easy street retreat

visit from Coco

2012-01-25T19:24:00.001+11:00

Coco arrived on Saturday 21 Jan 2012. We go way back to the early 90's when we lived in an inner city suburb of Sydney, and along with a couple of others, gained the collective nickname of 'the witches of Erskineville'. Coco was supposed to fly out today, Wednesday 25, but the Bellinger River flood hasn't abated enough to allow traffic to cross any of the Darkwood/Thora bridges. Meanwhile there's been lots of movie and TV watching and plenty of enlightened intellectual discourse centred around men, life, the universe and men.

visit from Brett

2011-12-29T16:07:00.000+11:00

Brett and I go way back to about 1991 when we lived in inner Sydney. We both went our own ways in about 1992 and after what still seems like a number of lifetimes, we re-connected in about 2009 thanks to the mighty and marvelous internet. It's lovely to feel so comfortable and in tune with someone after all those years apart. I do hope that no matter what's in store for each of us, that we'll remain good friends forever. Brett was holidaying with his two children, Luke and Sacha and stayed overnight on 28 Dec 2011. We managed to fit quite a lot of activity into an overnight stay - patting horses, feeding chooks, swimming in the river and much patting, brushing, cuddling and general spoiling of dogs.

visit from Susan

2011-11-18T08:50:00.001+11:00

Susan and I worked together in the 1970s at Newcastle Technical College and were drawn together in mateship and support in order to weather the regime of a particularly nasty boss. We've caught up very occasionally over the years. When she visited on 14 Nov I hadn't seen her since the early 90s. We had a talkative time for the three days she was here. We went sightseeing to Nambucca Heads on the last day and on the drive back from Nambucca, dropped in at Hungry Head. It's a spectacular lookout with views (on a clear day) to Coffs Harbour in the north to South West Rocks in the south.

Susan checks out the view to the south.

The only people there were two swimmers and one walker.

View to the north.

don't be a dick

2011-11-07T15:15:00.000+11:00

river photos

2011-10-11T10:37:00.001+11:00

Just can't resist taking photos of river beauty on our daily dog walk.

big tree

2011-10-11T10:35:00.000+11:00

This tree is in a neighbouring property. It's hard to get an idea of the size of it from a photo, but take it from me, it's bloody huge!

dog walker

2011-10-11T10:30:00.002+11:00

Jack (the tall one), and from left, Ruby, Tiger (on leash), Gracie (on leash) and Bella.

herb garden

2011-10-11T10:27:00.000+11:00

I'm starting a little herb garden pot by pot. So far I've got two types of mint - the common variety and Vietnamese, oregano and thyme. The one of the left is the just-planted thyme. They're just outside the door for easy picking after dark. They're in pots because I don't want them to naturalise all over the place.

ceropegia woodii

2011-10-11T10:23:00.002+11:00

I've had this chain of hearts for many years. It used to live in Sydney and came here with me when I moved. It never looked that healthy in Sydney. I think I watered it far too much. It is a succulent after all. My dog Muffy didn't help either as she liked to make her bed in it.

The primroses keep on sprouting up year after year after year. I first bought the seeds when my daughter Sigrid was a toddler. She's now 27.

dockrillia linguiformis

2011-10-11T10:12:00.002+11:00

More commonly known as the tongue orchid, this epiphyte is one of a number of native orchids that grow naturally around here. It grows unobtrusively on trees and rock faces for most of the year and flowers around September.

It gets it's name partly from the shape of it's leaves which are thick and leathery and shaped rather like a tongue. The first part of it's name 'Dockrillia', is after Alick Dockrill, an Australian orchidologist. The second part 'linguiformis' is from the Latin 'lingua' meaning tongue, and 'formis' meaning shaped.

It is a protected species and as such should not be collected from the wild.

lilly pilly

2011-10-11T09:52:00.000+11:00

I don't know what kind of lilly pilly this one is but it's a beautiful sight, especially now when the leaf tips are red. This one is on the pathway down to the front door of the house.

lomandra city

2011-10-11T09:32:00.001+11:00

Last season I saved hundreds of lomandra seeds from both hystrix and longifolia varieties and potted them. Bisecting my property is a steep bank by the river that was and still is covered with weeds in parts. My plan is to gradually replace all the weeds with lomandra, a native plant that grows naturally around here.

Lomandra has three great qualities. The first is that it can withstand extended periods being submerged, which is essential for when it floods. The second is that it produces an incredibly strong root-ball that more often than not, keeps the plant firmly attached to rocks or embedded in the ground as flood waters rage over them. The third is that, if planted densely, and if weeds can be kept away from them until they mature and knit together, they'll form a dense cover that smothers just about everything else.

After about three years of struggle, the whole width of the front of the house is done.

But there are still many more to plant! And they have to be all planted before it gets too uncomfortably hot and humid and before this year's seeds are ready to collect in early 2012.

email messages

2011-10-03T12:58:00.005+11:00

My family history website generates a lot of email messages. Some are kind offers of further information which is always gratefully received. Some are corrections which I'm also very grateful to receive. Others are simple thank yous which are always a joy. Very occasionally I receive one that can at best charitably be described as disheartening. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to receive constructive criticism. But this type of email message is different and can be impolite, angry, threatening, name calling and/or accusatory. I wish these people would just take a few deep breathes, take a bex or two and have a good long lie down! Smell the roses people! Get a life. Get a pet. Buy a colouring in book. Make a cake. Give a present. Simmer down... I have to admit that it takes many encouraging email messages to erase the bad feeling I get from just one of the others.

feeding the horses

2011-09-03T09:17:00.000+10:00

Our neighbours have a property at Cassilis as well as the one in Easy Street. They go off to their other property regularly and Jack gets asked to feed the cat and horses. I usually go along for the walk.

afternoon walk down easy street

2011-08-04T11:42:00.010+10:00

Late every afternoon Jack and I take the dogs (Ruby, Tiger, Gracie and sometimes Ella) for a walk either down Easy Street to Guesses Bridge or up towards The Plains Bridge. The dogs know when it's getting near time. Tiger waits patiently by the door.

Outside, but still waiting for Jack and Ruby to get ready.

