Falling in love with Brisbane all over again

The other week I was chatting to a lady who said the most lovely thing. We were talking about the wonderful warm breeze that was floating through the open window, the sight of the purple Jacaranda trees and the sounds of the birds outside (it was actually quite a racket, but never mind!) and she said, 

"This time of year makes me fall in love with Brisbane all over again".

How very true....

It seems to be an annual recurring theme on my blog to mention the Jacaranda season. Each Spring the Jacaranda trees manage to surprise me with their bursts of colour. Each year, they remind me how pretty they are and how the days are getting warmer. I suppose it also makes me love this place a little more too.

It's been a particularly dry Spring here in Brisbane. The grass is rather parched and brown so the bright purple of the jacarandas appear even more vibrant.

There is a stretch of road that I often drive past that always catches my eye this time of year. The houses are set slightly low and there are jacarandas everywhere peeping through the rooftops.

The other morning I decided to stop and take some photos. I had to smile at the name of the street...

...of course, what else would it be called?

As much as I tried there was no way I could capture the beauty of the scene. Well maybe if I had access to a helicopter ! 

The shot below is of the opposite side of the road and gives a little bit of an idea of the type of view that is quite common in this hilly part of Brisbane.

There are brilliant street names in my neighbourhood. (Just as an aside there's a great book written by a local author Nick Earls called ZigZag street and this is the very street.) 

I was really in the photographing mood by now and kept stopping the car to snap away. I only just got to school pick up in time.

This is what the flowers look like close up. I think they're similar to the Bluebell carpets that I remember back home...except theses are purple....and they hang from trees! Oh well, there's a little bit of similarity I suppose!

 So as the Autumn leaves fall off the trees in one half of the world warning of the cooler Winter months, I'm watching the Jacaranda petals fall with their warning of the heat to come.

Happy weekend wherever you are.