Just before Christmas, as the bush fires crept ever closer to Blackheath and we all suffered in the heatwave, I photographed a little tractor and water tank in Wentworth Street. I assumed it must be someone’s home fire protection unit. Mind you, I did wonder about the
Read more →
Most Aussie wood duck couples produce very large broods. There are often a dozen or more chicks, but a local pair here in Blackheath have ended up with just four. I really don’t like to think what happened to the rest. The F word comes to mind,
Read more →
Hello, Editor Des here. Well we had nasty fires up here in the Blue Mountains at Christmas time. It was very scary for my guardian Pauline Conolly. However, Mr Bob Conolly and myself protected everything and were extremely brave…especially me if I may say so. But the
Read more →
It’s such a wonderful idea don’t you agree? Set up a community site where residents can seek and give advice, promote local events and businesses, support each other in times of crisis. Fantasic! Thousands of people join, but before long the trolls take over; those who simply
Read more →
Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic drink. It is anise flavoured, derived from the plants wormwood, green anise and sweet fennel. It was popular in early 20thC Paris, especially among bohemian artists and writers such as Picasso, Proust, Vincent van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar
Read more →We at Blackheath heaved a collective sigh of relief after the worst of the bushfire threat passed. A community afternoon tea was organized to express appreciation for the Rural Fire Service and all the other service groups who rally during these disasters. Yes, the damage to our
Read more →
Who would imagine that dear old hydrangeas would hold up so well during the recent fires and heatwave conditions in the Blue Mountains? The origin of the name seems to contradict the very notion that they would! ‘First discovered in Japan, the name hydrangea comes from the
Read more →
I was reluctant to even consider that my partner Rob and I may have to evacuate during the Christmas bush fire at Blackheath. However, in the end there were burnt leaves and bits of charcoal flying everywhere. We were determined to stay and defend our new home,
Read more →
Time to be out and about now the fire risk has subsided. My own garden is a disaster, with only the natives and hydrangeas holding up. But how is everything else going in this awful heatwave I wonder? Well, to my great surprise an ibis has taken
Read more →
And so Christmas in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath has come to an end. The saddest, happiest, strangest and scariest festive season I’ve experienced in the twenty years we have lived here. In mid December my husband Rob and I attended a delightful nativity play at
Read more →