A big catch up.

This last month has been a bit of a write off for me for various reasons which I won't go into but I think I am now back in a place where I can focus on things of a more positive and creative nature.

One positive thing I have maintained for the last six weeks or so is walking everyday for about a half hour which is about a two kilometre walk.  I decided that there would be no excuses, winter weather or not I'm out every day and feeling better for it.  I now have wet weather gear so I go out even when it's raining.  I purchased a warm and waterproof coat for Sophie too and as she is an older dog now, just turned 12, she is appreciating protection from the weather too when we are walking.  Each day on our walk we say hello to these two Labradors named Molly and Clancy.  They are always ready for a pat through the fence, Sophie has a quick sniff and then shows no further interest whatsoever.

Another part of our walk takes us past this beautiful Hardenbergia violacea, currently in flower.



Last week I noticed some workmen down the end our street with diggers and earth moving equipment and enquired what they were doing.  It seems the little creek that runs along in the gully was eroding toward the footpath so council decided to step in before any more damage was done.  I must say I was rather pleased that something positive was happening with the council rates we pay.

During the past two weeks on our walk I've seen a pair of Australian wood ducks which come back to the same spot to nest each year.  They are quite shy and are not to keen on remaining close so it was hard to get a good photo of them.  This particular property has a very large yard with a creek running though it which they appreciate immensely it would seem.

I have finally got back up into my studio.  The new heating unit which blew the second time it was used is finally fixed and making being up there much more pleasant.  I've yet to feel my oil painting
 mojo kick back in so in the meantime I'm pottering with some art journaling, putting some photo albums together and enjoying some alone time.  As colour is a very important part of my life especially in winter, I worked on a crazy little art journal piece chock full of colour.  It's rather fun just to let yourself go creatively and see what happens.

As can be seen in the photo above there is a lot of colour in the studio.  Colourful markers, a gorgeous owl mug a gift from my niece, washi tape and an inspiration board with illustrations I've drawn in the past and a birthday card from my parents from some years ago which has words on the front which are inspirational and encouraging.

The sun came out the other morning and the light was lovely.  Not too much of it comes into our backyard but the brightness gives plants and flowers a different look than on an overcast day.  I couldn't help but wander outside and snap a few photos.

Eucalyptus trees in the distance.

Tiny Fuschias that the Eastern spinebills love so much.

Even the Continental parsley looks good.

I took a couple of photos inside too.

The one indoor plant that seems to thrive.

I love the blue of this planter and the crazing of the glaze.

In other exciting news, hubby has taken to the notion of keeping bees.  As the bee population is in decline worldwide, he/we would like to contribute to the bee population and perhaps in our endeavour to do so might be rewarded with some natural honey, honey that has not been treated commercially.  Hubby attended a workshop to educate himself thoroughly and then bought some equipment to get started.  He has been putting together the hives in readiness for a bee colony to move in perhaps in the spring when they begin to swarm.  (We will have to purchase a hive from the people who collect them when they swarm.)  He is fascinated by these amazing little creatures, their habits and all the different things they actually produce within the hive apart from honey.

Bee boxes in the making.

Every now and then I pick up my crochet and am currently working on a shrug which I'll hopefully finish before winter is over.  We do see cold weather well into spring so I'm sure I will have ample opportunity to wear it when finished.

For those lovely people who follow this blog, thank you for sticking with me in my absence.  That's the way it goes sometimes, either you feel you have nothing to share and write about or life gets in the way and other things receive priority.  I have been continuing to read your blogs although not always commenting.  It's been lovely to see lovely summer scenes in the northern hemisphere when it's often been bleak here downunder.

Anne xx

Morning walk

Early this morning I had two choices, go for a walk or roll over and try and catch up on missed sleep after travelling to Western Australia.  The choice to walk won and it was a good decision.  There is nothing quite like that early morning light and the fresh smell that comes with an autumn morning on a farm.  Here are some photos from my walk.

A very noisy Butcher bird.

 Later in the day I started making Mum a spiral vege garden.  It's my first attempt at making one so I'll be interested to know how successful it is.

