I visit some birds ... and a waterfall

A friend of ours has just bought two peacocks and invited us over to view them. I imagined that they would be strutting imperiously around the garden, reminiscent of an English country estate. But no, they were confined to a cage in the backyard, and apparently have to stay there for three months to get acclimatised. But it was still wonderful to see their magnificent iridescent plumage and turquoise blue head feathers.

Our friend also has a large number of aviaries and some wonderful birds that he lovingly cares for. At first I got tremendously excited and so was unable to focus well. The dratted things kept flying and swooping around being birds!!!! Here are my first attempts.

                                  

I soon calmed down and got some better shots. Our friend explained the names of all the birds as we went along, but I'm afraid it all went over my head so I can't record them here, but bird fanciers among my readers may well recognise these breeds.

Steve preferred to view them from afar, but I boldly stepped into the aviary to seek the perfect shot....

... which constantly eluded me.

Perhaps with more patience and less enthusiasm, I could improve.

A week later we revisited Hindmarsh Falls, which I blogged about last year. This time round I determined to do more creative shots. First up though, a straightforward record shot of the path to the falls and a section of the falls themselves. 

Luckily after our recent rains there was a generous amount of water cascading over the rocks. 

I zoomed in to get interesting aspects of the water and the surrounding vegetation. It was a pity in a way that the day was sunny because there was too much contrast between the water, the trees and the rocks and I'm not good enough to be able to compensate for that. An overcast cloudy day would have been better for photos - but where is the joy in that?

You can see by the colour of the water how the rains have washed the mud down the river.

When I got back home I turned two of my favourites into black and white images.

Steve attempting to get the definitive shot.

 Me posing at the lookout.

And finally, some flowers to welcome spring.

All in all, a lovely day out. 

A new garden emerges

Winter has seen a change in the landscape at the Robertson villa.
When we bought the property two years ago, a thin strip of lawn ran alongside the garden path at the side of the house, opening out to a small rectangle expanse of green fronting onto the courtyard. Pretty boring I'm sure you'll agree. (Just in case you noticed, it's the angle of the camera that makes the fence look as if it is leaning in; this was the real estate agent's photo.)

I was itching for a garden. We'd only been in the house a few weeks, when I dug out a bit of lawn and created a small garden at the side and along the fence at the back.

But it wasn't enough for me. We never used the lawn as there was so little of it, although it did add a cooling element in high summer. But mowing and edging were onerous jobs in such a small space. So I took the plunge in early winter and began to dig out all the lawn and existing plants.

The first sod is turned

Three weeks of hard but satisfying work and eventually the lawn was gone. I dug in mushroom compost, mulch, pea straw, blood and bone, soil conditioner - anything I liked the sound of at the nursery, in it went.

Now, of course, I had a large swathe of soil, and it started to intimidate me. What should I plant? Did I need a theme? What effect did I want? Was this going to be expensive? I called in the services of my good friend Kathy who is a whiz at garden design, and together we planned the new garden. What I wanted was easy care, hardy in both the winter rains and in the summer heat, and pretty.

We had to get the structure right first, so after a lot of discussion we decided to put in a path and a central feature. Off we went to a landscaping place that was going out of business, so we were able to get pavers very cheap, plus a pedestal.  I was also keeping in mind that the neighbour's crimson bougainvillea falls gracefully over our fence and dominates the area for at least 5 months of the year, so that had to be incorporated in our design. If you look closely at this photo you'll see the recently pruned bougainvillea in its dormant phase peeking over the top of the fence.

Here Kathy begins planting some succulents around the pedestal.

We retained the existing frangipani, the bird of paradise, and the cumquat, and added a New Zealand flax, succulents, lavender, statice, gaura, salvia, ground covers, all with a blue/purple tinge and with white accents from the butterfly bush, daisies and alyssum. Slowly it began to take shape.

Lots of watering in with Seasol, and then I applied a blanket of small bark chip mulch.

I felt it needed some height so I purchased a standard white rose.

Of course everything looks so small and itty-bitty right now; the roses are bare, the frangipani consists of three thick bare branches, and the gaura has been clipped back to ground level. But in spring and summer it should be a delight. I swear you won't be able to see any of the bark chips. And then I'll plant some winter flowering plants so it will look good all year round.

