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Sunday, April 02, 2006

On A Schnitzeljagd ...

It is Sunday evening, around 6.30pm. We finished daylight savings last night (turned our clocks back an hour), so it is now back to real-time, rather than Summer Time ... oh well, at least it is now no longer dark when I get up in the morning ... just dark earlier in the evening. It has become rather cool ... we have had our heating going the last couple of days. It is, after all, Autumn, so we can't expect Summer temperatures anymore (we can hope, however !!!).

Chicky and I went out on an excursion with her German School today (Hubby stayed home, alone, watching the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix on TV ... I think he enjoyed some solo time, he doesn't get alot of that !!). It was a wonderful day. Approximately 24 people (children and parents), plus the teachers travelled by mini-bus to a section of the Warburton Trail, which is a walking / bike path along what used to be a railway line between Lilydale and Warburton, in Victoria. We got into 4 groups, and each group received a booklet full of questions and tasks, all written in German (it was, after all, a German School excursion). We had a 2 kilometre walk ahead of us, where we had to answer all these questions and fulfil the tasks. It was great fun ... the kids had a ball, as did we parents !!

The views along the Trail were amazing. We passed by many properties ... one of them was a deer farm, another had a bunch of emu's walking through the paddock (perhaps an emu farm ... they are farmed for their oil, and their leather, apparently ... not sure what else !!), and of course the obligatory cows (not sure whether they were dairy cows or beef cattle).

It was a beautiful day ... rather fresh temperature wise, but mostly the sun was out and we saw quite a bit of blue sky. The rain held off (we had rather a lot of it, yesterday!).

The Trail was fairly flat ... no hills to climb ... and the ground was dirt / stones. Very easy walking, and as we were answering questions, it was done at a very lazy pace !!

We made it to the Launching Place Hotel, where the bus was waiting for us, to take us to a glorious picnic area. The kids played on the playground, the adults chit-chatted, the sausages were bbq'd ... they were yummy, and the day continued at a very relaxed pace. The teachers organised some games and activities, an easter egg hunt, and other stuff.

Overall, it was a wonderful day, with great company. We had a really, really good time.

Did you have a good weekend ?? What did you do ??

Hope you all have a great week.

Take care,

MEOW

25 comments:

Granny said...

Did as little as possible so far except for a couple of errand. You go back - we go forward. I keep forgetting. I still have tomorrow left on my weekend so may do something. Love the emu. There is just something about that face.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Granny ... enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Relax lots !!

Connie ... it was a wonderful day, and the emu's are too cool. They have very expressive faces (but very sharp beaks, which they are not afraid to use !!). Looking forward to your spring flower pictures.

Take care, Meow

megz_mum said...

Hi there, sounds like a fun excursion! I wish we were also starting to cool off - had the AC on again today as it was unbelievably humid. Surely time for a change soon...

Michelle said...

Love that last photo. My airconditioning has not been off since xmas!

Dick said...

My weekend is half over and has been a different one for me, since I am driving the new (to me) car home from Tucson, AZ to Mount Vernon, WA. Yesterday was a solo day but today, after about a three hour drive, I will be with a friende I haven't seen in 40 years or so, then two favorite cousins later. I'll stay until Thursday morning in Sacramento. And, for me, the time didn't change since I was already on Arizona time which is normally an hour ahead of California time. AZ doesn't do Daylight Saving Time.

Clare said...

Great pictures as always Meow especially that last one :). We are just entering into Spring too but I'm sure your winter won't be too cold :).

Jenn said...

great photos! We are just entering spring and I've been enjoying the past few days that have been nice and sunny. We're even getting some flowers.

Dr. Deb said...

What a beautiful place you get to see each day.

~Deb

Kyahgirl said...

you see, we're backwards. We just put our clocks forward MEOW! Spring is coming.

have a good week buddy.

Jamie Dawn said...

What a perfectly wonderful trip that was. How beautiful! Great pics!

I enjoyed being greeted by Tom Jones, "What's New Pussycat" as I entered your blog.

You are cooling down and we are starting to warm up here. Strange, isn't it?

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Megz Mum ... I don't imagine you really get much of a Winter up north, do you ?? When we came through last July, it was still quite warm (well, compared to our Winter !!).

Michelle ... likewise with you, Michelle !! I actually like the change in seasons we get down here in Melbourne ... I welcome putting on the heating ... but quite quickly look forward to warmer weather again !!

