Spring!

Spring has arrived in Australia, and with it we have slightly longer days, higher humidity and a new Prime Minister...although that last one isn't really related to the season.  After 9 months of on and off campaigning and all the debates, name-calling and outrageous promises, Australians finally went to the polls yesterday and ousted the Labor government.  Because the voting system here involves ranking the parties in the Senate, we don't know exactly what the government will look like, but we do know Tony Abbott will be the Prime Minister.  For the three years that we have been here, there have been constant battles over personalities and a great deal of name calling.  Hopefully we will now get some governing.  The hottest issues of the campaign were refugees and the carbon tax...two very different topics.

Big Pink Bunny on Queen St Mall

Big Pink Bunny on the Brisbane River

Spring also brings festivals to Brisbane and we are in the month long Brisbane Festival, which is apparently sponsored by Big Pink Bunnies.  We have no idea why, but everywhere we go in the city there are big bunnies...as far as we can tell, other people see them, too!  Regardless of the potential hallucinations, the weather has been so nice for early spring that we were able to sit outside yesterday afternoon, staring at the river, listening to live music and contemplating bunnies. 

A Beautiful Spring Day on the Brisbane River