Most of my garden seats are made from ‘found materials’; concrete blocks, stumps, slabs of stone and bits of timber I deem wide enough to sit on. My impatience when I have a notion to create a new one knows no bounds. Fortunately my aging muscles seem
Read more →Correa was named for the Portuguese botanist Correia da Serra. Of all the native flowers in my Blue Mountain gardens, it is one of the most visited by birds. Eastern Spinebills and New Holland Honey Eaters adore the nectar, and so do the bees. Pictured below is
Read more →Tulip bulbs just do not thrive in my garden. However, I can enjoy similar blooms in spring thanks to the Liriodendron trees, which are actually related to magnolias. Their cup shaped flowers have led to the common name of Tulip Tree. I planted two of these trees
Read more →AUTUMN LEAVES AND HISTORY No matter what time of year, the walk up to my local Blue Mountains village of Blackheath is a delight. I always have my little point and shoot camera in my pocket. Without fail there is something worth snapping, and it’s an
Read more →My husband Rob arrived home in Blackheath with a new car recently and I was slightly taken aback when he said; ‘We could go for a Sunday drive tomorrow if you like.’ I hadn’t heard the expression since my distant childhood. I grew up in rural Tasmania,
Read more →AN AUTHOR IS BORN I connected with Suzanne when she responded to an article I wrote about two of my cousins, who were placed in an orphanage after WWI. The story, Young Casualties of War, was very sad. In contrast, Suzanne wrote an article for a
Read more →Recently I posted the story of the disused Glenbrook rail tunnel during World War II. Located in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, the tunnel was secretly used as an RAAF storage depot, for dangerous chemicals such as mustard gas and phosogene. The decision to
Read more →Cinnabar Kitchen in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath is on The Great Western Highway, just a stroll up the hill from our home. I’m not sure why it took my husband Rob and I so long to go, especially when we had great memories of Ashcrofts,
Read more →On February 19 1922 my great uncle, returned WWI veteran Arthur Singleton, was arrested. According to a later report by the Ulverstone police he was in a disturbed mental state. Like many men, he had never recovered from his war service. As one of the first Australians
Read more →My partner Rob would say that graffiti is just not on…period! This is due to his battle over the electricity sub-station near our property at Blackheath. He has been painting out tags and trying to screen it with bottle brush for years. Only now is he beginning
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