I have to say that this is one of those ‘worst house on best street’ scenarios. I was strolling along leafy Park Avenue (in Blackheath sadly, not New York) when I was stopped in my tracks by a pair of golden eyes. They were peering from the
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Max the parrot’s life could have ended before it really got going. We drove into our Blue Mountains property a couple of weeks ago and almost skittled him. He was nibbling on an acorn, completely oblivious to any danger. I had to hop out and shoo him
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Editor Des has been bird watching with me for the last few months, and becoming quite the ‘twitcher’. Unfortunately he has a lot to learn, which recently led to a head injury…. and a severe knock to his confidence. It should be remembered that a male satin
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It’s weird when you wake up at the crack of dawn and open the front door to find the whole landscape has changed. Trousers might have been a sensible idea, Editor Des. What one earth! While we were sleeping the snow was quietly falling. We don’t often
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Driving into our Blue Mountains property after visiting Sydney recently we almost ran over a juvenile king parrot. I had to hop out of the car and shoo him off the driveway. He was too busy with an acorn he’d found to think about the dangers of
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Where would we gardeners be without our wheelbarrows? I have early memories of being carted out in one by my older siblings. They have always provided fun for kids. I was interested to discover that the development of the wheelbarrow began in China around AD200. Chuko Liang,
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There are plans to re-open the old tunnel to visitors. Construction of the now disused Glenbrook railway tunnel began in 1891. It was opened the following year. Artist Arthur Streeton, then just 24, had been living at Glenbrook for several months in 1891. His time was spent
Read more →It’s almost the end of May, and the village of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains is looking its best. Tourists are enjoying the colourful foliage in Wentworth Street. Even the shaded little maple tree growing above the satin bowerbird’s lair is changing colour. What a fantastic location
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In 1984 my darling mother Myra was suffering from the ovarian cancer that took her life. While I was visiting her in Tasmania I noticed a cheeky little frog on her bedside table. ‘He cheers me up’, she said. I could see why; he was adorable. Froggy
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Following WWII, Swiss trapese artist Eugene Lambart and his wife Fritzi formed an act with a young Norwegian strongman, Arne Selfors. They looked about for an acrobat to complete their new show and came across two young sisters in Berne. The girls’ father, Mr Broenimann was a
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