After the walk down Easy Street and across Guesses Bridge there's a short stop to admire the view upstream.

As we turn around for the walk back the late afternoon sun flashes behind the trees.

Over the bridge there's a cool walk up a rise in the shadows to the sunshine on the flat.

The coldest part of winter is over and spring is around the corner. On the flat the red cedars are beginning to sprout their red foliage.

Further on a jumble of huge staghorns and epiphytes bask in the last rays of the sun.

magnolia

2011-08-03T09:14:00.000+10:00

Every cool season the magnolia loses its leaves and bursts into flower. I picked this little sprig and put it in my fancy deco vase.

winter scene

2011-07-31T18:11:00.005+10:00

A few years back this view of the house and garden would have been totally blocked by a messy stand of black bamboo which kept me busy throughout summer when numerous shoots popped up all over the place, and alarmingly, sometimes many metres away from the main stand. A stunted gardenia that was being starved by the bamboo grew just in front of where I stood to take this photo. Unfortunately it had to go too in order to get to all of the bamboo. Much better now.

gone bamboo gone

2011-07-16T18:06:00.005+10:00

The cooler months are the best time to attack large projects outside. This winter one project was cutting down another huge stand of running bamboo, that during summer, would shoot up all over the place. It was a mammoth job to cut it all down. Some we mulched with the help of Kim and Fiona. The mulcher packed it in and so we burned the rest. Now all that's left of it is this satisfyingly small pile of ashes. We'll have to keep at it for a good few years yet before it's finally all dead, but the worst part is over. Good riddance!

coldest night of the year

2011-07-08T18:02:00.000+10:00

Nothing like snuggling up under a thick doona next to a roaring fire on a cold winter's night!

a permanent resident

2011-07-03T10:47:00.005+10:00

I've seen this python a lot recently. It's usually sunning itself or keeping warm by curling its two metre length into a coil. I've had no rodent problems this winter. I wonder if the python has anything to do with it.

looking after the neighbours' livestock

2011-07-02T10:17:00.012+10:00

I went with Jack today while he fed the neighbours' animals. A male lamb had been born on about 24 Jun. It was resting while it's mother was being fed.

Sturgis is a lovely guy who does his best to makes sure the livestock is safe while the owners are away.

Twin lambs were born on 2 July. They were one day old in these photos.

A couple of Magpies always get some of Sturgis's dried food. They've learned that Sturgis loves his bone more than anything else and won't be distracted from it.

Across the fence the cows look on with interest.

banksia

2011-06-18T20:15:00.002+10:00

It's been raining for what seems like forever. These were taken from the shelter of the verandah.

greed, profit and vested interests

2011-06-02T17:28:00.006+10:00

Why does the Australian cattle industry and the Australian government continue to export or allow the export of live cattle to Indonesia, knowing full well that they could be treated in the manner that was aired on 4 Corners on ABC Australian television Monday 31 May? The answer is of course because of greed, profit and vested interests.

What would happen if the industry straight away voluntarily ceased the trade and sought other opportunities? And make no mistake, there would be plenty of other opportunities. For a period of time, profits would lower. Can't have that!

What would happen if trade ceased until such time as it took to fund and build abattoirs in Indonesia to accommodate true Halal slaughter practices. And for those abattoirs when operable to be staffed by Indonesians and managed or monitored by Australians to ensure that cattle are treated humanely. A lot of money would have to be invested, and again, profits would be lowered.

One defence of the way in which we saw cattle treated and slaughtered on the program, is the requirement for cattle to be slaughtered in a certain way so that it is Halal (permissible). Googling 'laws if Islam concerning food' will provide information about what should or should not be done to make the slaughter 'Halal'. A quick read of this and you will arrive at the conclusion that the meat produced by the methods employed on the 4 Corners programme in Indonesia for ritually killing cattle is definitely not Halal. A sharp knife must be used with preferably one cut only, and the knife should not be lifted. The animal should not be distressed, the animal must not be hit about the head, the animal preferably must not see blood or see other animals being slaughtered. The animal must be 'gently' laid down and restrained. And so on.

Another defence of that kind of treatment and slaughter cattle is that it's a cultural thing, that life, including human life, is cheap in that part of the world. That may well be so. If it is, then all the more reason to cease sending cattle there.

Another argument goes that we here in Australia are cruel to animals so why look overseas when there are so many problems to be solved here first. Who knows what goes on in our abattoirs? What about the outback sport of savaging wild boar to death using dogs. What about the caged hens, de-beaking, pig housing, dairy cow tail docking, poddy calves, racing greyhounds and their fate. All these are certainly worthwhile causes. But just because any one of them is still being practiced is no reason to turn a blind eye to the torture and inhumane slaughter of cattle in Indonesia.

Yet another argument is that we humans are inherently cruel to other humans and to animals. It's a basic instinct. I don't buy that. A sane human being can learn, especially with the weight of public opinion and the law, to change their way of thinking. Englishmen used to believe that it was OK to use the punishment of drawing and quartering or impalement for example. Most cultures know better now.

Some say that the 4 Corners coverage was typically exaggerated, hysterical and biased. Maybe so, but say for example that it was only the few abattoirs that were shown in the program that were using inhumane methods and that all the other abattoirs were free from any inhumane practices, I say that as long as Australia allows any exported live beasts to be frightened, flogged, tortured, and slaughtered in an agony of pain, as evidenced by the 4 Corners programme, it demeans and shames us all.

tawny frogmouth

2011-04-23T14:03:00.003+10:00

A pair of frogmouths were busy making themselves invisible in the fork of one of the Jacaranda trees today.

Morelia spilota

2011-04-22T20:19:00.000+10:00

In lulls between rainstorms, a carpet snake soaked up the last weak rays of summer sunshine on my verandah.

