Oh it is Autumn already

And yes, the Easter photos are on the way…just very slowly, typically western Australian laid back style.

This is us canoeing on the Blackwood River in the area around Nannup, which is a few hours south of Perth.

And the following two pictures are taken especially for my dad.
We are in the middle (or almost at the end) of Autumn. Back home (no.1) in Germany I used to have an African Oak in my front yard, which I pictured in an older post here. Every fall season my dad and I used to rake and rake and fill garden bags of leaves. Week after week, until every leaf has left the large tree.
Same here in Perth. The tree is a sweet gum, but the leaves are very similar in thickness and size to Oak leaves. I am raking and raking, but not filling bags, because everything goes straight to the garbage bin. After two hours of raking, it looks like I didn’t do any work. Birds are playing in the tree, making leaves loosen and fall, and the wind is doing the rest.
Well, another funny thing is that we are the only house in the beginning of our street that has such a large leaf tree….same as back in Germany, where “our” leaves were blown to the neighbour properties, and everyone knew from where all the leaves are coming.
Somehow I took this piece of “massive tree with a lot of raking and cleaning up work during Autumn” from Germany with me.

Beware of poking in real life

I love mascara and use it every day since I am a teen. I always read the fine print on the packages or on the pen itself, but I’ve never read something like this:

Never apply this product in a moving vehicle.

LOL, very funny!
What is about a wet and slippery bathroom floor in front of the mirror?

[source: "Great Lash waterproof very black, Maybelline New York"]

Free range eggs

I can’t think back how many years I am buying free range eggs for. I think I started with it when I moved out of my parents’ house, which made me more aware of the food that I then bought for myself. I remember that I had to use a cage egg, when I borrowed it from my flat mate. That was 2002. Brrr…I could tell the difference in the taste…and in the colour. The egg yolk was very artifical bright yellow, I’ve never seen it like that before. I grew up with my grandparents having chickens and our own eggs. Ok, I was very little, but I can still remember it.

When I met Nathan, I was glad (and surprised) that he also values the free range eggs. He would rather not eat eggs, if he can’t get them as free range.
When we lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we had chickens on the property and the landlords let us eat fresh eggs whenever we wanted. That was so great! Have you ever had a warm egg in your hands?? Have you ever seen the hen lay the egg, before you gabbed it to carry it over to your kitchen, to crack it into your frying pan five minutes later? That’s what we did in Santa Fe when we had the great opportunity. Of course we also had the early morning wake-ups by the cock-a-doodle-doo of the rooster.

We like to buy local products, and luckily here in Perth there is lots of local food to choose. Today I bought another free range egg 12 pack from Bickley (suburb), the Kalamunda Free Range. On the package it says: “These eggs are genuine free range.” In small print it says: “All customers are welcome to visit our farm and see how happy and healthy our hens are.” That’s a statement – wow! Now I feel better.

Do you care about where the eggs come from that you eat? How do you choose your eggs? Do you trust the labels?

[For my family: this 12pack of free range eggs (each egg 50g) costs $5 at our current favourite fresh fruit&veg market close to our home. But you can also easy pay around $7 if you pick another brand/farm. I think, cage eggs start at $3.50; I don't even know exactly, because I just overlook them.]

[photo source]