! Not only does it exude warmth on its own from the CPU, but in the mornings my desk is in the sun from the side window. I'll have to try to wean him off it, because he's done all sorts of strange things from pressing the keys randomly!

Additional snuggling:

NOTICING NATURE
Winter is a dormant time, but a lot still goes on in the plant world. Even before they've lost their leaves, the buds on the deciduous trees are already forming. It's a relief to get up close to my fruit trees and see them, and know they're not dead, just asleep. The usual Winter life is there too: the mushrooms. Plants that get enough warmth, like my indoor succulents and chilli, still grow quite vigorously. And of course the combination of rain and sun causes the grass to go bananas.

Bonus photos taken last Winter. I no longer work near this park and I miss visiting it so much!