A cool walk in the park

We have had a freezing weekend with an icy wind yesterday followed by a morning today which went down to 0C and tempted me to go and sit in the fridge for a while to warm up as I am sure it was warmer in there :-) However, not to be daunted by the cold we soldiered on by heading off to the Farmers Market yesterday and braved the wind to buy some healthy produce.

 

It was a good time to try out my new shopping bag trolley which I bought at the Op Shop last week. I had been looking out for one to use at the market to carry the veggies which get heavy in a bag and saw a couple just as I was leaving the store. I was hoping to buy one that wasn't just a plain colour so when I saw a patterned one I asked the volunteer at the counter how much it cost. 'Aaw $7 will do...naw you can have it for $5' was the reply.

I didn't argue with him even though it looked brand new and never used and when I got it home noticed that it was from IKEA! Bargain! It worked a treat. Of course Sally the chook had to make sure it was acceptable.

 

It is interesting to chat with the farmers and others who sell at the markets. One couple was selling dried rosemary sticks as fire starters which is such a great idea and wouldn't that make your house smell great?

Another informative person we spoke to was Henryka from Farmers Fresh Choice. She makes sauerkraut like nothing I have ever tasted before. She recommended using Macrobiotic Australian sea salt which is made from sea water off the Great Barrier Reef. She is well known in our area for her organic fermented foods and also runs workshops.

We thought we would pop across the road after finishing at the market and take a look at one of our premier parks, Queens Park,  to see how the preparations were going for this years Carnival of Flowers. You can see some of the flowering gardens from last year in this post. 

There were a few roses in bloom but I had to hold the stem to take the photo as they were being blown around in the wind.

All the gardens had been planted out and come September they will be a riot of colour.

I am not sure why but some gardens were covered in netting for some reason. Perhaps something nibbles on them at night.

This year's Carnival of Flowers will be held from 16th to 25th September so if you are planning on visiting our area during that time and intend to stay overnight I would suggest you book your accommodation now as this is a very popular event in our region.

We are in for another drizzly day tomorrow so perhaps the weather bureau was correct when they said it would be a wet winter.

Have a great week everyone!