I was a bit disappointed when Blackheath’s Altitude Café moved last year, even if it was only next door. It had lost some of its ambience I thought. However, when I called in some time later everything had changed. One whole wall was devoted to a series
Read more →
I have a great fascination for social history, and for our native, satin bowerbirds. Yes, there is a strong link between the two. When the adult blue/black male bowerbirds or the green juvenile ‘apprentices’ build their bowers they decorate them with anything blue they can find. For
Read more →
This is what the bower of a satin bowerbird looks like (below right), with its collection of predominantly blue ‘treasures ‘, assembled to impress the ladies. I’m afraid the birds mostly use human trash these day, especially bottle tops. Bowers were full of plastic straws in my
Read more →
CRIMSON ROSELLAS Crimson rosellas are a joy to behold. Many of the trees and shrubs in my Blue Mountains garden have been planted with these beautiful birds in mind. Top of the list? The native correas. The photo below shows that my efforts are appreciated! The rosellas love
Read more →
As 1930 drew to a close, coal miner Arthur Mellor made a disconcerting discovery at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of NSW. In the ground behind the great cliff known as Dogface Rock he came across a deep fissure measuring eight feet across. When a surveyor was
Read more →
‘…in spring, the most delicate feathery yellow of plumes and plumes and plumes and trees and bushes of wattle, as if angels had flown right down out of the softest gold regions of heaven to settle here, in the Australian bush. D.H. Lawrence, Kangaroo I do
Read more →
Remember British artist and designer William Morris and his famous Strawberry Thief design? Those thrushes ended up in homes around the world. I’m sure Mr Morris forgave them for raiding his garden by the stripling Thames. I don’t grow strawberries, but I do have lots of feathered
Read more →
My first encounter with an Australian White Headed Pigeon was rather disconcerting. There is a skylight over my bed and I woke one morning to find one peering down at me. They are often called Baldy Pigeons, which seems rather unkind. Since then I have become aware
Read more →
There is a reason why the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath is affectionately dubbed Bleakheath. Recently someone (not mentioning any names, Kim) asked me to write a winter post. So here it is. My husband often has to venture out with the kettle to defrost the bird baths.
Read more →
For many years a retired grazier from Forbes, Mr James Smart Leslie, had a holiday home in the Blue Mountains at Blackheath. He named it Balquhain, after an ancestral property in Scotland. When WWI broke out, Mr Leslie and his wife Elizabeth (Betsy) were anxious to help.
Read more →