I'll keep you posted.

Walking in a winter wonderland

There was no snow to be seen, no sound of sleigh bells, not even a sprinkling of frost when I set off on my winter wonderland walk today. Instead, on this mid-winter morning in Encounter Bay, there was a bright blue sky with intermittent wisps of white clouds, and a warm-ish sun. Not a breath of wind.  I started off on my usual route, past the pioneer cemetery ...

 and down to the sea ....

... admiring all the wintry flowers in the gardens along the way.

Feeling rather perky in a cliched 'good to be alive' way, I pressed on along the seashore and decided to go to the end of the cycle path rather than turn off earlier as I usually do. A few other walkers were out and about, and after we exchanged nods and 'good mornings' I was alone again.

Big fat pelicans baring their chests sunwards.

A man launching his boat.

At the end of the road I veered north and began the long climb along Jagger Road that skirts Encounter Bay.  At first I passed homes with lovely bay views.

I was planning to turn at the first right and wend my way back home by weaving in and out of the streets until I was home. But where was a right-hand turn? I soon found myself passing farms and seeing Encounter Bay recede. 

And what was this? Olive trees and sheep. Was I in Tuscany?

  But no, the next field was full of gums and sheep.

But still - where were the houses? Where was a right-hand turn?

 I trudged on, my former joi-de-vive slowly evaporating. After a further fifteen minutes I was elated to finally see a road sign pointing to the right. I turned into Minke Whale Road. I then sighted Humpback Way and Krill Crescent. I was loving the names. But I wasn't getting anywhere. It was all cul de sacs and courts. I was going around in circles. I figured out that the developers did not want through traffic so limited the exits which is good for residents but not for intrepid walkers.

Foolishly I started singing that Kingston Trio song about Charlie who gets on a Boston train but can't get off as he goes round and round on the different lines and is referred to as 'the man who never returned'. It was starting to look as if this might be my fate.  Into Southern Right Road - which also got me nowhere ... but at least it took me back to Jagger Road again.

Resigned to having to follow this road, I crested a hill and saw a steep descent followed by a very steep incline. Oh well, what goes down must go up and this I did. 'Think how fit I'm getting', I muttered to myself. But was that a roundabout at the top of the hill?

I'm sure it was, so more trudging, then eventually, the roundabout! I veered right and heaved a sigh of relief as I saw that I was on familiar territory again. I'd been here before. Hallelujah.

So began my wending towards home. My good mood momentarily returned when I spotted a lovely lemon tree (I was tempted) and then some chooks and some lovely neat houses with winter gardens...

 ..and a quirky outdoor installation.

Two hours later, with more twists and turns than I care to remember, I was home, exhausted and thoroughly dispirited. Winter wonderland be dammed.

I plopped onto the sofa with a huge mug of hot chocolate and dunked in THREE marshmallows!!!

Diary of a sweater

I have not blogged for quite a while. Instead, I have been busy snuggling against the winter chills, knitting needles in hand and clicking away contentedly for many weeks. Steve enjoys it too, as I am unable to speak while concentrating on complex patterns. So both of us are happy.

Kate selected a vintage 1940s pattern and purchased the wool. It was duly delivered to me and I set to. I love the beginning of a project when it is all ahead of me.
Warning: Readers who are non-knitters will probably not get excited with this blog.

The pattern begins to take shape.

 It was a lovely merino wool that felt so soft.

Slowly the pieces were knitted and it began to take shape.
First the back....

... then the fronts.

 Finally it was time to block the pieces, using the steam iron. Here are the sleeves set to be blocked.

 Then I sewed the pieces together.

 And finally assembled the finished product.

It was a bulky parcel to post, but off it went to Melbourne..... where it was lovingly accepted ('It's so warm. Love it!!! Feel very vintage. ') and modelled for me. It is hard to get measurements right when the client is so far away but we did our best. I think it could have been longer but Kate insists vintage is on, or just below, the waist.

Now my fingers are itchy again and I'm awaiting the next project .......