Walnut Tree

When I'd finished dealing with the wall to wall chocolate in my kitchen yesterday morning, I packed up the car and headed up to the Yarra Valley. The forecast was for snow down to 500 metres--so much for our promising Spring weather. The reality was less severe: cloudy with frequent showers and the occasional burst of sunshine. My destination: the Ixchel Fibre Farm's monthly spin-in, hosted by the warm and colourful Charly.

The menagerie provided more than the usual entertainment. The antics of a large dog chasing a cheeky cockatoo away from the walnut tree, while a fearless rabbit decides whether or not to push her way out of her enclosure and several chooks take advantage of the diversion to feast on wild bird seed has got to be seen to be believed! Meanwhile, I talked my head off, spun up the last of my unintentionally variegated alpaca and filled up on various home-made treats.

Here's a macro shot of the sprouting walnut tree:
You can see how deliciously green everything is in the background. I took a few more photos on my way to and from the farm. I've worked out a strategy to make sure I do eventually get to my destination. I allow myself only one scenic stop on each leg of the journey. My strategy for controlling my fibre intake didn't work quite so well. I came home with 100 g of luscious red kid mohair. It wasn't on the shopping list and I don't have a definite purpose for it, but I won't even try to sound repentant!