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July 2020
06 June 2020
Settled in nicely, we are still enjoying our exchange time here at Ducketts Mill Wine and Denmark Farmhouse Cheese. So, I thought I would add a few photos of the place, and some of the cheese making process.
The Pine Tree lined driveway.
The Cheese Factory and Shop/Shop/Cafe at sunrise.
Autumnal Colours framing the Cheese Factory/Shop/Cafe.
The hedge at the front is in flower and putting on a nice show.
Camellia's are also part of the hedge, and putting on a beautiful show.
Stirring and cutting the curds
More stirring to help separate the curds.
Separating the whey from the curds.
Putting the curds into the pots.
Camembert Cheese in the pots and ready for the fridge to grow it's skin.
Looking towards the neighbours and along Scotsdale Road on a pink sky morning.
The moon on it's way to bed over the vines.
Stormy Skies over the neighbours.
We spend our mornings pruning the grape vines, picking up the old vines we removed with the tractor and almost anything else that needs doing, then it's lunch at the cafe and the rest of the day off, but after photo's at sunrise each morning. Do we like it here? You bet we do. The green rolling hills, beautiful trees, beautiful fresh air and waking up to the sound of magpies chortling or kookaburra's laughing, why wouldn't we love it? Will we be here for a while yet? Yes!
19 June 2020
Time is flying by as the colder and wetter weather settles in and pruning the grape vines gets a little more interesting. We generally don't hang around outside when it is raining and have worked a few more hours on the good days to make up for the days when the weather stops us. The weather sure is making the place green, and we figure we haven't had this much rain on our now, very clean roof in a long, long time.
With a fair chunk of the 15 acres of grapes pruned we are also getting small jobs like packaging chocolate which seems to fly off the shelves as quick as the cheese during these school holidays. With the Western Australia's borders closed to the outside world West Aussie's are rediscovering the State they live in and tourism business is booming.
More photography around the area has been the get away from life on the farm, and we have managed to grab a few nice shots down at the beach and among the tree's.
Small Island on the Dam
Gum Tree scene at the bottom of the property.
The Scotsdale Road Valley filled with fog as viewed from Apricus Hill.
Fog starts to invade Scotsdale Road.
Fog among the gum tree's along Scotsdale Road.
One of many beautiful scenes along Scotsdale Road.
Just had to stop and grab this sunburst shot on a local dirt road.
Lights Beach is one of a number of beaches nearby. A short 15 minute drive and we are there. The nearby Elephant Rocks and Green's Pool beaches are closed thanks to road and carpark upgrades, so when they open again we will be spending some time down there for sure. But in the meantime we have plenty of exploring and photography to enjoy at Lights Beach, Ocean Beach and even Anvil Beach.
A good swell at Lights Beach
More of the same except nice cascading water on the rocks.
Love the way the rock at the back gets smashed by the ocean and the small river of water flowing towards this rock in the front.
Along with pruning the vines, packing chocolate, building the veggie garden, I have been making some small video's of the cheese making process for display in the shop because visitors don't always get to see the cheese making when they visit. Now they will be able to taste the wine and cheese and see the process as well, regardless.
So as the month progressed there were various trips to places around the local area, both for a general look, and for photography.
Clouds and a storm coming in at Lights Beach as the sun begins to set.
Looking East towards the Denmark Wind Farm.
Clouds and a storm graced by a rainbow as the sun begins to fade for the day.
A trip down to Peaceful Bay also saw us take a narrow, sandy 4wd track to a place called The Gap. Not a rocky gap like in Albany, or even Sydney NSW, but a series of beaches and small headlands. The track in was quite a challenge, and we were glad not to have met anyone coming the other way.
Wave after wave came rolling in, smashing this rock and continuing on their way.
Some long exposure photography as the waves hit the rocks.
More LE photography and wave action.
I nearly got wet feet.
Some more Long Exposure Photography, this time at Conspicuous Cliff along the Southern Coastline.
Another Long Exposure with the creek flowing into the ocean at the base of Conspicuous Cliff.
And there was the usual nice sunrises over the dam where we are staying and the chance to do some long, long exposure photography to capture the colour.
Beautiful colours to start the day.
The colour remained and grew as the light did too.
Mark Twain once said "...years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do that by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - and so we will.
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