Yarra Bend Park, Melbourne, Victoria Better than the museums, better than the gallery or even the zoo. Just as exciting as the fairy penguins is seeing the flying foxes take off in the evening. They were close to the Yarra Bend Bellbird picnic site, but they have moved further down the Yarra River, Perhaps to … Continue reading Flying Foxes
Australia
Wilson’s Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia
Lilly Pilly Gully Walk Nature Walk Wilson’s Prom is three hours south of the large city (5.2 million) of Melbourne. It is the oldest national park in Australia. It is very popular. Most Melbourne high school send their students there to experience the bush. It is well preserved and reforested. We did not see any … Continue reading Wilson’s Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia
Homesick
I’ve stayed too long in the USA. My ticket is not until November. I’m missing Australia, especially the trees and the birds. As the trees here lose their leaves I imagine the spring flowers now unfolding in Australia. How can I be homesick for what was my mother’s home? Is a longing to go back … Continue reading Homesick
Mt. Wombat, a hike celebrating three years of living in Victoria.
I know my last post on this blog was from the USA, but nine months of the year I’m in Melbourne, Australia. To celebrate that fact we went on a trip north out of Melbourne across the Great Divide. The great divide, in my mind it brings up pictures of the Rocky Mountains. I know … Continue reading Mt. Wombat, a hike celebrating three years of living in Victoria.
Maintaining a Nature Reserve
Everyday my Australian partner and I spend two volunteer hours trying to fight back against invasive plants in Wilson Reserve (A nature preserve in Melbourne, AU) and the bush along the Yarra River next to the Reserve. Melbourne water has invested a lot in planting native vegetation along the river, but has no funds to … Continue reading Maintaining a Nature Reserve
Paintings Visions from Two Continents Chapter 24 to the End.
When the neighbor who lived next door saw this painting he said, "Why, that's just beautiful. I guess I've never looked at willows before." The he laughed, "Well if a farmer spent all his time looking at trees, he'd never get his work done."
Paintings from Visions from Two Continent Chapters 22-23
My first attempt never got finished.I tried to paint myself and the children. It was a large painting a worked and reworked it. It never seemed right.
Down to Earth Farm Retreat, Sarsfield NSW
We discovered the most beautiful place to stop just over the border from Victoria in NSW. It’s not an ocean view, it’s not in the forest, but it is sustainable and pastoral. On our way to a family Christmas gathering we stopped for one night in the Down to Earth Farm Retreat. We stayed in … Continue reading Down to Earth Farm Retreat, Sarsfield NSW
Paintings from Visions from Two Continents
Chapters 4 and 5 Chapter 4 tells about school and the scary bamboo path Sheila had to walk through on her way to school. Bamboo are not native to Queensland. When planted they grow prolifically and can be a problem. People tried to remove the Bamboo from this property years later, but they are still … Continue reading Paintings from Visions from Two Continents
Yarra River Floods and Plastic
I have been up close and personal with plastic pollution the last few weeks. The Yarra River which flows through downtown Melbourne, Australia, has been flooding into Wilson Reserve, a nature preserve in East Ivanhoe. Flooded track in Wilson Reserve No houses are allowed to be constructed within the 100-year flood line on the flood … Continue reading Yarra River Floods and Plastic