An Aussie country garden

Michael may have a packet of lollies in his hand but his real love is green vegetables. This is cos lettuce in Grannat's garden.

It's been a year since we last saw Grannat's garden and it's looking good! Last year it was just lawn and some plans. This year it's got herbs, veges, flowers and . . . a fire pit! The garden is a work in progress. It surrounds Grannat's house in Warwick, in the southern downs of Queensland. Grannat and the landscaper have been transforming it into a haven. We're hoping to try out the fire pit while we're here. The firewood is ready. The marshmallows are bought. We just need the rain to stop.

Yes, it's been raining - the first we've seen for months on our big chunk of Australia trip. Susie said she didn't want just drizzle. She wanted real rain! It made our visit to Jondaryan Woolshed a bit damp, on top of the icy wind. More layers of clothing needed. We toured the buildings of the former sheep property (established in 1859) and watched a sheep being shorn by our guide, an ex-shearer called Snow. Snow also introduced us to his sheep dog and demonstrated how working dogs muster sheep. It was amazing to watch. He said dogs could be trained to respond to whistles, verbal commands and hand signals, and that an old man with a dog was better at mustering than three young men on horses! This dog stared down the sheep and followed Snow's commands until the sheep were in the pen.

While we haven't had much rain on our trip, it was constant early this year in SE Queensland. Brisbane and Warwick were both flooded. When we did a walk from Keith's sister Linda's place in inner Brisbane, we saw the ground level of the famous Regatta Hotel was boarded up while repairs are in progress. Grannat's town of Warwick was cut in two when the Condamine River flooded. Luckily her house is on a hill. (It's in a suburb on the site of an old drive-in cinema, and the streets are named after movie stars. The local park honours Mel Gibson.)

We're enjoying catching up with Keith's family. We're being thoroughly spoilt! We had a lovely lunch last Saturday with Wendy, his sister, and brother-in-law David, and a play in the park at Scarborough. While Keith and I had lunch after church with his Dad, Linda took the kids to Movie World. Susie, of course, went on the biggest roller coaster there.

Sheep dog at work at Jondaryan