Walking the cliffs and the beach

Yesterday we walked the cliffs near Petrel's cove and today we walked the beach at the Bay. Nice cool walks but it is warming up. the cliff walk is always a bit different, we havent done it for a little while, the crop by the track along the cliffs has been baled and is going that very typical colour here in summer, beginning to bleach out in the sun. The walks are always in conjunction with getting the mail and the papers and any other odd jobs that need doing in the town. I find they take up a large part of the morning but I have been trying to get sewing done as well. John has taken over the watering as my shoulder finds pulling hoses around rather difficult. We have had the odd bit of rain and so far not too many hot days but summer is definitely a;most here. We have been selling some ponies which is a help, and some heifers went off yesterday too, to China eventually I think. Money is tight and we are going to need hay to see us through, whether we manage to sell the property or not, we need to keep milking for some income to come in. All a bit depressing but I try not to think about it too hard.

Garden flowers.

Flowers in the garden, clematis by the bedroom door and the pots by the back door, touches of colour.

Xmas cushions

Not quite finished although I have put the backs on them now, these are for a couple of my grand children who are leaving to far flung places, not sure if they will take them with them but I thought it was worth trying to do something personal for them. This is from a Sue Bleiweiss tutorial and they are fun and easy to make. We had a huge thunderstorm here last night which knocked out the phones, it rumbled and grumbled right over head for hours, not much rain in it, but every drop at this time of the year helps. We walked this morning and then I have been sewing all day from there on in, a lot of ideas in my head for presents at the moment, which is good as I know that suddenly a few days before Xmas I will suddenly think of other things I could have done and there will be no time. Nice to have a week with no appointments.

In the mail, a walk and a waterlilly

This is the lovely give away that came in the mail this week from Eithna in Ireland, she has a blog called I think, oh dear I have forgotten a piece of blue, I thought it was a touch of blue but that was not it. Any way she makes lovely things and I love the little bag I won and all the extras, especially the little house, I love the patterned fabric on the back, or perhaps it is the front, and some very special cards. I love the way we are connected through the blogging community. Yesterday when we walked one of my favorite birds was patrolling the beach, a black oyster catcher, he/she was very busy up near the sand hills, but no sign of a mate, so perhaps there is nesting going on somewhere. I bought this little waterlily last year to put in a pot, I think it said small and pink obn the label, but isnt this a lovely colour? I love it, nothing wishy washy about this. Today it is hot humid and windy and thunder is grumbling away and poor old Max hates it. We had abut 1 mm of rain this morning, I think most of it has been to the north of us or over the ranges. Still we have had a little most days and the garden is loving it. Not a good thing in a way as I keep going out and either striking cuttings or buying new plants, today a chilli plant and a tiny yellow day lily, said on the label it was bred in Australia for our conditions but it is tiny and I think will look good in a pot somewhere. I am not potting today, I hope tmorrow is cooler and I will do it then. I have a rose to pot on too. I am busy sewing at the moment cushions for Xmas presents and I have a few other things I would like to do, perhaps bags for the two small ones to put their presents in. Photos when i have finished them.

In the garden

Actually I should probably say from the garden. The rosy cushion rose photo was taken from inside through probably not terribly clean windows but it has flowered and flowered so far this season. Inside a lovely vase of alstromelia flowers, I have several different Colors and they do very well in my garden, but then so has every thing else. We have had some very welcome rain over the last few days, but with a few hot days as well. I am doing some sewing mostly Christmas presents, we had dental visits in Adelaide yesterday, it was hot there. I seem to be pretty busy which is good, suddenly we will be away, and then Christmas. Boy it's all go.

A lovely morning walk

We had to take some stuff to the dump over near Goolwa this morning so on the way back we called into Crockery Bay near Pt Elliot and walked around the point, you cant really see the sea well in the first photo, perhaps if you click on it twice it will enlarge enough, this was the start of the walk. I didnt put up photos of the sea this time, although I did take some but I was more interested in the colour of the grasses, the yam daisies, the amount of (rather smelly )kelp that has been thrown up on the usually nice sandy beach. The information shelter is rather nicely done in a bush type Australian way. The flies are starting to appear, after the 1/2 inch of rain we have just had but the breeze was cool and kept them away for most of the time. The rain has really given the garden a lovely boost and it was lovely to have a close friend who I dont see often come for lunch yesterday and look at it, although we did get rather wet when we went out to look at the foals, such a lovely lot this year. It was so nice to be able to catch up in person too instead of the usual phone calls. A lovely parcel arrived today from Eithna in Ireland too, I will show photos tomorrow, I love getting parcels in the post .Eitnha has a little bit of blue blog.

Hand made, and made by nature

we have had some glorious rain, not a huge amount but certainly enough to put some water in the tanks and make everything look a lot fresher. I had a lovely visit from friend r today, we had lunch and then a wander around the garden and the ponies, all in the rain but it was so lovely to catch up with her. We ring regularly but dont see each other terribly often any more. I washed today and it is now soggy but well rinsed on the line. The weather is going to heat up by Wednesday so it wont matter. The clouds have been most impressive, the beach has changed, again, and I love these circles carved out of the reef rock by stones, the tide was low enough for me to take a reasonable photo. One of the Yachts is still at its moorings and the Bluff and Wright Island looked good with the clouds around. A lovely walk this morning, not wet then but a bit cooler. I made a heap of brooches like this but have now moved on to something a little larger, we have 10 x10 cm small art pieces when we go to Ballarat, they are donated and sold for a charity and I thought these might be worth making a few of. Off to shuck fresh broad beans out of the garden for dinner, with baked potatoes and steak, simple but satisfying.

