New Year's Day....

A cracker of a day - warm and sunny with a light breeze.

Hubby and I took a drive inland as I didn't like the thick cloud out to the east - it was white and harsh with little blue sky, not quite the look I wanted for today. We passed through small rural towns and villages with names like Cust, Oxford, Sheffield and Springfield. Lovely little towns built either side of the main road but with spectacular views of the mountains. The rural scene was bales of hay and a few crops and the road was reasonably quiet.

Our destination of Lake Lyndon was quite busy once we got futher up into the lake. This shot was taken on our way out looking back at the lake. Many people enjoying New Year's Day with picinics and bit of water skiing, some lounging and fishing all in different areas of the lake.

The colours were amazing - from the desert look of the mountains to the blue of the sky and water with the added touch of blue/purple borage flowers and white daisies - breathtaking.

I was 'over the moon' to see a family of Banded Dotterils with two baby chicks - gosh they move fast. The mother was busy chasing a thrush away and I have one shot of her on the charge, looking very angry. Other birds today were the variable oyster catchers with their long orange becks and legs.

Now as I type we've had our bbq tea, the light breeze has died away but the sun is still streaming through the garden and its very warm. Tonight Hubby and I may watch a few movies and see whats in Hubby's chocolate cupboard from Christmas.

A cracker of a New Year's day for us - hope your having a great one to!

Happy New Year everyone!

Edit: The flower is in fact Vipers bugloss - Echium vulgare.
Thanks to those who drew this to my attention :)