On Friday afternoon I completed the final coat on the bar stools and we went for a short drive in our new Subaru Impreza RX - out to Kingsthorpe and back via Meringandan west and Gowrie Junction. Now that things are green it is quite pleasant scenery to the north and north-west of our place.
On Saturday I enjoyed making a cushion cover with a tapestry done by Diana when we were at school. I am also planning to make them with my two hunting scenes. We need some brightness on our new sofa bed.
On Sunday we packed the stools, barbecue, beer and cider into the new car and drove down to see Jim. After doing some shopping and sitting on his new sofa bed watching his new TV, we had an enjoyable lunch on his verandah, sitting at his new table and chairs. It was warm and humid in Brisbane but he catches the breeze very nicely there. We then drove up to visit Margaret Viney at Scarborough, then home by dusk.
Monday, 29 October 2007
Friday, 26 October 2007
Feeding the birds
When we first arrived here three years ago, we were met by a hoard of hungry magpies - fed by the previous owners no doubt. We don't believe in feeding birds - a dish of water works well and is recommended. Over time, the football team - all called Ken - diminished, and these days we have the odd ones working over the lawn area and living in harmony with us.
Today I worked out why we now have the friendly parrots and galahs about - not in hoards. They are feeding on the sunflowers which I grew with seed from Ruth in Hobart. We tried to get a photo of the galah balancing on a small sunflower but without success.
Today I worked out why we now have the friendly parrots and galahs about - not in hoards. They are feeding on the sunflowers which I grew with seed from Ruth in Hobart. We tried to get a photo of the galah balancing on a small sunflower but without success.
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Birds in the garden
The pale headed rosellas are around during the day and today the red rump parrots were on the fence and in the bird bath. We usually see the former on a visit around 7 am and the latter grazing in the grass. I hope they continue to make themselves at home.
Tuesday walk
I walk every Tuesday morning with a group called Over 50s Bushwalkers. We meet at 7.30 am and car pool, driving an hour or so in the local area to walk 5-10 km in the bush. We enjoy a smoko after walking about an hour, when we find a nice log perhaps, then eat a picnic lunch together after our walk. It is a wonderful formula and we enjoy each other's company as well as the environment and exercise. This week we walked in the Perseverance Creek area above the dam. The Callistemon viminalis were flowering vibrant red and the birds were busy. The creeks are dry but we saw a water dragon sunning on a log over a pool of water and a speedy marsupial flew by on our way out - it was small and fast - perhaps a rock wallaby but in open bushland. We also climbed to some good sandstone cliffs with some soft talc like sections as well as caves.
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
The Lincoln Wreck
Last Sunday we walked on the Main Range east of Warwick. We were lucky to have a cooler day to climb Mt Superbus to the wreck of a Lincoln bomber which crashed in 1955 while making a medical evacuation from Townsville with a sick baby. It was nice to be walking in rainforest with some familiar plants and an old overgrown forestry track reminiscent of walks on the Atherton Tableland. There was a good steep climb up a rocky gully to get to the crash and it was interesting to be with people who had been there 40 years ago when the wreckage was more intact. We continued up another 50 metres to near the summit for lunch but there was no view there and only limited glimpses to the west on the way up. Despite plenty of ticks around, we only had one making contact on Dick's hand. It was a good day out.
Dining Room chairs
About 14 years ago we embarked on a project to build our own dining room chairs in silky oak. Not a great deal of time elapsed before they were designed and cut out, with the prototype assembled ready for sanding and varnishing. And so things were for many years as we spent less time in the shed and more time sailing, bushwalking, family history etc.
Our current shed was designed with woodwork in mind but not a lot has been done until this winter when the cold weather prompted me to keep warm with overalls and vigorous activity. We also needed bookshelves to replace the one we were minding for Jim and for books stored in boxes. Once the estapol was started we were away and this week the final two chairs received their third coats and moved into the house. Seats still need to be done on four. We have also done a chest of drawers for Jim and now two bar stools are being finished. All this means I shall make a list on my blog!
Our current shed was designed with woodwork in mind but not a lot has been done until this winter when the cold weather prompted me to keep warm with overalls and vigorous activity. We also needed bookshelves to replace the one we were minding for Jim and for books stored in boxes. Once the estapol was started we were away and this week the final two chairs received their third coats and moved into the house. Seats still need to be done on four. We have also done a chest of drawers for Jim and now two bar stools are being finished. All this means I shall make a list on my blog!
