This evening’s portal into the night.
trees
Tree of Life
After our wintry summer in the Czech Republic we have returned filled with newfound vigour and hope.
Life does deal us remarkable events. This beautiful tree in Northern Tasmania, near Boat Harbour has come to symbolise new family connections and the strengthening of familial bonds – both near and far.
Mountain Perils
Living on the Mount can be serene and immensely beautiful, however, it can also be very perilous. A silent kangaroo – camouflaged; a wombat hole, deep enough to fall in to and….
</athis sight which greeted us a few doors down the dirt road….
A shallow root system and high winds toppled this tree onto its owner’s driveway missing their “For Sale” sign and water tank! Take care this winter, everyone on the Mount!
The golden dogwood
The golden dogwood,
heralding summer.
All the leaves are brown….
And the sky is grey… well, I did go for a walk as the song suggests, on a not-so-winter’s day. The sky may not be very grey but winter is just around the corner. The autumnal garden changes so rapidly that I thought I’d better take a walk and show you around the garden and its variant colours.
This weeping cherry puts on a very different display in autumn. Gone are the pinks of spring and the greens of summer, now replaced by gold and russet.
The red hues of the Japanese Maple carpet the ground.
This maple will soon lose its red hues…
There will be much time spent raking leaves during the month of May.
Currently there are many interested Japanese tourists in our area admiring the seasonal changes. These wonderful colours shed a final luminescence before the barren, grey of winter sets in.
The golden elm resplendent in its regal colours!
This particular dogwood could glow in the dark!
Gone are the ornamental apricots on this weeper….
The cats joined me on the garden tour.
What ever the season in your part of the world, I wish you happy gardening in nature’s truly amazing playground! Thanks for following and may all your days be garden days!
Take a walk on the wild side …
As our autumn starts to reveal its true splendour, we should take some time to walk and wander around the neighbourhood. It’s not often that we can walk in solitude. Invariably our walk is pleasantly interrupted by a quick chat or catch up with a neighbour or two. You see we live on an unsealed dirt road. This road meanders for a couple of kilometres around a State Forest before it joins the bitumen.
At approximately 700ft above sea level our little road is not particularly beautiful and can be described as quite rugged, however, it is the plant life at this time of year that makes it interesting. When we walked on this particular day, the last remnants of summer revealed themselves to us.
Just a few blackberries left on this bush.
Autumnal hues appearing.
Walking out into the brisk day, we always see something new. It never ceases to amaze us even after ten years on the mountain. This peaceful statue gazes over tranquility itself!
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, Robert Frost’s famous poem highlights the single choices that we make in life. The road metaphor is a common one. For us, our little, dirt road on the periphery of a grand forest, is the one which leads us home. I’m sure many of our visitors query our choices in living here – a bush land setting does come with its disadvantages especially in the summer months. Winter fogs and impenetrable sunlight often leave us flat but its when we take the time to venture out and set foot on the road that it reveals many otherwise unseen treasures. Like Frost’s poem, we are happy we took the one less travelled. most of the time, anyway!
Yesterday, we met a dear old soul who has lived up here for ninety years – he has seen it all and continues to appreciate the splendid change of season!
I also think it takes some internal fortitude to survive the winter on a mountain. There’s the issue of heating to be taken very seriously – we haven’t lit our inside fire yet – ANZAC Day is our start date! Then there’s the burn off of summer debris – we have yet to light our Bon fire to rid us of summer detritus. Before long our wood fire will be going day and night to keep us warm. Indeed our “road” and our choices have their ups and downs – pardon the pun!
Let’s hope there are not too many detours or road closures to negotiate as we enter that wonderful season of winter with all its silvery magic and dewy delights!
Is the approaching winter season one you relish or one you would gladly relinquish?
I hope your road at the moment is a smooth one, with few bumps and not too much of a wild ride! Enjoy the wonders of your season!
Sydney’s Inner West
A 7:30am flight and in less than 100 minutes, I am in Sydney with Daughter Number Two for the weekend. Luckily, I packed my pink umbrella as the heavens unleashed a torrent as the plane taxied in. A short drive and we find ourselves in Sydney’s Inner West, only five kilometres from the busy city heart. Today’s humid, wet and slippery conditions did not dampen this precincts eclectic mix of fashion, novelty craft stores, tree lined streets, turn of the century cottages and alternative cafes and restaurants.
