Helloooooooooo Spring!

Today, September 1st, is the first official day of spring in Australia (it is also Father's Day in Oz, for anyone that is interested!). However, we have been lucky enough that it has been feeling like spring for the last week or so. The sun has been out with temperatures ranging from about 65-75 degrees F, and if our luck continues, the cold, rainy days of winter are behind us! We cannot complain too much, though, as the winter of 2013 set records for being warm (average winter temp of about 60 degrees F), albeit rainy. Trees are blossoming, the smell of freshly cut grass is in the air, and we don't have to "rug up" for our morning bike rides to work for the next 8 or 9 months.

With the change in seasons, we do start to see insects and other animals come out of their winter hiding places, which is always an interesting experience. This week we caught a spider in our hallway:

Not nearly as big as the one in our bedroom last summer, but still scary-looking!

Friday night we had some rain that lead to the exposure of about 30 snails in our backyard. 

Not sure what is going on here?!

Tiny snail!

Checking out our back door. Sort of looks like he is suspended in the air!

This week we also enjoyed an outside lunch at a barbecue joint in the city. Aimed to mimic American BBQ, this place offers several different kinds of BBQ sauce including our favorite, a vinegar-based Carolina style.

Carolina style pulled pork with 'slaw, of course!

The "Zee Man" beef brisket with crispy onions.

Also this week, Melbourne was named the world's most liveable city for the third year in a row. Kind of exciting news as we begin our third spring in "Melbs". The video below is a couple of years old but shows a few highlights of our awesome city!