May 2nd, late autumn.

The weather's been cooling down a bit and is beginning to really feel like autumn.  Not exactly equivalent to a Midwestern November, but at least early October.  The temperature change seems to have come in full force all of a sudden, and this whole weeks has been cool and getting colder.  Lows below freezing projected for Sunday and Monday, already.  But it only feels like already because it's May and not November.

Except for all the autumn colors, I guess it could feel like spring.  There are irises blooming in front of our apartment.  It's still not as cold yet as our mid-May wedding last year, but almost.  There are still flowers everywhere, so in a way it feels like both seasons at once.  (Have I said this before?  Am I repeating myself already?)

Looks like autumn in New England.

And yet... the first bloom was waiting for us on Sunday when we returned from Coffs, with more appearing every day.

We went to a little meet-and-greet event that the Armidale-Dumaresq Council put on last night.  It seems that most of those in attendance had moved here from Sydney or other larger areas, though we did meet a man from rural New York who has been here for a few years.  Every day, Reid drives by a little road-side stand selling apple pies on Kentucky Street on his way from work--it's that guy.  Funny how that works out!  We didn't get an exactly straight answer on why he came here, except that it was connected to his church.

According to Wikipedia (ultimate truth, I know), one in four Australians was born in another country, and yet, the Australians we've met generally seem surprised to hear that we came from the States: even asking how difficult it was to immigrate on more than one occasion.  I wonder if it's a lower percentage of foreign immigrants in general out here in sheep country, or just ones from the US.  I'm sure most of the immigrants to the continent land in the bigger areas, especially Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

It seems like it must be obvious we're not from Australia even before we open our mouths to give ourselves away.  Still, we've had a couple instances with Australians being genuinely surprised about us being from the States rather than from somewhere else.  I suppose it's good that we don't always fit the bill for the stereotypical American from an international standpoint.  Someone also asked Reid if he was Canadian when he met him--Reid joked he wasn't sure if that should be a compliment or an insult.  (Sorry Canada!)

Bought a bike for $20 from the Tips Shop, which is just a euphemism for the dump.

Speaking of Canada (sort of): I got a Fijian nickel in my change last week, which made me wonder if Fiji (and possibly surrounding islands) are like the Canada of Australia, their money slowly trickling back and forth the way Canadian quarters and pennies tend to do.  We also got an offer in the mail to buy a ten-dollar commemorative coin for Kiribati.  I'll pass... probably not going to Kiribati any time soon.

I love how the money here is a rainbow.