On Saturday we experienced the first proper day of spring. The sky was blue, the birds were chirping, the weather was warm and lovely and for the first time we were close to 't-shirt' weather. It was beautiful. Of course, since then we've had a cold snap again, and all the coats that were prematurely and giddily put away were dragged back out for another few reluctant days of use...anyway, back to Saturday. We decided to celebrate the lovely weather by taking Shiori to Cockington Green Gardens, which is something we had heard about, but hadn't ventured to. Gladly we waited for Spring, as the flowers really made the place. It's basically a garden with little miniature things to see like mini houses, canals, an international section and even a mini cricket match, complete with spectator sounds. One of the highlights was a beautiful huge blossom tree in the middle of the gardens. So lovely. Below is a photo of Shingo and Shiori sitting underneath it.

We were amused in the international section where we saw the mini offering for Israel. It was basically what you see below, a flag of Israel stuck in the ground. However, there wasn't anything for Japan at all, so Israel really did quite well. Some of the countries represented were Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Iran and S Korea to name a few. We were enjoying seeing all the mini representations of places around the world that we have been lucky enough to visit.

The summer palace in Istanbul was the offering for Turkey.

Shiori of course wasn't too fussed as they were a little too mini to go inside, however, she found her happy place in the playground. This little hut came complete with kitchen sink and stove. Someone had filled the sink and stove with loose bark that was covering the floor. When we asked her what she was cooking she said 'garbage.'

See the blossom tree, it was so beautiful, I'm glad we visited while it was in full bloom. Since then we have had some pretty gusty weather, so I imagine that a lot of the blossoms will have blown away.



In the evening we enjoyed a visit from Anisa who spoilt Shiori by making cupcakes with her. We had a great time together and it reminded us of how lucky we are to have so many wonderful friends here in Canberra.


Labels: Friends, seasons, Shiori