5/12/2025 Kings Park and an orange Super Moon

Another beautiful sunny day, my nose is peeling like a satsuma and just stripping off the layers of crispy skin is giving me something to do. Yes I know it’s gross but it’s also satisfying ok. I’m really pissed off it burnt in the first place. 

Nose sorted, Julie and I did some chores and got ready for the day, I had a face time with my Morgi which was lush, as he was travelling to meet friends at the driving range for the evening. He was just checking in, but for someone who has no desire to read the blog he has an uncanny ability to know when the bad days roll around.  By our standards it was a brief chat, only an hour but he’d arrived at the driving range and Julie and I were ready to go out ourselves. He had a quick catch up with Julie before hanging up.

After finishing up the FaceTime with My Morgi, Julie and I went to pick up Mamma Kay and make our way Kings Park. The enormous 990 acre park and Botanical Garden is one of the world's largest and most beautiful inner city parks, with some of the greatest views in Perth. It has a walk lined with red-flowering gums which are over 100 years old, and 600 acres of protected native bushland, there are beautiful outdoor events spaces and playgrounds galore…. For kids of all ages! I love this place, and its one of the places I bought Si to. When Erin and Morgan were little I used to make up picnics, and come here a lot as there was so much to do even then and it didn’t cost anything.

The park's Indigenous history can be explored with heritage tours that explain bush food and medicine. It has been and remains an important place for ceremonies, traditional stories and community gatherings.The sense of community is still very strong and there are picnic tables and free electric barbecues dotted throughout The park for anyone’s use . Free guided daily walks run through the Botanic Garden, where there are over 3,000 species of flora unique to Western Australia. The park's biodiversity is supported by strong research and conservation efforts, which includes initiatives like species recovery, woodlands restoration and an on-ground science team.

The playgrounds and adventure spaces are fantastic. Well equipped, shaded to protect from the sun and with seats scattered around. It's great to see so many people actually using it, obviously the spectacular weather plays a huge part in that. There is a massive tower called the  DNA tower that has some pretty incredible views and is worth the significant climb. Well not for me obviously, I’ve done that shit when the kids were little, Erin dropped her little pink hat from the very top and was utterly distraught as only a 5 year old can be. I mean, I can totally relate after losing my favourite knickers a few days ago in a similar manner..

We were meeting Carey, Ray and little Koda at Koorak Café. As we were early it would have been considered rude to not have a coffee and cake while we were waiting for them. So many healthy options and an equal number of not so healthy ones. I actually opted for a healthy slice. That’s what it was called. Healthy Slice, full of nuts seeds and fruit. Mamma Kay has been given a second lot of antibiotics for her leg as it’s not clearing up which is a concern. Luckily it doesn’t affect the cake eating and milkshake drinking. That would be Positively criminal. 

Carey and Ray were late because they had to drop Anya off at the aquarium so she could go diving with the sharks. Why anyone would think that was a good idea is beyond me completely. Just watch Jaws people. Get it reaffirmed it’s never good to swim with things with bloody enormous teeth. 

We  moved tables when they arrived as we needed a bigger one and Carey got out Koda’s picnic, jeez that kid can eat and just commands the entire room's attention when he does so. He has his grandparents, great grandmother and great auntie wrapped around his little finger just eating out the palm of his tiny little hand. Oh and me,  he had me eating out that little hand too. The most enormous piercing blue eyes and dimples. Mere mortals have no chance at all. 

Oh and my drink came with a paper straw that has bees on it .

We had another round of drinks while Koda ate his lunch and then it was time for him to enjoy the playgrounds and perform for his adoring public. I was the owner of wet cheeks as a wave hit while taking a photo of a eucalyptus tree. The scent was really strong off the bark and leaves, but it was the trunk  simply mesmerised me , utterly beautiful, silky smooth to touch and bleached white in the sun and a sharp contrast to the blue sky above it.  I actually turned around to say to Si ‘come and feel this babe’.

Koda distracted me from it and did something cute which pulled me back into the present, thank god for little kids.  He decided it was time for ice cream and no one was going to refuse him! A bit more play after ice cream before we had to make a move for home.

The afternoon flew by and it’s been lovely to just sit in nature. Immersed in the bird sounds, bush, sights and smells of a country so different to home with people who are most definitely my tribe.

Plans were made for Tomorrow before dropping Mamma Kay home. We picked up Connor's birthday present from her garage ( don’t I feel even more shitty for booting him out of his bed on his birthday) and went back to Julie’s to put it together. Well she put it together I lingered and got in the way

As it’s the weekend, and hot, we popped to Greenwood Mall for salad stuff, and to the bottle shop for alcohol, I picked up some cider called Pink sunset, it seemed appropriate! and threw in more wine for good measure. 

Aidan went out on a Christmas do wearing a Christmas jumper, it’s odd seeing actual fluffy Christmas jumpers in this heat, he’s going to swelter!  But he’s happy so who cares.  Yes I’m aware there are a lot of Christmas jumper references in this paragraph … 

With a nice chilled cider in a stubby holder, we settled in to watch ‘slow horses’ . In the middle of it we had a message off Carey on the group chat telling us to go outside, and look east at the moon. OMG it was the most beautiful  orange super moon, the last one of 2025. I really need to learn to take decent photos with my phone as I can’t do it justice, but Julie said Ray takes the most incredible photos so we messaged him to say we hoped he’d got some! Si would’ve loved it, and we should have been sat outside with cider, cwtched up in silence just looking at it for hours like we do at home. No need for blankies coats and hot water bottles here though. 

We met some of Julie’s neighbours who've just moved in opposite her while looking at the moon as well. They’re both from the UK originally, and the bloke whose name I forgot spent time in Brecon on a school trip. What are the chances?   It’s their little girls birthday tomorrow so they apologised in advance for any noise! Who are these people?!

The moon suitably admired, new neighbours met who Julie said she’d like to get to know better,  we went back to the cider and ‘Slow Horses’. Unfortunately due to our day's activities, cider, the lateness of hour and our combined age of 110 it was all a bit much and we will have to watch the last episode again as we both woke up when the credits were rolling up the screen! 

Much Love

Mrs Leonard

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