Calyptorhynchus funereus

2011-03-19T10:25:00.004+11:00

A flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos have been feasting on the late summer fruit ands seed of trees in the area. They are much more welcome here than the noisy and raucous White Cockatoos that also come in large flocks at this time of year. Their contact call is a long drawn-out 'kee-ow'. Call in MP3. I surprised a small group of them in a tree just outside my front door. This one wasn't giving up the fruit it was eating and kept it in it's beak for later as it flew:

some kind of moth

2011-03-19T10:17:00.004+11:00

This lovely moth has been on my mat and flywire door screen for the last few days. It has laid a heap of eggs on the floorboards underneath. It is very sluggish. I suspect that it has finished it's work and is slowly dying. I've sent a photo of it to the Butterfly House at Coffs Harbour and they are sending it off to an expert for identification:

my formula to get to sleep

2011-02-21T12:58:00.005+11:00

Here's my recipe for getting to sleep.

Firstly, when I get into bed, I need to relax all muscles. I begin at my feet and think about my toes, my instep, my heel, my ankles, my calves etc and before going from one to the other I make sure that they are all consciously and throughly relaxed. I do all this slowly and for as long as it takes to get it all to relax. I do the same for my hands and arms. Usually for me, these things are already relaxed, although my shoulders and hands are sometimes in need of conscious relaxation, bit by bit. The difference comes when I begin on my face and neck. Think about forehead - relax, think about eyes -relax, think about cheeks - relax, think about mouth (a big one for me) - relax, jaw - relax, neck - get it in a comfortable position and relax. Keep this up until every part of your body is relaxed - no clenching!

Now - when you have complete muscle relaxation it's time to rid your mind of unwanted thoughts that keep you thinking and therefore keep you awake. To do this, I practice a meditation technique of sorts. Firstly I need to stop thinking about whatever I'm thinking of (it could be anything - what I've got to do tomorrow, going over what I did today, etc etc) and resolve to concentrate on breathing, only breathing, nothing else.

To accomplish this, I breathe in and out in a natural and unforced rhythm. When I breath out, I think the the word 'one'. I don't actually say the word but only think it as I'm breathing out. I continue to breathe in and out and continue to think the word 'one' on the out breath. I try to concentrate on this only - to the exclusion of all other thought. If I find myself wandering away to my love life, my day, etc, etc., as soon as I am aware of it, I go back to breathing in and out with 'one' on the out breath. I keep this up. Sometimes it feels like forever, but sure enough, if I keep it up, I'll fall asleep. When I wake I'm surprised that that technique put me off to sleep so quickly - no more than about 20 out breaths and I'm gone!

Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

2011-01-29T15:12:00.003+11:00

This Eastern Spinebill feeds on the nectar of the grevillias and banksias that are planted around the house. They are also called Spinebill Honeyeater or Cobbler's Awl. They flit from flower to flower, probing them with their long, spine-like bill. They come to feed all year round.

beauty and contentment

2011-01-29T11:33:00.003+11:00

who's this handsome young duke

2011-01-24T17:57:00.004+11:00

Lower middle.

A few years later:

Sporting a perm:

raft

2011-01-24T17:39:00.007+11:00

Sigrid came for a visit for two weeks. She was great company and a huge help with the new dogs. When not helping she read her book on the riverbank.

She also made a raft out of bamboo and string.

napping

2011-01-24T17:32:00.006+11:00

Tiger really likes to make herself comfortable when napping...

A close-up.

Gracie's not averse to a bit of tongue airing too.

doggygates

2011-01-24T17:24:00.003+11:00

I bought some ready made treated pine screens and Jack made a great set of dog gates on the verandah with them.

While this was going on, Sigrid made herself comfortable reading the paper, while Ruby had a rest.

glow-worms aren't worms

2011-01-24T10:51:00.004+11:00

They are the larvae (maggots) of a fly that has a very unusual lifestyle. Glow-worms inhabit a wide variety of terrain but seem to favour protruding rock ledges like those at Easy Street Retreat and caves.

When night falls, they lure insects into elaborate snares using a green/blue bioluminescence. The snares are made up of a mucus tube, in which the glow-worm resides; bracing threads, which suspend the glow-worm from its substrate; and 'fishing lines', which hang vertically beneath the mucus tube. Fishing lines can reach up to 40cm in length if undisturbed, and are studded with globular secretions of mucus to immobilise the insects such as midges and flies that blunder into them. When an insect is caught, the glow-worm reels its catch upwards using its mouth parts, and attaches it to the mucus tube to prevent escape.

fireflies aren't flies

2011-01-24T09:55:00.003+11:00

They're actually a small beetle. The male fireflies' habit of producing a pulse of light from their abdomen when flying at night makes them particularly noticeable. They have been of interest to humans since ancient times. The first written records of fireflies are from China 2,500 years ago.

The males use the flash pattern to attract the attention of the females on the ground. Females have a weaker flash pattern. Fireflies are best seen from half to one hour after sunset in summer on a humid, still, rainless and moonless night. The duration of the flashing display of mass emergence lasts for around 30-45 minutes. There are exceptions and some males persist for longer periods and it's usually these males that are more successful in finding a female.

day 9

2011-01-16T11:14:00.003+11:00

Tiger and Grace are settling in nicely.

Tiger hasn't yet learned where she should be going to the toilet and thinks that the verandah is as good a place as any, and inside is good too in the night time. Gracie knew from day one that outside on the grass is the toileting place and to hold on in the mornings until mumsy gets up. Tiger, although cute, is a handful at the moment.

Bellinger River at Orama/Darkwood Tuesday Jan 11 2011

2011-01-11T14:18:00.005+11:00

I shot this from the verandah:

Physignathus lesuerii

2011-01-09T10:33:00.004+11:00

This little Eastern Water Dragon has been around and about for a few months now. I took this photo while he/she was resting on the verandah. He or she is very shy and I had to take this shot from inside the house so as not to frighten it away.

Grace and Tiger

2011-01-09T08:44:00.010+11:00

Missy and Pepper (now Grace and Tiger) came to Easy Street Retreat 7 Jan 2011. They are rescue greyhounds. Grace is a beautiful blue with a white chest and a white tip to her tail, and Tiger is a curious light cafe au lait/blue brindle with white extremities. Both are extremely elegant and beautiful in body and in nature and so, so eager to please. I got them from www.greyhounds4u.com.au.

Innumerable greyhounds are euthanased throughout the world after their racing careers are over, or before their racing career has fully begun if they show no promise, or during their racing career if they injure themselves.

