Earth hour

Last night was a celebration as all over our town people turned off the power for Earth Hour.

In my house we sat and read and chatted and drank whiskey by candlelight.

I kept the curtains open and as you can see from this rather blurry photo, there were no other lights to be seen outside my window.

I took the dogs for a stroll and went stargazing. It was a beautiful night.

Rainy day blues, and greens and bubbles

What do you do when the sky pours out rain and you're full of the joy of that cool, sweet rain?






























And you should be writing something up -but you're too happy to sit and write? Well you can fill the sink with froth and bubbles, turn on Blondie and wash the dishes really clean as you and Deborah Harry sing Heart of Glass, very very loudly.

 
















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Then you can polish the dishes with a crisp clean tea towel

But not this tea towel
I found this yesterday and hope it's a portent of abundant rain and the return of the swans.
The beautiful lake in the centre of town has been dry for two years and the black swans, almost my favourite birds have left.

Maybe this winter they'll come home

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Rain relief

The heat, drought and fires are over - for this year at least. My water tank emptied in the bushfire weeks and the leaves on my fruit trees crisped brown and even the tougher herbs in the like rosemary and thyme wilted.

I put my little glass dragon that I got in Beijing years ago in a bowl of water to make me feel cooler.

Then it rained! Twenty mils and a bit over two days and lots of little showers, some drizzle, a a rainbow and even fog, in the early morning, over the park.

We're still not getting water in the dams and rivers, however and my town is on the second highest level of water restrictions. My tank has refilled but I'm still using every scrap of rinsing, shower and kitchen water. Below you see a representative bucket. I have 25 of them and use some, or all, every day to carry out dirty water to flush toilets, cleaner water for the trees, and the cleanest water for birds, dogs and fragile pot plants.

Some of my favourite bloggers far away in the northern hemisphere are rejoicing in the beginnings of spring and more sunlight. I'm just singing the praises of autumn and wetness and the garden coming back to life. More clouds please!

Getting on with it

I'm still piecing materials together for a dark quilt.

I've experimented with some blocks of applique and I think I'll put an appliqued border around this quilt.

All the blocks so far are made from op shop finds, gifts and old clothes that I have deconstructed.

I'm just leaving it to the quilt to decide what size it will end up.

Bright birds

This morning I took some pictures of the surviving rainbow lorrikeets in the red flowering gum tree. When they flutter down to drink on the dry grass of my back yard it seems impossible a bird so vivid green, bright blue and blazing red could possibly hide itself.

Look closely at the top left of these photos, however, and you'll see how beautifully they suit their chosen tree.

I couldn't get a photo that shows the intense blue and red of their plumage, the blue shows on their wing and tail feathers.

They remind me of the picture story book Where Is The Green Parrot? My children loved to point out the parrot on each page.

The birds will stay as long as the tree is in bloom, other pickings are sparse at the moment.


Every time I see them, they brighten my day.

Dark days

I've felt too sad the last couple of weeks to post anything. The horror of the bushfires. The continuing drought and unbearably hot weather.

Yesterday I found a circle of feathers by one of the waterbowls in our back yard - one of the beautiful little lorrikeets from the red blossoming gumtree next door, where a flock are taking refuge and feasting on the nectar in the flowers, was killed whle trying to get a drink.

I started a dark piece of work and sewed on it last night and this morning and began to feel like writing again.

Lunar New Year

This past week has been the week of Chinese New Year or the lunar new year. This year we haven't gone in to Little Bourke St in Melbourne to watch the lion dances outside the Chinese restaurants & groceries and smell the gunpowder from the fusillades of crackers. It is too hot.

Four days of over 40 degrees centigrade heat has withered us.

I took all these photos outside at 9.30 am on Thursday last and the heat was blasting, the sky too blue to look at, the shadows inky black in contrast.

The rainwater tank, our great luxury has kept the fruit trees alive through these burning days.

I chose a water tank over air conditioning & I don't regret that choice. We closed the windows, pulled the curtains and cooled ourselves & the dogs down with wet cloths and watermelon. Last night the long-awaited southerly blew away the worst of the heat and we all revived.

Now I can say it and mean it - Happy New Year!