Today Rivington in our ownership is 100 years old

I should be doing all sorts of things about the centenary, but I havent felt awfully well so I will talk more about that tomorrow.
First a photo of the jacket I am knitting, so far so good. It has sleeves to the elbow and one button, probably by the time I finish it it will have gone out of fashion. I think I am going to modify it a bit.
Then Oscar who I collected from the cattery today, he was so pleased to be home, not that he minds the cattery but home is home, and he got fish to night!
Then how green the valley looks at the moment, a lot of growth since we left and it drizzled again for most of the day. What we want is a good down pour but any rain is received with thanks. It was pretty cold today too, only 9 degrees at 11 am.
Still some autumn colour in the garden, the smoke bush looks good and I cant get over how stuff recovers, it is either dead or looking good.
Finally a photo I took in Pt Pirie while we ate lunch, a bit of the end of the harbor and the Flinders Ranges in the background.
John has a wretched cold so perhaps me not feeling well is in sympathy, I dont usually get colds.

Last days at Coffin Bay

The first photo is of sunrise, not sunset as we were leaving on Tuesday.
Then D'Arry with his huge snapper, we think about 10 kilos.
Pelican on George's boat ramp, they really are huge and magnificent.
A bit of the cliff at Golden Beach which I thought had lots of texture and finally a rather fuzzy photo of the lovely mallee ring neck parrots that sometimes came and sat on the railing of the deck, but this one was on a rock by the road.
We had a long about 8 hour drive yesterday, the first 4 hours into the sun which was a pain, and then down to get to the post office just before it shut.
Lots of unloading and unpacking.
Today I have unpacked and put away everything and washed and washed.
I had to get some shopping done so called in to see Miss Millie and Mason who were both out with their mothers at Tabby's. I took Gaby home.
Lovely to see the two babies and Millie loves Mason to death, I am not sure he quite enjoys here advances but they are really sweet and where was my camera? Home dammit.

Birds and flowers

This area is full of birds of all descriptions, mostly sea birds and they sit on all available structures, These cormorants looked rather as if they were waiting to be sent off fishing.
The clouds have been incredible.
We have seen quite a few emus but I have been too slow with the camera.
D'Arry came back yesterday with a huge snapper so he was pleased. John thought about 10 kilos, no one else caught anything.
The wonderful flowering shrub is a Templotonia or cockys beak, comes in various colours of red and orange. They are all over the National park and are just coming into flower. I imagine when they are all in flower they would be magnificent.
Our last day here so no blogging until I get home. Packing up to day as we hope to get off early tomorrow.
Too short a time as usual.

Pelicans and a dusty sunset

There are lots of pelicans around. I love watching these huge birds fly and come in to land, like aircraft but never seem to be ni the right place to catch them so ones in the water will have to do, although they dont look as big or as spectacular.
Yesterday was very warm for this time of the year and also very windy which blew up a lot of dust so the sunset last night was spectacular, couldnt resist a photo again!.
John took me off to farm that is not far away that has opened a small cafe to have pancackes and cofee and look at the antiques they have. As well as that they sell fresh pork from their black pigs so are doing reasonably well in an area that can be hard to make a living from the land.
As it was so windy the boat didnt go out.
I spent a lot of the day trying to fix the muddle I had made on my knitted band of the jacket I am doing, for some reason I always have problems with moss stitch.

In Coffin Bay National Park

Four of us went out into the park this morning to a place called
golden Island
beach and while the others walked miles my aching knees only allowed so much so I took photos, beach combed and did some tiny paintings in the really good little sketchbook I bought at Dick Blick in San Francisco.
These are some of the photos I took, the sandhills showing in the back ground of this magnificent beach and the rocks and islands showing right at the end.
We went back for soup and tea at one of the girls lovely shack and then up to the spinning and knitting groups get together, they are a great group and always interested in what I have to tell them.
Home to prepare for the 13 for dinner, scrounging tables and chairs and extra cutlery.
We had corned beef and mustard sauce with vegetables and quinces baked slowly in the oven with cream and or icecream. Oh and we started with smoked fish and oysters, olives and smoked salmon on cream cheese and biscuits.
Mary is a magnificent cook.
I set the table and collected the flowers and scrubbed the quinces, stirred the sauce and served up!

Morning Photos

Suddenly we had clear skies and sunshine so I walked out of the house and took these photos. You can see how clear the water is, and the view down the channel to the fishing and oyster grounds.
Yesterday we went to the big morning tea and spent a bit of money, I bought a large pot of
alstromeria, for the princeley sum of $4! John will have a fit about getting it home.
Today we are walking in the morning and we have 13 in for dinner tonight.
I have started on a jacket for me, I am not sure if my knitting is up to the pattern but we will see. If it is I will just do it differently.

Ships and cat

I notice that I have made spelling mistakes in my last two captions! Sorry but this keyboard is tiny and difficult to see.
I made the cat for a bit of fun. The bird was supposed to be his head but was far too big so became a bird. Great fun to do when you have no pattern and just wing it. All had sewing, shows whar I can do if I try.
We walked along the oyster walk yesterday to have a coffee, about a half hour walk there from where we are staying and gorgeous, all alomg the edge of the bay. There were lots of boats in the bay and around the wharf area, both pleasure boats and fishing. I would show lots more but this little computer times out if I try to load more.
I must go down and take photos of the oyster boats but they are always in a hurry, it is a huge industry here with very clean and pristine waters and the oysters are magnificent.