Greyhounds are the oldest pure bred dog, dating back to the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt. The Greek goddess Diana is usually pictured with a greyhound at her side.

Greyhounds are are even-tempered and good-natured and are inherently well-socialised. They love everybody.

Typically, greyhounds rarely bark. They 'chatter' their teeth like castanets when happy or excited. Most greyhounds, because of their physiology, don't sit. They prefer to stand, lie, or adopt the sphynx position.

A standard resting position is the 'cockroach', where the dog is upside down with three or four of its legs in the air.

Greyhounds 'smile'. A greyhound smile almost looks like a snarl, except the top of the muzzle isn't wrinkled up. They do this when they are really pleased about something or want something.

Greyhounds are extreme lounge lizards and love nothing more than snoozing the day away on the couch. They usually require less exercise than many other breeds to keep them happy, healthy and content.

This is Tiger:

This is Grace:

another dog?

2010-11-24T08:29:00.003+11:00

It's now three days after Muffy died and I find myself looking longingly at pictures of dogs for sale on the web. Gorgeous Muffy was a constant in my life for 16 of her 19 years. Should I get another so soon?

Muffy

2010-11-24T08:12:00.005+11:00

Last Sunday 21 Nov at 11 in the morning, my darling 19 year old Muffy was euthanased at the vet surgery. My neighbour Dee drove me there. On the way there, Muffy, wrapped in a towel, sat on my lap with her head resting on my arm, snoring. Jack stayed at home and dug her grave in a treed, sun dappled spot not far from the house. She came home again on my lap, silently, and she was laid down in a pillow slip and covered with earth. Jack and Dee picked gardenias and hydreagea for her. I've since put a vase there and pick fresh flowers for her when the old ones wilt. This photo (her face slightly out of focus) was taken about a week before she was euthanased:

Here is her grave:

Hi Fi

2010-05-23T22:26:00.012+10:00

A few weeks ago I purchased some new fi-fi components including a set of Whatmough speakers. Have been playing all my CDs and any others I can get my hands on since it's been set up. All the components need lots of 'running in' hours clocked up before they hit their peak. It's amazing how much more of a CD one can hear when it is played on better equipment. Now I have to get a phono pre-amp to play my LPs as the new amplifier (like most modern amps) doesn't come with a phono pre-amp like my old integrated amplifier did. Also have to decide whether or not to invest in a new record player. I think I'll just get a decent pre-amp and see how it sounds with my ancient Dual turntable.

My recent CD purchases include:

geeenealogy

2010-03-19T09:51:00.004+11:00

Well, my family history site has been taking up so much time that I've neglected the blog. I get lots of email messages from people saying how good it is, offering more information or corrections, or asking questions. It gives me an interest through the summer when it's just too hot and humid to do anything much outside and it's great when I get positive feedback.

I've made a resolution to cease neglecting the blog. I hope I stick to it!

Spring striped sensation

2009-10-15T12:00:00.001+11:00

You just can't beat nature for shape, pattern and colour.

all legs

2009-10-13T11:57:00.000+11:00

A new arrival to Easy Street in our neighbour's paddock.

butterfy or moth?

2009-10-10T11:52:00.001+11:00

This little translucent and unusually coloured butterfly was found resting on the corner of our front door.

Phalacrocorax sulcirostris and Ardea novachollandiae

2009-10-09T11:43:00.000+11:00

What unpronounceable and complicated names these common species have! We usually see Pied Cormorants fishing, preening and drying their feathers along the riverside. These preening and feather drying Little Black Cormorants were seen the other day, sharing a favoured spot on the riverbank with a White Faced Heron.

the journey home from Alstonville

2009-10-08T11:10:00.000+11:00

I decided to take my time coming back from my visit to Ann and spent the whole day driving in to various spots along the coast between Ballina and Coffs Harbour. At Minnie Water there were some beautiful paperbark trees.

A magpie looked on as I took my paperbark photos.

There had been a bushfire through Wooli recently that had burnt the forest right down to the edge of the Wooli Wooli River. The colour of the water in the river was an glorious aqua.

The heathland on the ocean front at Wooli had also been burnt.

On the same hot windy day, the water at Wooli heads looked cool and inviting.

my trip to visit Ann at Alstonville

2009-10-04T10:41:00.003+11:00

I visited a friend, Anne who lives in Alstonville recently. We were shopping on a windy day in Ballina when I saw this little dog waiting not so patiently in the back of a car for its owner to come out of the supermarket.

A lovely coloured little pony was grazing beside a laneway at Alstonville when we were looking around the countryside. I'm sure its colour is natural but it did look as if its owners had given it a dye job.

We bought some plants from a stall outside Whian Whian school and had lunch in its lovely grounds. The students had planted a small rainforest and there was a large bee's nest in a lower branch of one of the trees.

In search of more plants, we had a tasty and reasonably priced lunch at Windara Nursery at Casino. The nursery provides supported employment for people with disabilities. A palm in the garden there had both green and red fruit.

art class

2009-09-13T10:20:00.005+10:00

We did a series of 'en plein air' art classes in September with Nigel Killalea around the Thora valley. Two classes were held at our place. Nigel is a Coffs Harbour artist who recently won the Bellingen Art Prize with his work 'The Promised Land'. Nigel is looking rather contemplative here. Maybe he's just keeping an eye our for snakes!

Neochmia temporalis

2009-09-13T09:58:00.001+10:00

Red-browed Finches are prevalent here at this time of year. They can be seen in large flocks feeding on the ground or balancing delicately on the swaying tips of lomandra and other grasses.

It is said that they mate permanently. They stay close year round, preening one another and roosting together at night in roost nests, often with several others. Flock members keep in touch with constant high-pitched calling, both while feeding and flying.

They feed on a variety of ripe and half-ripe seeds of grasses and herbs, which they supplement with fruit and insects, particularly when breeding. Feeding is often broken by frequent visits to water where they drink by scooping. They build nests that are flask-shaped with tunnel a entrance on the side, sometimes only a hood. The nest is constructed of stiff green or dry grass, occasionally pieces of bark or leaves and they line it with white feathers. The nest location is mainly in bushes – often thorny- about 8m above the ground. 4-6 white eggs are incubated for
13-14 days.

