My inspiration for this story on the Aussie magpie was an amazing piece of free-form machine embroidery by Lynda Worthington. For someone like me who struggles to take up a hem, it was mind-blowing. There is enormous affection for magpies in Australia. They are so engaging and
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AXMINSTERS OF THE EARTH OK, eyes down, gardeners and nature lovers! I know there are wonderful carpets of blossom in spring, but autumn is definitely the main period for appreciating Mother Nature’s work. It’s one of the main reasons I moved from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
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Autumn is a busy time for the birds in our Blackheath garden. So many seeds to snack on, so many fallen leaves to scrabble about in. And I swear there are those who just know they look good against a blaze of colour. The cheeky rascal below
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The Park Avenue entrance gates to Blackheath’s Memorial Park were funded by public subscription. They were officially opened on May 18 1938, by Minister for Works and Local Government Mr Eric Spooner. The project commemorated the reign of King George V (1910-1936). 300 people turned up
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In 1813 the three men pictured above set out to cross the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, keeping to the ridges, rather than the deep, forested valleys. Accompanied by five servants, they were the first European settlers to succeed. I think we would all agree that
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I have been revising a piece I wrote about pioneering women and their appreciation of Australia’s native flora. Not surprisingly, the Blue Mountains featured heavily. Once the first road was constructed from Sydney through to Bathurst in 1815, intrepid settlers followed. Then the iron ranges echoed To
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Mid February, and in my Blackheath garden the banksia serratas are in bloom. They are loved by all the honeyeaters, but especially Wattlebirds and Eastern Spinebills. Bees are visiting the native lilly-pilly flowers on the bush outside Slurps café, in Wentworth Street. I know there must be
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Sometimes a much loved tree just has to go. Our old double trunk gum was much too close to the house. It was a definite fire-hazard, and also there were signs of white-ant activity. The tragedy was that many of our birds were fond of it too.
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MASTER OF THE ART OF GLASS How lucky we Blackheathens are to have someone as talented as glass artist Keith Rowe in our midst. He built the huge furnace pictured below himself, back in 1990. His work is represented in public and private galleries around the world.
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I have obtained permission from my two ‘boss’ brown thornbills to write a little story about them and their relatives. We have a resident group in our Blue Mountains garden. They are really small; about 10cm long. They weigh in at around 7 grammes apiece. My darling
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