Fairy Village Expands

Another fairy house has been added ro the mix, not far from the entrance to the first one. The thing I like about fairy architecture is that the make use of all sorts of things at hand like pebbles, sticks and moss. What I’m not so impressed with is that despite the fairy population increasing, there hasn’t been an increase in things done ‘by the fairies’ like magical cleaning or gardening.

Turf War.

Apparently, the fairy settlement is not going down well with the wildlife. I found the Queen's house removed from the tree it was located on. My guess is that a possum decided it was in the way of its nightly tree run and kicked it out of the way. I can't say I blame the possum really, it is just like the attempt currently being made by developers to replace local forest with high density housing in the Warner area. Anyway, I have relocated the fairy house to another location that will hopefully not interfere with the wildlife pathways and still work for the fairies. The fairies are keen to look after the wildlife, so I think that they will be fine with the relocation.

Fairies II

Looks like the fairy house construction is continuing. This new place is in the fork of a tree just near the washing line and faces the bird bath. Judging from the portico at the front, my guess is that it belongs to the Fairy Queen - she can stand on the balcony and address the rest of the fairies. There are probably more houses out in the forest that surrounds the property, but I haven't gone looking.

Taking a moment

Last week I was taking the back roads to get to an appointment and was stopped in my tracks by this beauty. I had to stop to avoid running her over, and decided to stay until she had completely crossed the road safely, just in case someone came from the other direction. The weather is cooling and she was moving pretty slowly, so the road crossing took about 5 minutes. So nice to take 5 and be in the moment with this beautiful creature.

Spring

Spring has sprung, and I have been inspired to photograph some flowers. These ones are just from plants under my patio the other day...orchids (yes, I have orchids - they are alive and everything!), a slightly out of season zygocactus and the weird and wonderful broms). The hot weather has convinced them to all pop out, although today it is wet and cool. Not that there is any such thing as climate change, mind!

Fairy Wrens

Today I noticed a pair of variegated fairy wrens playing outside the kitchen window and the little boy was resplendent in his breeding plumage. I was tempted to give in to the universal law that says as soon as you get your camera, the birds will disappear. But I decided to give it a go and when I had changed my lens and peeked outside the lounge room window, guess who was sitting right there on the pool fence? While I was snapping away at his nibs, his lady friend decided to join him. Lucky day to get picks like this! They are so cute.

Mixed Media Updates

Last year when I did the mixed media Webinar, I started a number of works on paper, and I posted them at the time. I have finished a couple of them and here are the end results.

Koala Politics

Looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, right? Well, a few metres away is a very unhappy female who, according to the internet, was telling him in no uncertain terms to take a long walk off a short branch. These two were arguing the toss in the front yard on and off for hours last weekend. The female sounded like a baby crying, but apparently she was just saying 'no'.

An abundance of Birds

Have been a bit slack in keeping up with the blog, lately...apologies. Have been very busy, but not too busy to notice the abundance of little birds in residence here at the new digs (well newish). In the last few weeks alone, I have sighted scarlet honeyeaters, golden whistlers, yellow robins, red-browed fire tails and our resident family of variegated fairy wrens (the boys are dressed very brightly in their breeding plumage just now). And these guys...apparently they are white naped honey-eaters. I have never laid eyes on this species before, much less in my own back yard! Loving where I live! (photos taken on a phone, so not excellent quality).

Dragons

We have a lot of water dragons here...they often take a dip in the pool or sun themselves on the deck. The blackboard at the front of the estate currently says 'Watch out for water dragons', presumably because they have a penchant for sunning themselves on the road. But if you weren't from around here, you could be forgiven for thinking you may be accosted by the cousin of the frightening fire-breathing dragon emerging from the forest to douse you in water. This little dude, perched in the pitcher plant is yet to grow his wings. Watch out when he does.

Morning Walks

After way too long, over these school holidays, I have restarted morning walks. I always try to take in some of the local lagoon which is a kind of oasis  tucked in behind a whole lot of houses. Yesterday, after numerous wild encounters, I decided to take my camera, with the following results. This week alone, I have encountered the usual pacific black and maned ducks, swamp hens, including one nesting out in the middle of the lagoon, eastern long-necked turtles, and water dragons, pied cormorants, shags and even the blue and bronze flash of a little azure kingfisher. Feel so lucky to live close to this little patch of wilderness and am sure there is at least one artwork lurking there somewhere.

Montville

Have just come back from a couple of days at Montville, just north of here on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Very relaxing and pleasant, although not quite as 'back to nature' as the Bunyas. I was surprised by the number of bird species around in the trees near our cabin, although to be fair, it was on the border of the Kondalilla National Park. Of course, a nocturnal encounter with a mother ring tail and her baby was the icing on the cake. Now, back to the real world.

Bunya Buzz

Been at the Bunya Mountains again, for what has become an annual pilgrimage. We were there for a week which was peaceful and blessed, but woefully short, I have to say. Not even close to being ready to re-enter the fray.

Anyway, lots of wildlife encounters as usual - pics below; including a bandicoot, countless different species of birds and one that I could have done without. I was reclining under a tree, struggling to care about the aesthetic philosophies I was reading, and I heard a noise behind me. Assuming it was a wallaby (which are everywhere all the time) I didn't investigate. When I did turn around it was to discover a pair of amorous brown snakes a few metres away - both of them a metre and a half at least. Fortunately for me, their minds were elsewhere, and I managed to control my urge to flee long enough to get a couple of good photos. On reflection, they are quite beautiful, really. When they had enough of each other, both went to ground.

I also got in a spot of painting. Nothing major, but below is something I dabbled with during the week. Now that I am back, it is right back into study and other less desirable tasks, so bird watching is pretty much off the agenda. Oh well.

Scenic World Stage 2

Stage 2 involved a very long and slightly arduous road trip to and from Katoomba, with 2 days of install sandwiched between. All of the pieces got there in basically one piece and are now hanging in the rainforest on the floor of the Jamieson Valley. I am pretty happy with the result, but it has been huge, and I am exhausted. Shame I have to go back to work on Monday.

These first three pics give you an idea of the location: 1. view from the cable car looking up to Katoomba, 2. view out over the valley and 3. looking down to the bottom station from the cable car.

 

 

I think I was pretty fortunate that we had good weather for the install. Standing in the rainforest for 9 hours was hard enough, but add some rain and it would have been horrible. Fortunately, Scenic World employs install teams and the pictures below include some of them - it was their job to climb and wrap the trees so that the sculptures make as little impact as possible. The pics start with the works on the boardwalk waiting for install, and continue to the end result.

 

 

Stage 3 is to return to Katoomba next week for the opening and to run a kid's workshop. More photos then.