.

winterworld

2009-09-11T09:48:00.000+10:00

There are lots of glorious things to look at in the garden in winter.

Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

2009-09-11T09:27:00.000+10:00

I think this little bird is the Eastern Spinebill. It goes for the nectar of our Grevillia flowers and is also very keen on our Banksia nectar, which it harvests with a brush-like tongue.

It is said that they can become quite tame and can be attracted by making squeaky noises, but we haven't tried this. We'd prefer to keep our distance and just observe them doing what they do best.

They are considered to be the Australian equivalent of the American hummingbird because they are active all day, almost without rest, to enable them to collect sufficient quantities of their high energy diet. Their tiny size also means they loose body heat very rapidly and must constantly replenish their energy stores to keep warm.

Two or three eggs are laid in a beautifully crafted cup-shaped nest of moss and cobwebs lined inside with soft hair and feathers to further protect the contents. It is usually situated in a shrub or bush within a few metres of the ground, hanging by its rim from several thin branches.

Meliphaga lewinii

2009-09-05T08:33:00.000+10:00

Lewin's Honeyeaters are plentiful at our place at this time of year. The nectar of Gevillia seems to be their food of choice, but they also can be seen at other times eating insects and fruit from flowering trees including the mandarins that we have here in abundance in winter. They get themselves into all kinds of positions to take best advantage of the nectar of Grevillia flowers.

They seem to hold the same territory year round and advertise it through a distinctive loud rolling staccato “machine-gun” like chattering which they call often during the day. They breed during September to January. The nest is a large cup of vegetation and other materials, bound together with spider web and lined with soft material. The two to three oval eggs are incubated for about 14 days and the young birds leave the nest after a further 14 days. It is unclear what roles each parent performs in nest building and incubation, but both care for the young birds.

Lewin's Honeyeaters are named after artist John Lewin (1770 – 27 August 1819), who was born in England and arrived in the colony of New South Wales on 11 January 1800 on the ship 'Minerva', becoming the first resident professional artist in the colony. He published Birds of New Holland with their Natural History in 1808 in London. An 1813 edition made up from cast-off prints and pulls, was the first illustrated book to be engraved and printed in Australia. Birds of New South Wales, of which thirteen copies have survived, is considered one of the great Australian bibliographic rarities. Some of his watercolours are now held by the State Library of New South Wales.

He died in Sydney on 27 August 1819 leaving a widow and a son. His tombstone can be found at Botany Bay Cemetery.

His background as a natural history artist made Lewin an acute observer of the reality of the Australian landscape and its fauna and flora: critic Robert Hughes comments that he was the first to record the distinct 'look' of Australia without being blinded by European art conventions, and according to art historian Bernard Smith, "Lewin grasped the nature of the eucalyptus, its light translucent foliage through which the horizon may be seen, and the nature of the slender and feathery grasses of the interior. He succeeded, too, in portraying an authentic bush atmosphere."

spotted orchid

2009-09-05T08:18:00.000+10:00

Denbrobium gracilicaule is a little orchid that often grows unnoticed high in the rainforest tree canopy. The fragrant winter-spring flowers hang upside down. This one, being feasted on by some ants, is growing quite low in a tree at our place:

still life

2009-08-10T12:22:00.002+10:00

Not quite finished but getting there still life:

art?

2009-07-01T10:08:00.004+10:00

Arts classes are in full swing again. Our teacher is Alissa Hall, who is a well-known oil painter. Here's my first portrait. I'm kind of happy with most of it except for the hair. It's of Tristan who has up until this point been one of the students.

And this is our current project - a still life with lots of patterning on the objects. We've only had one lesson and mapped it in on top of the pre-prepared ground using white only. This Sunday, we'll start on the colour. The week after, on the patterning.

walking on rocks

2009-06-04T18:01:00.004+10:00

Muffy doesn't go outside much any more and she is unsteady on her feet walking on rocks.

Sometimes its necessary though.

ancient carvings are revealed by receding waters

2009-06-04T17:50:00.008+10:00

Angler fish

Shark

Wink wink

Tropical fish of some sort

Depressed

Martian

Poltergeist

The ancients sometimes embellished their carvings with what appears to be a primitive spraying technique:

the flood giveth and the flood taketh away

2009-06-04T17:06:00.007+10:00

Lots of soil was lost during the last flood but we gained more than we lost in the form of rocks, gravel and silt. This is our new beach:

Erosion uncovered an ancient and badly rusted digging device:

At the height of the flood, the river is brown with sediment. When the river's velocity drops and the sediment begins to clear, the water always turns a teal green colour before returning to its usual clear transparent state.

what does a flood look and sound like?

2009-06-03T17:02:00.013+10:00

Car breaks down on Richardson's bridge due to rising flood waters:

Darcey to the rescue part 1:

Darcey to the rescue part 2:

Darcey to the rescue part 3:

Darcey to the rescue part 4:

Flood waters engulfing our tree planting project. Some of the higher ones escaped:

Floods waters over tree planting project part 2:

Looking at where Richardson's Bridge would be just after the height of the flood:

Another one of Richardson's Bridge underwater as the flood is just beginning to recede:

Vistitors to our place will recognise the viewing platform which is on the riverside in front of the cabins:

The flood as filmed from the verandah of our house:

From the eastern side of our house:

Richardson's Bridge area - flood receding further:

Saying hello to someone trapped upstream on the other side of the bridge:

Receding more and beginning to reveal some damage:

Many thanks to Fiona McMullin for providing all the above footage.

wompoo

2009-05-26T13:34:00.012+10:00

The Wompoo fruit dove (Ptilinopus magnificus) is a large and dramatically beautiful rainforest pigeon, almost twice the size of other coloured fruit doves. It is up to 56 cm long, with a pale grey head shading into rich green back and wings. There is a broken yellow band across each wing. The breast and belly are plum-purple and the underparts are yellow.

It's conservation status in New South Wales is 'vulnerable'. A 'vulnerable' species is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances and factors threatening its survival or evolutionary development cease to operate.

