It’s Spring here in Sydney to celebrate we went for a walk to Sydney Park wetlands and the native Clematis aristata was in full flight! The house is totally clean and cleared to celebrate the change of season, just repairing a couple of old patchwork cushions a neighbour tossed out 15 years ago that needed mending back then.
Stitching with a big needle and thick thread is fun & so quick!
We have lived here in our old lady of a house for nearly 13 years. A lot of stuff has gathered in that time as well as dust so I am busily cleaning and clearing everything down to the smallest scrap of cloth, sorting the buttons & beads, feathers & sticks, stones & bones, books & journals, old sketches and drawings, artworks and tools etc etc and feeling so much lighter!
will get started on the dining room next as I have to wait til the sun comes up to vacuum this corner where I type on the computer and keep the business records, it’s already sorted as our two 11 year old printers died when I was preparing the tax earlier this month.
We are still in lockdown here in Sydney but allowed to go for walks within 5 kilometres of home, Sydney Park wetlands is keeping us almost sane
and garden maintenance is deemed an essential service
we miss seeing our friends and Rod is looking forward to going for a beer at the local pub, the Covid variant D restrictions will start being lifted when 70-80% of the population are vaccinated but we have a long way to go!
This huge pelican was fishing at Sydney Park Wetlands yesterday
I love his eyes
last week we visited the Paddington Reservoir Gardens
looks like we’ll be staying put here in Sydney for the forseeeable so we may as well enjoy it!
on Monday we went for a walk in Sydney Park to the wetlands
the cygnets are nearly grown up
their parents have moved to the next pond and are building a new nest
a friendly Willie Wagtail
photos courtesy of MTC
that same Willie Wagtail showing off his fabulous white eyebrow
photo courtesy of Old Man Crow
the lightbulb fizzed on my Daylight magnifying lamp on Friday morning
I wasn’t able to draw or stitch for three days & was in a snit all weekend
Old Man Crow will be so happy when he gets back from the pub this evening I’m grinning from ear to ear since the postman arrived with my lightbulb and it works!
earlier today Madeleine and I met this gentle man with a beautiful blue and gold macaw in Sydney Park
Magic Days!
Black swan and cygnet Sydney Park wetlands
photo courtesy of Richard Whitfield
such peaceful and elegant beauty
namaste
Sydney Park wetlands is a treasure here in the inner west
a sanctuary for birds, animals, people and recycling stormwater
a quiet place to slow down and listen to mother nature
beautiful landscaping of an area that was a barren wasteland in the 80’s
with such good bones
love how these old piers define the space
reflections
white faced heron
the city is starting to open up, the art galleries, museums, libraries and pubs will open to the public with social distancing restrictions in place from June 1st and the best news is Brook Andrew’s powerful Nirin Biennale will be open until the end of September
PS yesterday afternoon to celebrate the last day of autumn we went to Centennial Park for a picnic hosted by Jeffrey Hamilton and his partner Harry
great company, fine conversation, delicious food and a purrfect setting
this bag full of memories for my friend Julie is almost finished, every knot holds a story
the indigo dyed hand woven linen & moons are by Ulrike Bogdan
I started working on this bag on April 24th and have worked on it for a few hours every day, it has gone through several ugly stages where I had to reconsider what I was trying to do
Jude Hill’s good words after the first ugly phase have helped so much
“ha, the ugly phase is just an in-between we can’t quite understand yet.”
you may have noticed in the first photo I am rereading “The Education of a Gardener” by Russell Page first published in 1962
one of the most beautiful and inspiring books about gardening ever written
talking of gardens and well thought out design
Owl Rock went for a walk with us to the wetlands to observe the way the water moves around it
my friend Peter Webb plant guru extraordinaire is writing a book and has asked if I would like to do a few illustrations! When I first met Pete in the 70’s he was the seed collector for the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. I asked him to write a book way back then so I could illustrate it and now I can, it’s a dream come true!
Sydney Park Wetlands has matured beautifully in the time we have lived here in Newtown
love how these old piers add mystery and a sense of spirit to the space
a friendly blue tongue lizard
13 moons arrived in the mail by Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl
these will keep me happily stitching for a good long while
the gardening work is keeping us busy, the walks to the wetlands are helping us stay a bit grounded and the social isolation measures are lifting a bit, still I put some x’s on the floor in the dining room when our friend Richard visited on Saturday for the first time since March, he noticed that they weren’t exactly 1.5 metres so I will measure them up properly for next weekend!
It's Crow Time 