This pink frangipani is growing in my courtyard garden. Beautiful against the blue morning sky.

For those who think it never gets chilly in Darwin, this morning was a breezy 16C. Yes I can hear all you non-tropical people laughing like mad but when the normal range is 25 to 32 daily you get a bit spoiled. So when it drops to temps in the teens everyone is in shock, even those of us who love it…count me in the latter group. Out

Desert rose in my garden...currently flowering hot pink.

on the acreage blocks about 25kms south of Darwin it even drops <10 sometimes.

You can be confident that there will be any number of people out and about in Darwin wearing jumpers/cardigans and boots or even Ugg boots, and my grandson will have his jeans on. Serious business!

This morning the Navy patrol boats were out on the water. It’s all “go” for Defence in Darwin as we regularly have international manoeuvres here during the Dry and the Fly Boys are up having fun in their fighter jets. Darwin is after all on Australia’s northern boundary and a front-line defence position so it’s not unknown to encounter an Army APC (aka tank) driving down the road with everyone on their gun positions. A bit freaky the first time you encounter it I must say. (Friday update -the RAAF jet-jockeys were up in their FA-18s this afternoon, doing U’ies over our roof so we got the sonic boom as they took off on the next leg of their circuits….shades of Top Gun without Tom Cruise).

Meanwhile it’s been a lovely clear blue sky kind of day and the tropical flowers are gorgeous. The burn-off has started and the smell of smoke from the fires is in the air daily. Up by the waterfront the exquisite crimson finches were dashing and “peeping” everywhere….their call is a distinctive “peep, peep”. Unfortunately they’re much too fast and flighty for me to capture on camera.

Here are some photos I took today of our beautiful tropical flowers.

A recent acquisition - not sure if I'll be successful with it.

This vivid orange Ritzi hibiscus didn't go with my garden's colour scheme but I had to have it anyway, and it does look gorgeously sunny and sparks up the garden.