Here are some photos of one taken from the verandah of our house. It was busy eating the fruit of a white cedar.

What needs to be done to recover this species?

Plant locally-occurring fruit-bearing trees and shrubs.
Protect remnant rainforest patches during burning-off activities.
Retain forested corridors that link east to west migration routes.
Encourage and initiate weed control programs.
Protect known and potential food trees.
Protect rainforest and moist forest habitat.
Initiate and support rainforest regeneration projects.

The white cedar was being shared by the pigeon with a group of Pied Currawongs (Strepera graculina) who were also feasting on the fruit and a lone Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) who was using the tree as a lookout post for catching worms and insects on the ground.

3rd flood - our changing riverbank

2009-05-26T10:27:00.009+10:00

The retard fencing that we installed as part of a rivercare project has shown its worth during this flood. Where there was once grass that we kept short with the ride-on, there is now a layer of rocks and silt that seems to have been deposited because the retard fencing slowed the river down. We think that without the retard fencing, a lot of the soil would have been gouged out and washed away. Unfortunately, the many trees that were planted on the foot of the slope down to the river, also part of the rivercare project, have been either washed away or covered by rocks. Monday 24th:

Tuesday 25th (with a little sunshine):

3rd flood - Guesses Bridge

2009-05-26T10:04:00.007+10:00

During floods we are always cut off upstream by water over Richardson's Bridge (see below) and downstream by Guesses Bridge. During this flood we had no power or phone from Thursday 21st until Monday 25th and the river rose to a peak of just over 7 metres at Thora on Friday 22nd at midday. Our little community of half a dozen houses gets isolated until the water recedes. This is what the approach to Guesses Bridge looked like on the morning of Monday 25th:

Here you can see the line of the bridge under the water:

Tuesday 25th - a view from the opposite side of the bridge showing the road damage to the bridge approaches:

3rd flood - floodwaters receding over Richardson's Bridge

2009-05-26T09:57:00.007+10:00

Sunday 24 May looking towards Richardson's Bridge (underwater). Tree stump from previous post is visible in the middle of the road.

Part of the road seems to be washed away:

Monday 25 May. The river went down further revealing a very large and deep washaway. We christened it 'Richardson's Falls'. This disaster, caused by a change in river direction upstream which in turn was partly caused a couple of islands created by a build up of river oaks, and partly by the bridge itself, which forces flood waters sideways targeting the approach to the bridge and our land.

Tuesday 26th - Richardson's Bridge becomes visible as flood waters recede further:

The serious gouging is now clearly visible. Looking towards the river, the remains of our retard fences can also be seen:

Looking towards Darkwood Road:

Tuesday 26th 2.00 pm - locals clearing debris from Richardson's bridge:

3rd flood - our new garden sculpture

2009-05-26T09:48:00.002+10:00

A curious and interesting tree stump was washed down river by the flood and deposited on the road just south of Richardson's Bridge. Our neighbour Darcey tractored it for us into our garden where it will stay as a reminder of the power of raging flood waters. It's about 5 foot wide.

3rd flood - the only way to get across Richardson's bridge

2009-05-26T09:35:00.005+10:00

On Sunday 24th May, as the flood was just beginning to recede, a tinnie came up the river. Not a sight you see every day. The river is normally far to shallow and rocky for a tinny to traverse. The occupants of the boat were joy riding up river to see what they could see. We took photos of them crossing Richardson's Bridge.

3rd flood - ballad of the Cool Creek girls

2009-05-26T09:10:00.011+10:00

Another flood! This is the third one this year and the biggest. Last Thursday 21 May the river rose rapidly. Our neighbours from Cool Creek (10 km further up Darkwood Road) tried to cross Richardson's Bridge to get home to their dog before the flood waters made it impossible to make bridge crossings. The water had already come up over the bridge and larger 4WD vehicles were having no trouble getting across. The girl's car was a smaller Subaru and didn't make it across. The engine died when it was almost to the other side. They waded back to our place to get help to get the car off the bridge before the flood waters washed it away.

Our neighbour Darcey brought his tractor down to tow it back to our side of the bridge. Here's a link to the video of it being towed.

The girls stayed at our place until Monday 21 when they were helicoptered out to their Cool Creek property. The helicopter landed in a paddock opposite our place.

An innocent bystander in the paddock looked on:

more flooding

2009-04-01T15:37:00.004+11:00

Another flood today, and quite a big one. This is the worst one we've had since we moved here 2 years ago. Our poor trees that we planted on the river bank as part of a riverbank restoration grant have buckley's chance of surviving this one. They're all underwater at the moment. Meanwhile we're once again cut off both upstream and down. The good news is that we still have electricity, which is quite unusual. Usually, rising flood waters and blackouts go hand in hand. We're guessing that our water system will be wrecked again too and the boys will have to brave mozzie and leech infested rainforest to repair it once again.

unidentified bird

2009-03-28T15:33:00.001+11:00

Will have to drag out the 'what bird is that' book to find out what this one is called. It's probably the white throated, yellow breasted branch sitter.

pergola again

2009-03-28T15:28:00.001+11:00

The perola's finished, but the colours aren't anything like the ones we chose from the swatches. That bright blue is supposed to be a teal green - so we'll probably go back to the place we bought the paint from and get something a little more like what we wanted in the first place.

fruit of our ...

2009-03-26T15:21:00.003+11:00

We planted some passionfruit vines back in November 2008. They've gone 'great guns', growing very quickly and providing a softening effect and welcome shade for the walkway between the house and the studio. It's only just now started to flower and fruit. There are 3 vines - a normal purple passionfruit and two more exotic varieties. I hope they ripen up before the winter frosts arrive.

