Wet and wild

This is the view on the tarmac at Adelaide airport., wet wet. The view over Adelaide as we flew out. Grafitti from the train on the way down to Beaumaris, well the Cheltenhan railway station on the way down to see the family.
Today we went to see the Vienna exhibition at the art gallery, having an adventure on the way as we were bussed from Moorabbin to Cheltenham railway stations, waiting for ages and going miles out of our way. We finally made it into Flinders st and after seeing the exhibition had a bit to eat here at the little Austrian Kaffehaus they had set up in a corner of the art gallery, not so crowded as the more well known places. We then had a lovely time exploring other galleries but I must say I loved the Klimt's, to see them up close was the best.
Oh and I did enjoy these figures from the Pacific gallery.
Made it back on public transport safely, but rather damp around the edges, as more wind and rain in the late afternoon.

Off for a few days

I am trying to pack and see what I still fit into, this wretched cortisone has added surplus weight around my tum and nothing fits! the weather in Melbourne sounds like a bit of everything too.
It is hot and windy and a bit sticky here at the moment but there is a forecast for rain both here and there.
I am trying to get watering done as well just incase we dont get the rain, and any way the ground is incredibly dry, less than half our average rain for September so we need a downpour to catch up.
A couple of photos, the first two are what you see as you walk towards the back door and up the path to the next gardens, I have to say that Johns large cutting implement is not normally there.
Then the yearling fillies in the paddock I pass on my evening walk, they are starting to look lovely, losing their coats and filling out.

A short wander around the garden

Trying not to look at all the weeds that are out there!
I spent today tidying some of the area around the back door, still lots to do, but I have at least made a start and pulled out a heap of forgetmenots which although lovely in confined spaces are a nuisance.
I was interested to see that I now have three different clivias, the first one with dark flowers and tighter trumpets, a yellow one that took about 20 years to flower and never can I get a decent photo of it, it always looks washed out, then the ordinary clivia that I love as it brightens up dark corners under trees and is as tough as old boots.
The long Japanese wisteria is covering itself, I love it even though I bought it as a white and it turned out to be this very subtle blue/mauve colour. John spends his life cutting it back as it is growing over the prunus by the bedroom door, I know it will probably kill it one day but I would rather have the wisteria any way.
We went to the Native orchid show in Adelaide yesterday and I came houme with 3 new ones, this one is one of the very old dendrobium crosses, delicatum "appleblossom" I think, it grows in this hanging basket outside all year around, although we have just looked at it and are notsure how or if we should re pot as there doesnt seem to be a lot of bark around its roots.
The show was spectacular, some varieties I would love but they dont seem to become available.
I have walked twice to see the mares, I would love one of my mares to foal, but probably while I am away. We go to Melbourne for nearly a week on Wednesday so am having to organise the usual stuff, house sitter in, cat to the cattery etc and leave a moderatly clean house!

Silage time on the farm

They were gathering in silage from the paddocks near the house so I wandered out late this afternoon and took some not terribly good photos.
I love the way the truck keeps pace with the chopper, we have two trucks working as the silage stack is a distance away from these paddocks, further over in the next paddock is the rake.
Our son and grandson do this and their contracting business is flat out at the moment.
I am afraid there is not alot to pick up so they are cutting every paddock possible and hoping for some regrowth.
At least the gale force winds have dropped and there was actually a small sprinkle of dampness as I walked, but not enough.

A bit of textile play

Here is another one of my prayer flags, this one has Simon and Garfunkels 'The Sounds of Silence' exerpts written on it.
I was reminded very forcefully of this song when it was sung in New York on the anniversary of the bombing of the twin towers, a lot in there to think about.
The background was a monoprint and then I cut out a stencil and painted the black crow onto it. It is supposed to be eating an insect (actually I made a blob so added legs but they dont show up terribly well). This one is hanging by the back door next to the other one and John is wondering what is going to come next! He says there is not much room inside so he supposes it is logical that I have moved outside.
In the new Quilting art gifts Angie Hughes has made some small brooches and I decided that I could have a go at making a tag in the same style. I may make more of these they are fun to do.
At the moment I am painting paper and canvas for the start of a new fabric type journal, the sort Ro Bruhn makes, but it is taking me ages just to get the backgrounds done.
An absolutely awful day here, gale force winds again it is drying stuff out terribly, and I didnt even go for a walk today as I feel so full of hay fever. I hope the winds drop tomorrow as I have a lot of watering to do but dont even dare go out tonight.
It did dry the towels in rapid time though.

Pennants

These are the Pennants I have recieved in the Stargaze tome swap. The first is from Megan, the next, Jannice, the 3rd is from Judi and the 4th from Connie.
I am so pleased with them.
I tried to put these up on the yahoo group but it kept timing out, so here they are, one more to come but that person is ill so I thought I would put these up here now.
I am supposed to make one as well, it will happen eventually, but actually I quite like the fact that there is an odd number.
Now to find somewhere to hang them.
A busy few days in the garden, the weeds are growing a pace and after managing 2 wheelbarrow loads yesterday I could only manage one today. I am a bit worried about overdoing it, but the way I am going I am afraid there are weeks of work ahead.

