a rat in the duck pen ....

 now to figure out how to get it out! 

living with cats

These two are funny ... Millie is his baby - and the only female of 4 cats. 

We have two black and whites and two gingers.  check out the building of their outdoor facility where they go each day, if the weather is not foul.  the playlist of videos for the cat run are here.  

some of my favourites :

Archie escaping the pen which caused us to put up electric wiring - needless to say he tried to escape again, only once.  

Millie was the first to come down the ramp leading out of the house and to go into the big tunnel (under the road) to get to the pen - her first time.

our youtube channel is regularly updated with experiences in the studio,#countryliving, #tasmania, artworks including artist books and more including #Snowcone - a dariy cow in retirement that lives with us.

she has her own playlist that she shares with our turbo chooks

and #George - the old cat

i would love to hear about the animals you may live with

a little house sparrow a narrow escape

This tiny bird was caught up in the 'v' of the bird stand - you can see i have plugged it with a little vase at the moment.  the bird was stuck in the bottom of the V shape with each wing splayed around two legs.  fortunately it did not struggle while i lifted it out by its two little wings. 

it was extreme luck i was passing having just walked up to the house to get a cup of coffee.

.  

with eyes closed and shock kicking in i put it into a shoe box with the lid askew in the studio for an hour.  checking a couple of times its little body was breathing heavily while it recovered.

and thankfully, recover it did!  it was bright eyed and alert when i put the box outside without the lid.  with other bird sounds around, the little mite chirped loudly and i saw an adult come over to the box.  the little one soon flew off with the adult.  so good.

is it a house sparrow ? i googled but i cannot see any images with the yellow marks on either side of its beak.

new season Turbo Chooks - babies being looked after by the extended family

Early Spring our couple of Turbo Chooks that live on the block outside the studio had 6 chicks; they managed to raise 4 to young teenage status and 3 days ago the whole family of 4 teens and 2 adults marched 6 new little chicks out across the lawn.  so lovely to see how they all pitch in. (images below and you tube video below images)

Out and About Spring happening

Baby turbo chooks happening all over the place .. these live outside the studio - they started with 6 and unfortunately lost 2 to goshawks.  These 4 have been doing okay - the image was taken 2 weeks ago.  We have kept fallen trees along the edge of the creek which is providing shelter and hiding spots for them.  so good. so cute.

Did you know we have a youtube channel that has a playlist for monthly diary walk arounds and living with fauna (among others). - here's one.  October diary walk 2025 

and this one (September creek after rains)

 

Spring joy is fast becoming the most stressful time of year

 

Normally we would not see the daily machinations of the native hens (turbo chooks) that live with us however, we have a pair of turbo chooks that have set up house on our front lawn - they have been there for 3 years and have not yet grown their babies to adulthood.  

Its fast becoming the most stressful time of the year for us.  This poor little bundle was picked up by a goshawk, turbo chook mum and i went hollering across the hill and the hawk dropped the chick. If it were not for the talons i wonder if the chick would have survived.  She is now buried under a shrub.  

This little one (above) was part of 6 day old chicks and as of today we are down to 4with one that is hopping having hurt a leg.  Today has been the most stressful as goshawks have come and gone and now a crow has noticed the little one that is not walking well. Mum has chased it away twice and it is just upsetting to think of the battle these little ones endure daily.

a short video here of the turbo babies a couple of days before.

Sunday musing pre workshop

 Its a beautiful Spring day here - intermittent showers with sunny moments in between.  The Camellia which was planted before we came is in full flower again.  Unusually, i think, its turned two-tone - quite lovely.

The studio is lovely and clean - V & I mopped the floor a week ago - huge job (18x12 metres in and around tables and benches) and i swept it up this morning in readiness for our workshop.  A small group (as i like it) and a day of making this book and this one.

I dont have workshops often as i work a lot on my own projects but i do enjoy when i hold them. Usually they are held in winter or winter's end but i am open to any time of year if groups organise themselves - bring 1 or 2 friends with you and email me your dates if you wish to have a workshop. I have placed the book workshops here.

Updated my poetry site a little yesterday - big job - onward with regular updates to post in one place all my (mainly published) poetry but also some of my favourites.

SIGNS of Spring (again)

The birds, in mobs, are racing around, chasing, being chased, singing and heralding. The creek is high from recent rains, chinese cabbage and brocoli have bolted, the mini nectarine is already in full flower and if there was any doubt at all .....   the wattles are out.

and then there is #Snowcone ... such a sweet girl - our dairy cow in retirement 

find her on our youtube channel here ... and check out this hilarious one where she got out and i had not a clue what to do ! 

lovely Rainy Days this month - remembering the flood !

July and we have been experiencing many days and night of rain. we needed it as the paddocks had got very dry, turning wheat coloured over summer.  it only took a couple of days of rain to return to green again and we get these little visitors at night.    image below - link refers to info on the little brown tree frog.

and it was such a nice surprise to find, online, the sound it makes - surprise because i always assumed THIS sound was crickets but it is actually the little brown tree frog. 