Jackville again

2009-03-25T15:17:00.001+11:00

Pete, Greg and Jack have been hard at it finishing off the pergola. The central part were the roof is hipped has an an iron roof so the entrances to the two cabins stay dry.

more mushrooms

2009-03-23T15:15:00.001+11:00

It's been a very humid and wet March and mushrooms of all shapes and sizes are popping up everywhere. Here's another little forest of bright yellow ones:

jacksville

2009-03-23T15:07:00.003+11:00

We're hoping that the pergola frame with a hipped roof in the middle will take away that 'World War II training camp' feel that the building has. The building is very wide and squat with a flat roof, painted 'bone', and quite devoid of interest. At least now that big horizontal mass is broken by the pergola roof. We'll be planting some kind of vines that will trail over the pergola to soften it off and painting it a more interesting colour.

beginning art class for 2009

2009-03-15T08:52:00.001+11:00

I look forward to Sunday's oil painting class. We've had 2 lessons this year. We have just finished putting in the darks and lights. I overdid the grey bit above the model's ears! Next week we start on colour.

muffy

2009-02-28T08:41:00.001+11:00

Muffy is Sigrid's dog. Sigrid got her when she was about six years old. When we first got Muffy she lived in the bush outside Lismore near the Channon. She then moved with Sig to Mosman in Sydney where we lived from 1994-2006. Sig is now 25 and long since moved out of home. Muffy is now about 18 and living with me (Sigrid's mum). She still recognises Sigrid when Sig comes for a visit.

Sig's visit

2009-02-27T08:29:00.001+11:00

Siggy made her last visit before she leaves for a trip overseas. We went for a drive up behind Dorrigo and found a lovely swimming hole that had been swollen by the recent flood:

We found the 'big tallowood':

Stopped the car again to pick the leeches from our feet. A goanna was watching. The photo has been rotated:

funny mushroom

2009-02-23T08:26:00.000+11:00

The weather has been quite tropical since the flood. Lots of afternoon thunderstorms. This delicate little thing came up after a storm:

plants grow fast in this climate

2009-02-22T08:20:00.001+11:00

There were very few plants in this area when we moved in to the new house two years ago. Look at it now!

jacksville update

2009-02-21T08:15:00.000+11:00

Jack has moved into his renovated cabin. Here's a picture of two bums working on the kitchen cabinets:

We are now continuing with the renovation of the second cabin and work on the pergola when it's not raining:

the good old days...

2009-02-20T08:27:00.003+11:00

This is one of the reasons that family history fascinates me. How long is it since anyone went to 'Sunday School', dresses were called 'frocks', and people went to 'grocery tea's? Here's a report from the Windsor and Richmond Gazette on a local wedding in 1936:

'St Matthews Church of England, Windsor, was beautifully decorated with white daliahs and asters by friends of the bride for the wedding on Saturday February 1, of Marie, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Reg Burton of Windsor, and Alec, youngest son of the late Mr and Mrs Hatherill of Middlesex, England. The Rev Norman Jenkyn RD performed the ceremony.

The bride who was given away by her uncle, Mr H Greentree, wore a gown of white crepe blister, featuring a long train and full tulle veil held with a coronet of orange blossoms. She carried a trailing sheaf of frangipani and tuber roses and a white prayer book, the gift of the bridegroom.

The bride was attended by Mrs W Stubbs as Matron of Honour. She wore a frock of blue morocain with a hat to tone, and carried a trail of blue delphiniums and pink carnations. Daphne and Doreen, sisters of the bride, acted as flower girls, and were frocked in pink ankle length satin and carried gold baskets of blue delphiniums, pink carnations and roses.

Mr W Stubbs acted as best man. The reception was held in the Sunday School Hall, New Street, Windsor, where the bride's mother, wearing a navy frock with white trimmings and hat to tone, and carrying a bouquet of red roses, received the guests assisted by Mrs J Allen, wearing a black figured morocain and hat to tone and carrying a bouquet of red roses.

Rev Norman Jenkyn acted as chairman, and after the usual toasts were honored, the wedding cake was cut by the bride and a very happy function was brought to a close by singing Auld Lang Syne, after which the happy couple left by car for their future home at Castle Hill. For her travelling frock, the bride chose blue morocain and hat to tone.

On arrival at Castle Hill they were met by a party of friends, who entertained them with a further reception, which was quite a surprise and took the form of a grocery tea.'

eggy wegs

2009-02-18T08:11:00.002+11:00

Quite a few moths have decided that our fly wire is a good place to put their eggs:

flood goes up, flood goes down

2009-02-18T08:05:00.003+11:00

The retard fencing that was erected as part of a landcare grant seems to have done its job during the flood. We think the retard fencing has slowed the river down so that less damage was caused to the tress we've planted and there seems to be less gouging:

flood

2009-02-17T10:29:00.012+11:00

We're flooded in at the moment. It bucketed down overnight and we woke to a very swollen river this morning. Luckily Greg made a dash into Bellingen yesterday to stock up on fresh supplies. There's no chance of us starving however. We have a freezer full of pork from a beast our neighbour slaughtered recently. Another neighbour has plenty of eggs on tap. We are cut off in the east by Guesses Bridge and in the west with Richardson's Bridge. Between the two bridges there are seven properties. 5 of the 7 properties are occupied at the moment.

Guesses Bridge is underwater. This is looking east over Guesses Bridge down Darkwood Road. This is our road out to Thora store and Bellingen:

Richardson's Bridge is underwater. Darkwood Road and the bridge are under there somewhere. This is looking west, up the valley.

The view looking downstream from our verandah:

Soggy male and female Blue Wrens taking shelter on our verandah:

We'll have to wait until the river recedes before we can assess the damage to our riverbank tree planting project. Most of the trees are submerged:

Lots of meetings take place on the road between the two bridges. There's not much else to do:

Taken from the verandah of our poolroom/studio:

Taken on the riverbank in front of our house. You can also see the state of play with our lomandra planting project to the right:

Strange mushrooms that appeared as the water receded:

Our bromeliads are liking all this water. This one has decided to flower:

Nothing whatsoever to do with the flood, but here's Greg's lizard sculpture which I tardily neglected to upload to the blog at the time he finished it some months ago:

country charm

2009-02-15T12:18:00.001+11:00

Jack be nimble

2009-02-07T15:32:00.007+11:00

Jack's place is coming along nicely. We think another week and a half and Jack can move in. And then we can start all over again on the room that Jack's moving out of...

It's damn hot here, like everywhere else in eastern Australia at the moment, so we try to do most of our work in the early morning or late afternoon.