In the mail and a day out

This lovely collection of doilies and lace came from Julie in the Uk and the collection of wooden stamp images on cloth came from Chris, also in the UK. I am very lucky to have blog friends who are happy to send out stuff for me to play with.
Yesterday was a long day as I was up at 5 am and over to collect two of my granddaughters, Gaby and Celina put on the float and take them and young Mason over to Strathalbyn for the mounted games. As I said a long day but we did see the steam train, the Duke of Edinburgh storm past, always gives the horses a bit of a fright as the line is right by the back fence of the grounds but lovely to see, although Mason was a bit scared of it. Not easy to get photos and these were all I could manage.
I didnt get home until way after 5 pm, by the time they had finished and packed up and loaded the ponies but they all enjoyed it, Mason did mostly, here he is posing in my hat, he did get tired and grumpy towards the end but managed to fall asleep which was bliss for me. I seemed to feed him all day.
Today I am aching and tired, more I think from the terrible day outside, hot and windy with a change forecast and a very low barometer than from yesterday.
Hope we get some rain, and not a tiny bit we need lots, when I weeded and cut things back on Saturday I couldnt believe how dry the soil is.

Port Adelaide

Yesterday I drove up to Port Adelaide to meet P as we had arranged to go to a demonstration at the art shop there of the use of Derwent Inktense pencils and blocks, we were the only 2 there so it was fun to ask lots of questions and play a bit. I bought some of the blocks as I decided that they were rather nice to use as paints, I also bought a brush, and a silk screen for a class I am doing.
I love going to the Port, although it has been ruined by the fact that developers have come in and now large ships cant get into some of the traditional areas and most of the lovely old buildings and wool stores are now just that buildings, waiting for people to 'convert' them.
I took a few photos, the lovely stone and brick work on these buildings, the ship and cornucopia on top of one of the wool stores, an old dtug on dry land across the river from where we had our lunch. a geranium flowering madly and brightening up a corner of an industrial site, and this seagull who sat and tried to get some food from us while we ate and had a coffee.
We went to an interesting exhibition in a gallery, all rusty objects and skulls and bones from a northern station that had been turned into the sort of thing I like. No photos unfortunately.
So I drove home and was tiredd, John was at a meeting until late so I fell asleep infront of the tv until he woke me up when he came home.
We had another foal yesterday and one this morning, the Cob stallion was busy as all of his have come within a few days.
I think we have a break for a few days now, although as the mares run with the stallions the timing is never very precise.

Fern

This is my daughters Cairn terrier pup Fern, she is about 6 months old and absolutely gorgeous.
Here she is in the Toyota waiting for 'mum' to come back, where is she? She didnt go this way did she? No? You are not mum. Oh well you will have to do!
Sarah was out feeding the ponies and I was walking.

a glorious mornings walk to Kings Beach

I had to collage this as there were so many wonderful photos, if you click it will enlarge and I think click again.
We havent been over here for a while, I am finding I am still a little unsteady on my knee and my eyes are a bit wonky so I walk a lot more slowly than I did, especially on these cliff paths with the odd rock and step to negotiate.
It was really windy at home but along here there were long steady rolls of swell but not a lot of wind, in fact we got hot walking, and the sea in places was incredibly clear. We have got used to dirty water coming out of the River Murray.
I loved the sign, although all I saw was a bull mating cows, not young claves and some one had gone to a lot of trouble making a very tall pillar of rocks.
Blue seas, white froth, curling waves, bare sandy beach, orange rocks and blue skies.
Bliss.

Flowers, foal and fantasy

New growth is appearing down the drive way as the tamarisk flowers and the ponegranite shows new leaves. Exciting times.
On one of my walks I came across this Banksia flowering, they really are this incredible colour and look stunning. Another one we planted between paddocks, this one has survived the droughts well.
This is the new little boy foaled on Saturday, we have another boy this morning, a bigger one by the cob stallion and from a part arab mare, but this little fellow is a Welsh Mountain and could well be a replacement for his sire who we lost last year. He will go grey eventually, see the rings around his eyes?
This mornings foal thought a post was his mother so there were a few fraught moments getting him to drink but he seems ok now, his mother is in the background of the foal photo, the one nearest to the fence..
These are the finished cupcakes which are now on their way to Gina Ferrari in the UK, not sure if she will like them but they were fun to do. Heavens postage has skyrocketed though, cost a small fortune to post them, might have been easier to just send the money.
and I have been playing around a bit with monoprinting, this is one of several I did yesterday. All to do with the class I am taking with Alisa Burke called Beneath the surface. Great fun to do.
Oh and I watched our Aussie girl Samantha Stoser take out the US tennis Open Championships this morning, finally she has made it through, what a girl, it is so long since we had an Australian girl at this standard and she has had a hard time getting there, so Congratulations!