News beyond the hood today - from Oslo in fact. Find out how things have unfolded in Norway. Neighbourhoodliness from the other side of the world! The letters are just up. Pop down to the Farmers Market and collect your letter to read on the way through.

Usually at ACC our Gardening Group comes along each Friday and tends the fruit trees in our little orchard, waters and cares for the community herb gardens, wrangles the leaves (oh the leaves), turns the community compost bins and pulls up the weeds. They keep everything looking so lovely.

Yes, we are missing them!

Everything seemed okay in winter … but then spring arrived. In the last couple of weeks our garden has gone from slightly raggedy to verging on a jungle!

Anyway, neighbours, you’ll be pleased to know that this week we started the process of getting it ship-shape again. We began by weeding along the fence, tidying up the hill and sweeping the concrete.

And we’ll keep going next week until it is all back in order.

Because actually (currently hidden in the there amongst the weeds) some pretty exciting growing has been going on. And we’d like to show off. Like the plum trees. They are full of fruit this year. It’s quite a thrill - the prospect of our first real harvest!

Fingers crossed.

Hi Leanne here.

Last week I travelled over to the very limit of our 5km bubble so that my daughter could meet a school friend in the park. They had just a slither if bubble crossover along the Merri Creek.

I must say I found it strangely exhilarating to see East Brunswick again!

And then later in the week I was again reminded of life beyond our bubble. I am sure you heard about the flood warnings for parts of Victoria … but apart from strong gusts of wind and a good soaking for the garden nothing much eventuated in our world right?

But my younger sister lives in a little town called Cavendish west of The Grampians (but east of Hamilton). And here’s what the storm did to their local waterfalls (these are quite often just a trickle and we’ve spent time pottering around the rock pools up the top of Nigretta Falls in the past).

She sent us this video of Nigretta Falls and this video of Wannon Falls last Friday night. And I know she won’t mind me sharing them here.

I thought you might enjoy seeing what’s happening in this little pocket of regional Victoria at the moment. News from the ground. And life beyond our bubble - it does exist.

Hi Leanne here.

How fabulous are the neighbourhood roses? Have they always been this good? Or is it just that I now have the time to stop and smell (and photograph) them?

I saw some spectacular blooms this week. So here’s my pick (please note I have no formal training in this whatsoever! And when I say it’s a competition, it’s not really, I’m the judge, and the only way you can enter is by me passing by your fence. And then by me noticing your flowers - so in truth it’s all pretty random). But I hope you enjoy them too!

Runner up. A Fairfield entry. It’s quite lovely and gentle.

The winner. From Northcote. What do you think? The colour is amazing I reckon.

What a glorious day hey? While you’re out enjoying the sunshine why not pop past the milkbar … There’s a new letter up (Sunday).