The kitchen is a 'flatpack' modular thingy from Bunnings. A lot of palaver to put together but cheaper than anything else. We did have big probs with Bunnings though. We bought what was in stock in the 'modern gloss white' style of cupboard finish. They were out of stock of one 600 mm cupboard. So, we asked when they would be getting more in - they said about a week. Built part of the kitchen with the ones we had bought and went back in a week's time to buy the rest, and they weren't on the shelves. On inquiring, we were told that that style and colour had actually been discontinued for about 6 months!

Why then did they have it still on the shelves for us or anyone else to buy without some notice saying that that was all there was going to be - ever. It turns out that there was one of what we needed to complete the kitchen in their warehouse in Melbourne, so another week to wait until it is delivered......Phew!

And here's the bathroom:

more on Jacksville renos

2009-01-16T14:51:00.004+11:00

We're finishing the walls of Jack's place.

We decided to paint one wall "Marikesh Red'. This will be where Jack can hang his Rick Griffin posters.

The cement floor has been done in what was supposed to be grey, but unfortunately it was more blue than grey. Stay tuned. It's going to be over-painted in another colour which is hopefully a mixture of black and white.

noice

2009-01-12T10:33:00.000+11:00

Have no idea what this plant is but I think it's a bulb of some sort. They just keep on popping up around the place. Hope they're not some kind of environmental weed because they are just so lovely when they catch the sun.

tawny

2008-12-31T10:25:00.004+11:00

We came home from shopping to find three Tawny Frogmouths ensconced in a tree close to the house. One looked to be a baby. We hadn't seen any since last summer so were very pleased that they'd come back, or another family had moved in. But they couldn't have picked a worse time. It was New Years Eve, and neighbours who should know better decided to stage their own fireworks event. What a dumb thing to do in the bush. Horses were running into fences and hurting themselves and other livestock was spooked and attempting to escape as far away from the noise as possible. The poor Tawnys must have decided that this was just too noisy a place for their liking and they haven't been seen since. This is the baby:

Jacksville

2008-12-19T10:14:00.000+11:00

Things are moving along quickly with the renovations. The concrete was formed up on 14 Dec 2008:

It was poured on 15 Dec 2008:

The dividing wall between the two cabins was formed up on 17 Dec 2008:

The gyprocking began on 19 Dec 2008:

no oil painting

2008-12-11T10:22:00.002+11:00

Art classes have ended for the year. I really enjoyed it and will be going back next year. Our last exercise was to paint highly reflective surfaces. This is my attempt at stainless steel.

snake dreaming

2008-12-10T09:40:00.005+11:00

This carpet snake had a conspicuous bulge from something that it had recently eaten. Looking at it an hour or so later it was still in the same spot. We took a photo and not wanting to upset it any further we left it alone. Another couple of hours passed and still the snake hadn't moved. Curiosity got the better of us at this stage so we nudged it - brown bread. There was foam around it's mouth. We have no idea what killed it. Neither we nor our neighbours use rat poison. This was taken a few hours before we found it dead:

Ours had only eaten a modest meal compared to this one, that had eaten a wallaby:

'Snake Dreaming', oil on canvas, by Lindsay Bird Mpetyane:

colours of a storm

2008-12-05T09:23:00.003+11:00

We had a storm just on sunset on 2 December. It's intent was signalled not only by the still atmosphere, the ominous dark clouds and the thunder, but also by the strange light that rested over the bush. This photo isn't 'shopped'. The colour is as the shot was taken, immediately prior to the storm.

Jackville

2008-12-05T09:09:00.007+11:00

Our friend Jack has moved in to one of the rooms in the old retreat buildings. This has given us the impetus to 'do a number' on the retreat. There were four individual motel style rooms in this building:

We've decided to make the four rooms into two by knocking down the dividing walls.

We're also going to put in full kitchens, renovate the bathrooms, tile the floors, re-gyprock, reconfigure the windows and doors, and build a pergola on the northern side to shade them from the summer sun. The awful rock/cement area between the rooms will be built in and eventually form the entrance and kitchen areas. We're employing Pete our neighbour to help with the building. Stage one is pulling up the rock/cement work:

tree fall down

2008-12-05T08:27:00.004+11:00

We reluctantly decided that the rest of the Liquidamber tree had to come down. The branch that had fallen previously had left a large hole in the trunk that would eventually destabilise the tree and provide an easy entry for rot. We loved the look of it and the atmosphere it gave to the back of the house, not to mention the shade it provided for us and the smaller plants around it. But it had to go. Darcey and Billy, our neighbours, who have plenty of experience, cut it down:

Tree on ground:

granny blanket

2008-11-28T09:58:00.005+11:00

Muffy's habit of vigorous nest-building with sharp little claws has finally resulted in the destruction of the two pillows that we bought her from Dogue. They were made of tough stuff though and held out for a very long time. The replacement we think is suitable for an old girl and she seems to like it.

strong winds

2008-11-28T09:34:00.005+11:00

Last Saturday 22 November we had gusting winds on and off all day. A branch on one of our Liquidamber trees came down on the roof of the walkway between the house and the studio. I was in the walkway to the time, heard a loud cracking noise, and a whallop, and the next thing I know is that I'm surrounded by foliage. An hour later with the help of generous neighbours, the whole thing was off the roof, the big bits cut into blocks and the smaller branches piled up ready for a winter bonfire. Amazingly, no real damage was done to the roof.

the elusive rattus lutreolus

2008-11-01T10:43:00.005+11:00

The swamp rat is a native Australian mammal. It won't get into your roof and chew your electric wiring. It prefers constructing tunnels and runways in long grass and dense vegetation. It won't get into garbage bins. It prefer chewing on the fresh basal stems of sedges and grasses and seeds, fruit and fungi. It lives about a year. We have what seems like a metropolis of them in amongst the lomandra that we've planted along the slope down to the river bank. The lomandra was planted originally to stabilise the bank and protect it from flooding. We hardly ever see them but there is ample evidence of their habitation in the form of tunnels. This is the closest we've gotten to photographing one:

They're cute little buggers. The photo below wasn't taken by us but we've included it to show you what a photo of one would look like if we were lucky enough to get one out in the open and sitting still for longer than 2 seconds.