Cooler but not wet this morning at Pt Elliott

I shopped and then we walked, cold and windy but none of the promised rain. Yesterday in the heat we were in Adelaide, I went to the quilt show and bought a couple of things, saw Dijanne's Sentinels which were wonderful, had lunch with a friend and then, well its official, I need to have a shoulder replacement. Having had the knee done not long ago this does not fill me with enthusiasm. It will be done in mid April next year, I can manage the pain and I have booked into three workshops next year which I am not going to miss. the last is Ballarat so I will be home for a day or so from that and then have it done. A new foal this morning, a delightful little chestnut Welsh Section A filly, I think only one possibly two to go for the season.

Special chicks and a wonderful addition to the library

The other day while walking on the beach we saw a pair of hooded plover and two newly hatched chicks. They are almost endangered, although people give numbers I still see a pair every so often on beaches around here, I think they are very shy birds but the fact that they have hatched out two on a beach frequented by many people and their dogs is a miracle of its own. OH, double click to enlarge and you will see the tiny chicks in the sea weed. Today this wonderful book came via The book depository, such a wonderful service for book lovers and without the cost of postage, I dont know how they do it. I think this cost me less than A$10 and I love it, the haiku are lovely and the illustrations are even lovelier. Hot today, a trip to Adelaide, not too bad but I am not looking forward to the one tomorrow as it will be hotter, and perhaps muggier as they are promising rain in the evening, but we are not getting excited about that. I think John said we had to have 200 ml until the end of December to make our average for the year, I doubt if we will make it. We certainly dont want it all in a few minutes in a heavy thunderstorm either. I think the weather bureau is now not sure if we will get rain at all. I would love rain, the garden needs it, the ground needs it and we are getting low in the rain water tanks. Max is telling me he wants to be fed, better go and attend to him, the chooks and Oscar the cat, who isnt looking terribly well. He is getting old and I think a bit dotty, do cats go dotty? I have never had one before who has.

Brooches and walks

I have been making these brooches, a friend is having an exhibition of brooches next year and I rather liked the idea of making these inspired by Mary Hettmansperger, I have been meaning to play around with his idea for ages. We had a birthday lunch on Sunday and before that we had been walking (no photos!) and yesterday we went along the cliff walk near Petrels cove. It is interesting there as on one side is the sea and on the other paddocks, at the moment filled with hay bales, both round and square large ones.I loved the crow sitting on an old fence post with the sea behind him. Beautiful scenes of the cove and that walk was a long and tiring one. Only a few photos, I am trying to get this house in some sort of order, and think about Christmas presents to make. We are going to Adelaide for the next two days, and I need a few things. A lovely day today, unfortunately it is going to get hotter and hotter over the next two days as well always happen when we go to the city.

Photos without a lot of words.

A few photos that really dont need words, just double click to enlarge and you may be able to see the sailing ship, without sails on the end of the Island. Foals in the paddock and on the patio by the house. Yesterday was awful, not as hot as they threatened but still hot and windy but amazingly the rhododendron flowers, that wilted so badly in the heat have perked up again as we had a cool change this morning. I went to the market, collected the papers and did my half hour walk on the beach, John was off with the fellows getting cockles. I am being extra careful today when I go to let the chooks out as yesterdays brown snake was rather large, lovely, olive green rather than brown but first a red bellied black and then a brown in almost the same spot, bit of a worry but it does mean I am being extra careful and looking where I step. John and I had a struggle this afternoon trying to get upright a rather large pot with my lovely small fuchsia in it up right and tied to some thing I just hope doesnt break. Must remember to take some cuttings of it as the honey eaters love it. So nice to be cool again today, although the watering continues. Hope every one is having a lovely week endd.

around and about

I have been playing in the garden this morning, re-potting and moving a couple of things around. It looks wonderful just at the moment thanks to John who has taken over the watering and is doing a great job, although with the total lack of rain for weeks how much longer we can keep it up I dont know, it feels a bit like some of those drought years where I couldnt water from the end of December until it rains again, April, May? Any way these are just a few photos I took, the blue wrens have moved to the other side of the house, unfortunately new nieghbours over the road have cats, and not kept indoors like ours. I do wish people would be responsible about their cat keeping, I have noticed a lack of small birds that are normally in my garden this year. Nothing of course stops the wretched black birds. Lovely song, horrid introduced pests. There was a parent magpie and its baby sitting on the fence as I walked down to see the foals and just general colour all around the garden as I walk. Weeds too I am afraid but the spring growth has really been spectacular this year. I couldnt help myself yesterday, went to the nursery for a pot each of marjoram and oregano and also came out with a lovely potted rose called karnival, I will have to keep it away from John as it has thorns, a cream and burgundy floribunda that I love. I should be ironing, better get back to it, enjoy the photos.

A few more pages

I think, hope these are different pages ! Double click to enlarge them. They are various pages, probably the most important was the rather messy one about objects that were important to me, messy as the shellac I painted on the next page soaked through.Try to read what I wrote. I am still working on pages Today was warm and a bit windy, we walked on the beach this morning which was lovely, once again the garden is looking glorious, lovely scents and colors at the moment and lots of water as well. Had a beast screen this afternoon, a bit uncomfortable with my shoulder not going where the operator needed it to go.

A look at my note book

Just a few pages from my note book and the cover I made for it in Sandra Brownlee's class. I am doing this from my tablet so things may be a bit odd in this post ! As you can see this was a varied selection, I made little marionette type dolls and slotted them on to a page made using shellac made from Yucca resin, John collected the resin for me and we made it us in methylated spirits. Then we painted our pages with glue and soil from the property, fun, and then I painted a trail of dots. We exchanged book pages and wrote down poetry and haiku. There is more to come.