Late  afternoon light on the old house my Dad grew up in.

Shadows from a rose bush on the old bricks.

There will be more digging of soil for the spiral garden tomorrow and perhaps another early morning walk.

Therapeutic walk

Today was the most glorious autumn day with blue skies and warm sunshine.  This afternoon I found myself in need of a therapeutic walk to take my mind of things that were troubling me and decided to go to Birdsland reserve with my Labrador Sophie.  I've shared photos of this beautiful and peaceful reserve before but it's worth sharing again.  Today there was a pelican on the water, something I'd not seen before.  A pelican doesn't usually hang around a place without food and sure enough after a few minutes observation, four meals of some kind of fish were had.  Here are some photos of my walk.

Farmland adjacent to the reserve.

The first lake.

The pelican.

Fishing

Eating

The small island in the middle the second lake.

You can see the pelican zooming of in the distance.  They can sure move fast when they choose.

Regeneration programme showing young trees growing after the bushfires of 2009.

More regeneration.

Heading along the path back to the car.

While I was driving to the reserve Sophie was making the most excited noises.  When she realised where we were, those noises increased in volume, she was so excited.  I don't often bring her here for a walk but she has been here a number of times with the family who baby sit her when we are away.  Obviously her memories of those walks are happy ones.

Birdsland Reserve

Last week I looked after my nephew and niece for a couple of days during the school holidays and on one of those days we went for a picnic at Birdsland Reserve  The reserve or bushland park as it is sometimes referred as, was originally owned by a farming family by the name of Birds and the area was known locally as "Bird's Paddock".   It was sold in 1984 to the then Shire of Sherbrooke and opened to the public for picnicking, bush walking and sightseeing.  It is also a popular place for joggers, bike riders and dog walkers.

There are two main water storage areas, a large lake at the west end and a lagoon at the eastern end.  Monbulk creek flows through the reserve and the waterways are managed by Melbourne Water.

The lake, west end.

 

You can see two men fishing on the opposite bank, I have no idea what they would find in this murky water.  You can see a man jogging with twins in a double stroller too.  He jogged around the lake at least five times while we were there, the twins were asleep the whole time.

Of course where there is water, ducks will always be found.

Nice day for a bath!

These Coots were happy to eat grass around us while we were eating our lunch.  The blue smudge on the left is my nephew's jeans.

 I'm fairly certain the bird in the tree below is a Darter (Anhinga melanogaster).

 They swim in the water very low with only part of their long neck and head out of the water.  We tried to take a photo of it in the water a number of times but it went under each time and staying under water for a good 30 seconds if not more.  Each time it came up to the surface it was in a different place and immediately went under again.

There were many of these Swamphens wandering around.  They nest in the rushes in the Spring.

The lake.

The round piece in of land you can see in the lake in the centre of the photo is actually an island, a safe haven for nesting birds.

The lagoon on the east end.

The walking track that takes you to the lagoon, lake and walking trails.

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As we were walking along this track we saw these Superb Fairy-Wrens.  They are a bit hard to see in these photos.

You can see the blue tale of the Superb Fairy-Wren in the centre of the photo.  This one is probably a male juvenile and his colours aren't fully developed yet.

This one is harder to see.  It's sitting on the long branch with it's tail up in the air.

The reserve is a very important link for locally rare Platypus and the Yellow Bellied-Glider.  I've not seen a Yellow Bellied-Glider but I have seen Platypus at the Healesville Sanctury, they are gorgeous and a lot smaller than you'd expect.

In February 2009 a large bushfire swept through the Birdsland Reserve area covering an area of around 300 hectares.  This followed just two weeks after the devastating 2009 Victorian bush fires. The fire caused much damage to facilities, tracks, and fences and consequently some walking tracks have been closed to allow for re-vegetation and as a safety precaution.  Fortunately work has been undertaken to build new fences and gates in the car park area.  Other facilities in the reserve, the sustainably designed education centre with solar panels, composting toilets and rain water tanks were not affected.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this lovely tranquil area near where I live.

Anne  xx