Friday, 19 October 2007
Gormans Gap
Lieutenant Owen Gorman was the last commandant of the Moreton Bay penal settlement. In 1840 the first settlers began to arrive on the Darling Downs, west of the Dividing Range. So a wagon route had to be found to bring supplies from Moreton Bay. Gorman succeeded in finding a way through on 17 October 1840 probably following aboriginal trails. On Wednesday evening a small group of us walked up to the top monument from Unemployed Road, pausing for photos on the Camel's Hump at sunset, then returned to our cars down the eroded track in fading light, to celebrate 167 years since he did it.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
koalas and kangaroo
Today we walked just north of Cooby Dam and found several koalas, a reasonably large monitor, a kangaroo, and a frogmouth on a nest near a magpie and nest. I wonder how long these hills will remain wooded?
Schubert
Yesterday we went to a Twilight Vocal Recital at USQ with Arthur Johnson bass baritone singing Schubert's Winter Journey accompanied by Phillip Gearing on Piano. There are 24 songs in the cycle and it was a real treat.
Monday, 15 October 2007
ok I have started a blog
This weekend we had a new pair of birds in our garden - at least one pair of white winged trillers as we saw two females. There are a lot of small moths and butterflies in the garden at present.
The bearded dragon was under the lilly pilly beside the driveway yesterday. There are not many finches around at present although a few were seen on the fence. A pair of magpies have been wandering about collecting morsels from the lawn. There was also a pair of red rump parrots on the lawn on Sunday morning. The brown honeyeaters continue to guard their territory just below the house.
Spring is well advanced now with the paper daisies - Rhodanthe and Brancteantha past their best and fading from pink to white. The yellow Schoenias are still doing well and the Xerochrysums are now blooming with more to come. It has been a good display for the past 2 months. there are also dark purple volunteer Petunias among them.
On Friday I got a load of mulch and must now protect the beds from more weed growth, following the good rain we had last week. We are enjoying some cooler weather after a hot dry period recently.
The new bean screen garden bed at the end of the house is going well. The scarlet runners are climbing the screen and have started to flower. The purple climbers are just beginning to send up runners and there are also three white climbing beans racing to the line. The corn is also about 20 cm tall and the next crop has been sown. these three lines will hopefully provide a shade barrier in the coming month before the sun moves sufficiently south.
The veggie garden is now producing broad beans and peas. We also have ruby chard coming on well, carrots and leeks. I planted out the tomatoes from the tubs. They are starting to flower and produce fruit.
In the shed, progress continues with the dining room chairs. Two more came inside with their 3 coats of varnish and I hope to finish the final two this week. The bar stools are now going together. It may soon be too hot to work out there.
On Sunday we drove out to Brookstead to see an open garden belonging to one of my Tai Chi friends. It was an oasis in a wide open floodplain of cropping land beside the Condamine river. She was celebrating one hundred years of gardening by six generations of women there and it was a very pleasant place to be, with quite a few visitors despite the distance - over 60 km from Toowoomba. We did a circuit via Pittsworth and returning by a northern route through Biddeston. It has been a while since we ventured west onto the Darling Downs and it was a lovely day for it although many crops have suffered from drought and recent heat.
The bearded dragon was under the lilly pilly beside the driveway yesterday. There are not many finches around at present although a few were seen on the fence. A pair of magpies have been wandering about collecting morsels from the lawn. There was also a pair of red rump parrots on the lawn on Sunday morning. The brown honeyeaters continue to guard their territory just below the house.
Spring is well advanced now with the paper daisies - Rhodanthe and Brancteantha past their best and fading from pink to white. The yellow Schoenias are still doing well and the Xerochrysums are now blooming with more to come. It has been a good display for the past 2 months. there are also dark purple volunteer Petunias among them.
On Friday I got a load of mulch and must now protect the beds from more weed growth, following the good rain we had last week. We are enjoying some cooler weather after a hot dry period recently.
The new bean screen garden bed at the end of the house is going well. The scarlet runners are climbing the screen and have started to flower. The purple climbers are just beginning to send up runners and there are also three white climbing beans racing to the line. The corn is also about 20 cm tall and the next crop has been sown. these three lines will hopefully provide a shade barrier in the coming month before the sun moves sufficiently south.
The veggie garden is now producing broad beans and peas. We also have ruby chard coming on well, carrots and leeks. I planted out the tomatoes from the tubs. They are starting to flower and produce fruit.
In the shed, progress continues with the dining room chairs. Two more came inside with their 3 coats of varnish and I hope to finish the final two this week. The bar stools are now going together. It may soon be too hot to work out there.
On Sunday we drove out to Brookstead to see an open garden belonging to one of my Tai Chi friends. It was an oasis in a wide open floodplain of cropping land beside the Condamine river. She was celebrating one hundred years of gardening by six generations of women there and it was a very pleasant place to be, with quite a few visitors despite the distance - over 60 km from Toowoomba. We did a circuit via Pittsworth and returning by a northern route through Biddeston. It has been a while since we ventured west onto the Darling Downs and it was a lovely day for it although many crops have suffered from drought and recent heat.
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