A small jumper ans a sunset

Here is the small jumper I have finished for Mason, as you can see I ran out of wool so it is a fun jumper with odd arms. I was rather pleased with it.
We had spectacular clouds and the sunset last night got even better than this but I was called in to help with dinner. My job is to crumb the fish.
We went in to Pt Lincoln yesterday to get a few supplies and I wanted some more beads if I could find them. Had a coffee on the sea front and some soup later for lunch. We were really branching out!
I have had no time to sketch, and we are invited out today for coffee so the day will run away again.

Suid and water

I really love the beauty of this place. It has been so peaceful.
Not doing a lot, but it has been so nice to just relax and play.
I have made a really gorgeous crazy soft cat. I saw one some one hd done in I think, Cloth Paper & Scissors and thought it would be fun to make one not using my sewing machine. Any way its not quite finished, so what with walking and sewing not much more has been done.
The line up of squid heads was the result of yesterday's carch. They were so proud of them!
I am still having a few problems loading too many photos but today I did manage to get 2 up.

Coffin Bay days

Yesterday I couldnt get any script up, so I will see if I can do better today and get both script and photo up.
This tiny little computer is a bit tricky and I am finding I have to use 2 fingers very carefully or I hit something and it disappears.
We are having a very pleasant and quiet time, Mary is getting over a cold and we are both recovering from the trip over.
We were invited to the opening of a travelling suitcase exhibition of the local spinners. A great idea and sponsored by the Country Arts Trust. Caught up with all the locals in one go.
Lots of fish and squid being caught and consumed, the fire is going, it has been pretty damp and rainy since we arrived but I have walked every day, not far but enough and I have finished the little jumper for Mason, just need some buttons, repaired some jewellery and started on the beaded pin I have been asked to make.

Return to Coffin Bay

Alice's postcard and photos of home

A mixed bag today, the first is a post card from Alice in America.
Then John on his way to move on some parrots who eat all the feed we put out for the calves and making sure the heap he decided to burn wasnt getting away from him, it didnt but last time it did.
The peacocks who are in their winter gear, the males have lost their tails were quite disgusted about the state of affairs and walked off in a huff.
Then some of the biscuits I made yesterday. Mocha creams in the front and hazelnut and chocolate chip biscotti at the back with some lovely late pears off our daughters tree.
Finally and I have no idea if these are in the order I put them up, the lovely cattleya orchid which is flowering in the sun room and sending its quite strong perfume through the house.
I have dusted mopped and vacuumed so the house is sort of clean and my back is aching.
We go to Adelaide tomorrow.

Millie's jumper and Saturday walk

Yesterday was mothers day, I heard from 3 out of my 4 so that wasnt too bad I guess. John and I went for lunch at the Flying Fish at Pt Elliott and had a lovely meal and an even nicer O'leary Walker bubbly with it.
I had finished this little jumper for Millie and took it over before we went to lunch. It will then go on to Mason, hence the colour.
We went from dark rain clouds to sun on our walk around the base of the Bluff on Saturday, the sea was incredible colours at times. Rain over behind Victor and the road around the base of the Bluff interesting to walk on.
I never tire of the views around this lovely part of our world.
Today I am baking biscuits to take away with us when we go to Coffin Bay, catching up on some washing, as the sun is finally out, its lovely outside and I did venture out only to find that John has lit the heap of rubbish so there is smoke every where.

Birds were every where

We went walking this morning, along to the Bluff jetty and there seemed to be birds of all sorts around so I took photos. I dont know what this young oyster catcher thought he was doing but he was walking, then a cormorant was very busy diving after fish, I had a lot of trouble getting his photo.
Next there was a Pacific Gull on a high rock looking at the sea, a silver gull on a rock, and finally a blue crane wandering amongst the rocks looking for a feed.
I was in Adelaide on Friday seeing my mother and today apart from the walk and going to the market I have spent most of the day filling in forms to register the foals. Seems a never ending task.
We go to Coffin Bay for 10 days or so on Friday so I have to get a lot done between now and then.

Post cards and ponies

Today in the mail I received the lovely Japanese post card from Vanessa, how did she know we have been to Japan 4 times and love everything Japanese.
The other one with the customs opened envelope, nothing to find but a fantastic post card from Val. Not sure how she made it but its great.
Wonderful stuff to add to my art collection by special people.
Then the photos of the ponies at the South Australian Welsh Foal Show last Sunday.
As you can see they all had Champion ribbons the first is the colt Rivington Isaac, then the filly Rivington Melody, both Section A Welsh and then the clever boy Rivington Sun Chance who was Champion Welsh B then Supreme in that ring and then Supreme of the Show. His mother did all this before him so he comes from a line of ponies that have all done well and it is especially exciting as he is by a new stallion, this is his first crop of foals for us and they are all lovely.

This morning and what the post bought

I went over to Pt Elliott this morning and Gaby and I took Mason along to the Flying Fish for a coffee and then we walked back along the very pretty coastal walk, getting quite warm while we did so. So there is a photo of the sea taken from the path above the beach, Mason blocking all the area where we had coffee, perhaps I should have had the purple ladies in their red hats in the back ground! They were there for morning tea and couldnt even remember the rhyme that goes "when I grow old I shall wear purple with a red hat..."
Oh and the photo of the glory vine, it is on the pergola and is absolutely glowing at the moment, this was taken from beneath.
Then my two post card that were in the mail box this morning, a glorious one of purple hearts by Christina and Darlene's absolutely stunning one which doesnt really show how lovely it is. I must go back and re read how she did this one.
After this mornings lovely walk it is now trying to rain again, not that I mind, the more the better, our creeks are still not running.