freewheeling!

My beloved 50 year old Raleigh fell apart late last year so I have been dreaming of a brand new electric bicycle for months. On Thursday I booked some test rides & fell in love with this freedom machine, the Lekker Jordaan+. The great team set it all up ready to ride within an hour & wearing the biggest grin I rode back to to Central Station to catch the train home to Blackheath.

It’s a dream of a bike to ride & so sturdy! One of the many fabulous features is a walk button so when the track gets too rough or steep I can just hop off & it self propels at a gentle pace.

Rode to the end of Hat Hill Road and did a bit of exploring yesterday morning, the 12 km ride felt effortless but my legs are feeling quite stretched this morning.

Having wheels opens up exploring more of the bush walking trails around Blackheath, this photo is near the top of the Centennial Glen walking track

very brave people climb these cliffs with special shoes and ropes!

the track gets quite wild in places!

On Monday Cathy & I found the Ikara Head track where the pink flannel flowers grew after the 2019-20 bushfires, love this surreal panorama shot!

Cliff Top Walk

Today is Old Man Crow’s birthday so I walked with his spirit along the Cliff Top Walk
between Govetts Leap and Evans Lookout

looking down into the Grose Valley

hat off at Bridal Veil Falls where Cathy and I scattered his ashes a few weeks ago

Bridal Veil Falls

weathered sandstone stairs marked by time with all the footsteps

the trail beckons

view near Evans Lookout
feeling so blessed to have the time & space to explore these beautiful mountains!

Fairfarren Tribute to Roderick Morgan by Barry Ferrier

Barry Ferrier is a champion, here’s the songs he has edited so far from the Fairfarren opening at Artsite Contemporary when he played with Pierre Luniere and John Kaldor in honour of Rod Crow aka Roderick Morgan aka Old Man Crow (1947-2022)

Popes Glen Track to Govetts Leap

The Popes Glen Track is just a five minute walk from my front door!

The track has had a lot of work done since the bushfires in 2019-20

love the stepping stones across the creek

mosses and lichens enjoying all the rain this year

this waterfall sings with the magic of the water elementals

Horseshoe Falls near Govetts Leap

view over the Grose Valley

bush regenerating with great enthusiasm on the Fairfax Walking Track that we visited just after the bushfires in January 2020

a new video of Candlelight sung by Cammie Lindon

Barry Ferrier edited an old tape of Cammie Lindon singing Candlelight with harmonies & guitars by Roderick & Barry. A beautiful tribute to three very special people who are no longer with us, thank you Barry.

scattering Old Man Crow’s ashes at Bridal Veil Falls

yesterday Cathy and I walked to the headwaters of Bridal Veil Falls to scatter Rod’s ashes

ancient stone along the track to the falls

Cathy scattering an envelope of Rod’s ashes

a very solemn and hilarious moment just when I finished scattering the ashes Cathy’s hat blew off to join them on their way down the falls

the headwaters of the falls

go all the way down to the Blue Gum Forest

Blue Gum Forest

the Grose Valley

dragonfly leading the way

settling into place on Cloud 9

I’ve been living on Cloud 9 both metaphorically and atmospherically
love the way the mist softens and mystifies the edges.

Yesterday was just getting the last bits sorted, ordered potting mix from the hardware store at 4am, it was delivered by midday & the sun came out long enough to take lots of photos of everything looking so clean and tidy, it will never be this neat again!

guard dragon near the frog pond

each treasure falling into place like the last pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

hallway leading out to the back deck

Old Man Crow memento mori

hippie lounge that doubles as a guest bedroom, scored 2 single bed electric blankets on sale yesterday, they’ll make it a lot cosier for winter

studio with leather airing and stitching the long cloth of grieving

studio shelves

pinning up the annual moon planting guide is a tradition, old hippies in Oz will remember this calendar on the dunny door in almost every share house back in the 70’s

moon and stars enjoying the bird bath

the dream mandala has found its spot in the garden

owl rock on old bollard

potting mix for all the pots and troughs ready to be filled with lots of perennials, bulbs and annual colour with the upcoming full moon. The garden is low maintenance with established natives, just needs a bit of tidying up and mowing

brand new Flymo push mower that I picked up yesterday from the local hardware.
Feel like a cat with 9 lives landing on my feet once again!

Becoming a Blackheathen !

after 13 & 1/2 years I said goodbye and thank you for the best years of my life at no 8 a week ago

Terry the owner operator of Blue Ribbon Removals took such good care moving everything, it was a treat not having to do the lug for the first time in my life!

come on in and have a look around

the fireplace doesn’t work in the lounge room but the reverse cycle air conditioning is wonderful, makes the house warm and cosy in a matter of minutes

bedroom coming together, have ordered more reproduction Deco brass picture rail hooks

the curtain rails work for hanging the more sculptural pieces

the music room has become a library & memento mori for Old Man Crow, just needs a big old easy chair

everything is falling into place, opening each box of stuff is like xmas!

‘A Matter of Time’ by crow woman extraordinaire Glenda Fell Jones and the shelves in the hallway filling up

what were my work table and shelves in the studio at no 8 are now in the dining room

this is such a great kitchen, the wood stove doesn’t work but the gas one is brilliant, the clicky things work for all the burners so I don’t have to find matches!

office space all set up and connected to the internet in the smallest room in the house

the separate studio

with so much space!

and even more shelving for storage

more boxes to unpack

& more boxes out in the garden shed
should be all settled by this time next week
time to go for a bushwalk today as soon as the sun comes up!

clearing space

clearing space so my new house in the mountains can happen soon!

packed up 16 milk crates of books and even more of art & art materials

the industrial shelves will fold down in 5 minutes

deconstructed music room

x fingers 84 Hat Hill Road will be my new home!
this is my 8th application since late February

this beautiful rainbow of light shining through a stained glass window in the patchwork shop in Blackheath gives me hope that I will be a Blackheathen soon!

letting go with the Autumn Equinox

letting go with the Autumn Equinox marking 62 days since Old Man Crow left the stage

stitching this beautiful blue moon and red silk from Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl aka the Queen of the Moon Makers to make a memory keeper bag to hold all the cards and good wishes people have sent for Old Man Crow’s passing

at Newtown Station on my way to look at this cottage in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains
that x fingers, eyes and toes may be my new home!

missed out but no worries, the next one will be just right!