Head for the hills

This isn't the blog post I set out to draft; sometimes the photos get bossy and demand to have their story told. Local shopping deserves more of my effort to properly craft, and will still be waiting for you all next time! {NB: The irony of subbing the topic for another location is not lost on me…}

I was summonsed to the Adelaide Hills last weekend to surprise one of my long lost besties for her 40th. Her sneaky husbo had told her they were having a casual BBQ with friends (truth), but not that 2 of us bridesmaids of days gone by were making a guest entrance (lie by omission!). We've been firm friends for over 20 years, but the last few years have seen work, kids, study and life hijack our face to face time. She is good for my soul, and neither of us were surprised when we both burst into tears of happiness in seeing each other again.

After a fabulous party filled with many giggles, and an overnight stay in their gorgeous guest quarters, it was time for me to head back to my own hills.It's at about the same altitude as where we are in the Mid North of SA (roughly 400m above sea level), but minus the rolling hills covered in remnant grassland. The weather was its expected winter rubbish, but it's hard to be angry at the WeatherGods when the scenery is mournfully stunning. Even if you have to shoot from the car in heavy downpours. Drooping willows, naked branches, lush pastures and monotone textures were enough to appreciate that you need twice our annual average rainfall to create this landscape. One of my dapper old local sheep farming friends once refused to move to the Hills, claiming "I'll get foot rot if I head south". 

The pine forest at the end was a happy case of deja vu, and was where I spent 6 months traipsing around trapping micro bats as an applied science undergraduate. Those days may have been a lifetime and two careers ago now, but thinking of them still makes my heart sing.

Happy 40th birthday to my Sista from Another Mista. Thanks for lending me your hills, even if just for a night xxxx