Now here’s a question for you. Do you like buttons? If you are like us we are intrigued by their shapes, colours and applications. You would love this establishment!
Dusty, Little Dog Number Three sat quietly out of the rain. Well actually here he is at his owners’ photographic, dark room and studio. This is their second studio and was once the Department of Civil Engineering building. It’s a great space for their photographic workshops and studio.
Returning to Newtown in the evening, we ate dinner at a nifty Japanese restaurant where we ordered our meals on an I-pad!
Hopefully the rain will ease tomorrow – good night – see you in the morning.
The Rains Came
After ten weeks of no rain, suddenly the heavens opened up and we received a welcome downpour. Summer here on the mountain can be a mixed blessing. Most of the the time we indulge in sheltered, lush greenery, going about our business of watering, potting, raking or contemplating! However, when the north winds blow, dry our soil and scatter bark and branches about and the risk of grass or bush fires permeate our waking, and sometimes, sleeping thoughts, that’s when we become obsessed by the CFA (Country Fire Authority) website. Their current APP tells us how far the nearest fire is to our property. As a matter of course, we then have the cat boxes and chicken cages at the ready should we need to leave on a total fire ban day. Such is life on the Mount – a balancing act of mind over nature!
Therefore, you can easily gauge our relief when the rains eventually come. No, not like the monsoonal rains in the 1939 film with Myrna Loy and Tyrone Power – The Rains Came nor the other flooding and earth quaking 1955 The Rains of Ranchipur with Lana Turner and Richard Burton, but the soaking, refreshing and cooling rains which hopefully snuff out any lingering or smouldering embers. Both these films, you might know, are versions of Louis Bromfield’s novel set in India. As we live up here surrounded by trees we are the envy of Melburnian’s who often have to swelter while we enjoy a cooler five degrees. Further up the mountain, grand residences such as Darjeeling and Tieve Tara conjure up a romantic past as we experience what is known as a late summer or Indian Summer.
Summer here is the least colourful of the seasons. There are few flowering plants in our garden right now. The obligatory blue agapanthus, the well-watered hydrangeas, many pots, some begonias, a few geraniums and silent hellebores are amongst the limited colours.
Then, when least expected, a great spiny arch entangled in the camellias or rhododendrons looks you in the face. You recoil only to be greeted with tiny deep purple orbs. Your hand reaches toward the irresistible cluster.
The scratches and the curses of the previous encounters with this enemy are forgotten – one of the little joys of summer – blackberries! They live for another day – but only just!
Meanwhile, we wait and pray for a little more rain, please. I might have to watch these films again! What’s it like in your part of the world right now?
Australia Day
26th January commemorates the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 in Sydney Cove. Therefore, it is a public holiday for Aussie citizens. We also must take into account indigenous cultures who often do not see this as a day to celebrate,
As we are part of the Buick car club, we take part in the RACV display bringing our 1982 Riviera to the gardens. With milder weather setting in, there were countless classic cars to peruse. Some of my favourites were
1929 Pierce Arrow which always reminds me of the Robert Lowell poem, Grandparents.
Our Buick
even teddy got a ride!
there were some quirky exhibits….
No Australia Day is complete without the local wildlife: possums, dingoes and snakes
Government House is open today for those who wish to view its splendour and for me that was the magnificent magnolia!
No doubt we live in a vast land of many contrasts and today’s outing was no different. What did you do for Australia Day or how do you commemorate your national day?
Liebster Award Nominations
Although I have only been blogging since September, I have found it one of the most rewarding outlets for my writing and thoughts on gardening, travel, pets and the every day happenings of life. So it was with much amazement that our blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award. As a newcomer, I have been buoyed by the feedback and kind words of my regular followers and visitors. My nominator was Nitty Gritty Dirt Man, whose blog I follow from the other side of the world, and one which never ceases to inspire with its heartfelt, entertaining and socially aware commentary – danke schoen to you Kevin!
crabandfish garden 