It was October (i think) 2022 when the creek flooded - a once in 7 year flood (apparently) ... there is a playlist of flood videos that happened in 2022 on our you tube

hoping it is is indeed once in 7 years ... or longer - we will be fine as the house is up the hill but the studio got flooded and that took 6 weeks to clean up !

love this idea - recipe

recently moved to the country and more natural ways to clean and what is disposed of is top of mind ...we have water tanks and a septic tank which requires gentle cleaning products for it to work well.

a walk by the creek

on a recent walk discovered this lovely flowering - Fatsia Japonica - i wrote about it here.  a winter flowering.  look forward to seeing how big it gets - apparently quite large and wide.

i took photos of this particular part of the creek, from the bridge and came back at night to take shots of around the same area, from the bridge.  

still discovering things along our journey here -the creek has filled a little since we have been getting regular rains - the paddocks have greened over and the wallabies are gathering in large groups during the night to chomp on the grass.

check out this video on youtube of blackfish in the creek 

and i am doing monthly videos (just started this year) - we have been here 3 years and i began the monthly vids so i can notice the differences and changes each year.

a surprise winter flowering

On a walk across the paddock yesterday I found this plant flowering by the creek.  and today it looked like this !

so pretty. This is called fatsia Japonica and is best suited to outdoor growth.  I purchased one last year and have it indoors - it grew so well that i had extras come up in the pot and this one is outdoors growing beautifully by the creek.  The flowers were such a nice surprise - the one indoors is leafy and large-ish but nothing like this one outdoors.

Things I learned from Google today. The name. fatsia Japonica.

• It is better suited outdoors than indoors - i am now planning where to plant the indoor one once we get into spring.
• The location i put the one outdoors is perfect for it - shady with some sun.
• it flowers in autumn (although we are winter here just now) and berries will follow !  great. so good for the birds.
• it will grow 6-10 feet both in height and width!  how fabulous and apparently the new shoots may get eaten but the older ones are not tasty for the critters.  we shall see. i do have it currently fenced waiting for it to expand before i test that theory.
• its also known as the paper plant of finger plant.
• pruning encourages dense growth

very happy to have this one in the paddock.  might plant the indoor one outside the front of the house. 

Looking back at looking back (cute overload spoiler)

On this same day last year these two posts went up heralding our coming into our 3rd year in this place, #countryliving #Tasmania.  And here we are again. So, we are on our 3rd anniversay here (going into our 4th year) and also the anniversary (April) of these little guys coming into our lives - 4. years ago. 

Kimba and Archie .... and George just fell in love too ... 

the garden is growing exponentially with a few intros over summer 

and i walk to the creek every day a few times a day in the hope of catching sight of the platypus, the eel or what fish are around (trout or blackfish)

the trumpet flower came out first time in 3 years and it is established the tree is 

a radermachera sinica (China Doll) 

and again this year with the rains, the little brown tree frog visited - sticking to our patio glass door in the middle of the night

looking back over art activities in the studio this past summer here

Straight into Winter and WELCOME to our new subscribers

After a pretty warm season Autumn arrived on its last day. And day 1 of Winter she arrived with a vengance. Such morning frosts every morning since and such freezing nights. Freezing being the operative word - all water bowls are frozen right through the day and i am breaking up the top of the fish tank which is totally frozen over each morning. a walk into the frosty morning here.

Speaking of artist books i completed a few over the last few months - small sneak peek below - i shall be uploading the full images of the books once they are clear of future exhibitions. ALSO in relation to books, the lovely ladies who attended my earlier collage workshop have requested i run a contemporary book making workshop - so stay tuned if

LOOKING BACK on 7 Days (2)

 i knew it ! ... it comes around so quickly ! It is hard to believe we have been here for 2 years already and now into our third year. I have a small notebook into which i have been jotting down the plants that grow here (if i can identify them), the birds that visit and when as well as the fish, reptiles etc.

The photo i took of the little brown tree frog was when he was stuck to our glass sliding door - so beautiful, really tiny. The (second) slide show below is a collection of the birds i could find online that have visited here with one or two of my own photos included where i could capture them including the little red-breasted robin and a wasp!  I have added a list of the names under the images. where there is a (g) following the name that is my own photo.

                   yellow wattle bird                                   little brown tree frog (g)

                                turbo chooks (Tasmanian Native Hens) in the front yard (g) 

             bottom row :  forest raven.             crimson rosella                              grey fantail

top row:  bassian thrush                           common blackbird.                   ? not sure (a cicada?)

                house Sparrow                        turbo chooks  (g)                                visiting goshawk (g)

                                               male redbreast robin (g)

                              no idea (?) (g)

bottom row:  goshawk (g)                     news holland honeyeater              my outdoor goldfish (g)

top row:      little wattle bird                  goshawk visiting (g)

    bottom row:   spotted pardalote                                          female superb fairy wren

         top row:  grey (?) heron visiting (g)

                                         welcome swallows (bottom).       spotted dove (top)

LOOKINGBACK on 7 Days

 An idle thought but i will give it a go - so many projects on the go its difficult to know when to post anything about any particular one especially since 'we' tend to wait until its done and perfect. You should see my reject pile !

So i am going to attempt to post each Sunday a look back on the previous 7 days - just images of things mostly in progress. Hopefully this will capture more (in a kinda diary way) my activities and provide the discipline i lack in posting regularly. Let's see how we go !

(I am already a day late on the very first "Looking Back"). The images reflect my week - birds visiting, creek walks and printmaking (of the creek and) flora in the garden, George on a coffee morning catchup, exploring photographs without using a camera, stitching (this piece is finally completed), monoprinting, painting, books and cooking. A middle of the night dash to the emergency as V had a terrible reaction to a virus. It was an all-nighter but a week later he is doing well having been given antibiotics.

so ... .till the next 'looking back' .... of course the weeks come around very quickly.