Dick ... sounds like your trip home is going well. It should be wonderful to catch up with your friend and cousins. I'm sure there will be lots of catching up.

Clare ... you are right. In comparison to "real" winters, our isn't too bad. The days occasionally may drop to single digits, but seem to hover around 15ºC, and the nights may occasionally go down to 1 or 2ºC, but usually only around 9 or 10ºC. No snow, occasionally hail, hopefully lots of rain (we need it), but usually quite bearable.

Jenn ... yay for the flowers. It must be nice. We still get flowers even through Winter, as it doesn't snow where I live.

Dr Deb ... thank you. I love my part of the world !!

Kyahgirl ... maybe we are the ones who are backwards ... after all, our clocks went back !!

Jamie ... I'm glad you enjoyed your musical interlude !!! I hope your Spring and Summer are wonderful ... ours was pretty good, very warm. Now the Winter ... oh well !!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments. Hope your week is great. Take care, Meow

eyes_only4him said...

you alwyas have the most beautfuil pics..

we turned our clocks up an hour..so now its almost 8pm and the kids are wondering why the sun is still out when they are going to bed..teehee..

didnt do much..have one sick bee..seems to be the story of my life thus far;)

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Bossy Britches ... thank you so much. Doesn't it get confusing when we have to change our clocks ... whether back or forward. It really messes up the sleep cycle for a few days, I feel. And the cat has no idea !! Hope your week goes well. Take care, Meow

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Hey Nicole, that happens to me all the time !!!
Thank you, and hope your week is wonderful, too.
Take care, Meow

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Susie ... thanks. You know, it is just as wierd for us here, to think you are going into Spring and Summer, and have turned your clocks forward. This old world is an upside down place sometimes !!!
Take care, Meow

. said...

I enjoyed the Schnitzeljagd too. Can I pinch some of those great photos for my desktop background?

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Madi ... it was a great day, wasn't it ??? Of course you can pinch some photos ... I can send you the originals, if you like !?

True Blue Guy ... I may be biased, but Australia is a wonderful place to live.
Your weekend sounded good too. Glad I'm not the only one who regularly backs up important data ... I am so paranoid my computer will pack it in, that I am almost weekly backing up. Can't be too careful, I guess !!!

Take care all, and have a great week. Meow

Kylee said...

Great pictures. Glad you had a good day.

Thanks for sharing.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Kylee ... thank you, and you are welcome !!!
HOpe you are having a great day. Take care, Meow

keesh said...

That is so funny to read about your time change, ours is the opposite. Dark in the morning, lighter at night. Crazy crazy and Spring is here, but it is suppose to snow today where I live. YUCK.
Cool pictures. looks like fun!

Cathy said...

Lovely photos, Meow!
By German School, do you mean that your daughter goes to a German language school (stupid question, perhaps!?)
I just posted about my weekend as well.
And we just had our time change; I can't stand losing that hour!

Alice said...

I was going to ask what kind of bird that is, but after reading a few of the comments I now know: emu.
It looks happy. And you sound happy. And I am happy. Looks like everybody's happy. Yay!

Glad you and the kids had such a great time.

x

Thriftin' Gal @ Junk In My Trunk said...

Meow, I have just infected you with The Indie Virus. Don't worry, it's not harmful! It's just a silly blog virus (have you had it yet? I couldn't find it on your blog). I hate to say, but I'm giving it to you because I like your blog so much Come to my blog to see how to infect others. You MUST infect others!

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Kish ... it is weird to read about the opposite things we are doing !! Hope your spring turns warmer soon.

Cathy ... thank you. Yes, Chicky takes German language lessons, and I am a volunteer reader helper (I listen to the kids read ... I am a fluent German speaker, when I want to be !!)

Alice ... the emu is a strange bird ... it doesn't fly !! It was a happy day, and I am very happy ... there is nothing really in my world not to be happy about.

Feathers ... OK !! I saw that around the blogs yesterday ... I will check it out !! Looks like fun (I hope !!).

DaybyDay ... your cold to me is absolutely freezing !! When it gets to under 18ºC (about 64F) we are putting on the heater !! Our winters often don't get really cold (it doesn't snow where I live), and if it gets down to single figures it is reeeaallly cold !! It has been only around 18 or 19 the last couple of days, and we have had the heater on and been all rugged up. Not looking forward to winter !!

Have a great day, everyone. Take care, Meow

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Wow, we had a cold day yesterday, too. It was around 13ºC ... shivering material here !!!
Take care, Meow