Give me a home among the gum trees...

...There's a Safeways up the corner

And a Woolies down the street

And a brand new place they've opened up

Where they regulate the heat

But I'd trade them all tomorrow

For a little bush retreat

Where the kookaburras call

Give me a home among the gumtrees

With lots of plum trees

A sheep or two, a k-kangaroo

A clothesline out the back

Verandah out the front

And an old rocking chair

On my way to and from work I drive through the Jervis Bay National Park. It is actually an enormous national park of some 4,211 hectares and from the road (as I am racing to and from work lol) it simply looks like a lot of gum trees. Well, this afternoon as I was driving home I noticed a lot of white flowers everywhere.

How odd I thought. It was amazing to see so many and I wondered what tree they belonged to. Could you believe that they were attached to gumtrees. I was gobsmacked.

I never knew that gumtrees flowered. I knew that they had gumnuts but I never realized that they had flowers as such. So I eventually pulled over to the side of the road, got my trusty camera out of the boot and went for a stroll throught the bushes. It was an amazing walk and I learned a lot very quickly.

The flowers changed colour further in and some were cream, some red and some looked a very pretty pink colour.

Because they were so high up in the trees it was hard to initially look close at them however, patience and a further walk lead me to some lower lying flowers.

Up close they actually look as though there are no petals. They look more like a group of showy stamens.

The older flowers towards to the tops of the trees look as though the stamens have split away from the base which is the shape of a cup.

I can not wait for Autumn and Springtime down here now. Can you imagine what else I am going to find on a simple walk throught the national parks.

Ash Wednesday.........

I have never thought much about Ash Wednesday. As children we were taught about it in school and at church however, as an adult I really have not given such a day much thought at all. Until today when a man came in for smoko this morning. Every day he comes at the same time and asks what the special of the day is and has that. He is a quietly spoken man with a heavy accent. To look at him one could not pick his nationality as everyone here dresses in fluro shirts, white hard hats and big work boots. After you have worked here a week everyone starts to look the same lol.

Anyway, I digress. This morning the man arrived and asked for fish, chips and salad. I asked him if he wanted me to put a special away for him for lunch and he replied that no, he will have another fish and chips. I must have looked surprised when John discretely reminded me that today was Ash Wednesday and that many people practice the tradition of abstaining from eating meat on this day. Ok, yes I remember that now. When the man returned at lunchtime I told him that each Friday I would make sure that I had a non-meat special on. He smiled and thanked me although I am not sure that he understood what I was talking about. We began talking and he told me that he wasoriginally from Sarajevo, which is the capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia. He migrated to Australia in 2000. Back in 1995 the Bosnian Government declared independence from Yugoslavia. The Serb forces sought to destroy the newly independent state of Bosnia and so it became one of the longest sieges in the history of modern warfare.

At the beginning of the war his extended family was killed, including elderly parents. His immediate family hid with neighbours many times during bombings and gunfire; even his practice was burned down at one stage. In an effort to save his wife and children he fled the country and eventually arrived in Australia. Unfortunately when he lived in Bosnia this man was a doctor however, his credentials are not recognized here in Australia so he went to work for a brisklaying company. In the first years after arriving in Australia he said that he worked three jobs, seven days per week in an effort to save enough money to buy a home however that is still in the making. Two of his three children now attend university of which he is enormously proud. I sense there is a lot of homesickness hidden behind his quiet nature although he said nothing about that, I got the impression that it was what he didn’t say that spoke volumes.

Anyway, getting back to Ash Wednesday, I guess we are shielded from war here in Australia. I know that most of my generation have never been confronted the immediate conflicts of war. I thought about this man’s religious beliefs later in the day and thought that after all he had been through, loosing his extended family, burying his elderly Mum and Dad, seeing his livelihood burned down, fleeing your country and everything that is familiar and cherished to save your children, all the home sickness, everything changing overnight, he probably thanks God every night for all he has. One would hold onto your religious beliefs zealously, it is quite probably the only thing that he had left apart from his children and wife.So today, Ash Wednesday, I happily served as much fish as people asked for, wished them a good day and realized that we never really know the personal story of other people until such times as this. People can be so quick to judge other's religious values without understanding what support they get from those beliefs. I might have a look on the internet to see if there is such a thing as a Bosnian recipe and surprise him one day lol.

Have a good evening everyone x

Shrove Tuesday...Pancake Day

"The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves"

WC Fields

Considering that this is Shrove Tuesday and my husband Mr J, tells me that we should be eating pancakes today lol, I thought that this was an appropriate time to transfer one of my old posts across that had a recipe for Amish Pancakes.

For a couple of years I have followed the blog of a lady who lives a totally self-sufficent lifestyle in southern USA. To cut a long story short, they have goats for milk and wool, grow their own veges in an extensive garden, have an orchard for fruit trees, six sheep provide wool and at some stage..meat and provide their own power (wind and candlelight). She home schooled her children to senior high and sews, knits and crochets everything one could need in life, material-wise.

We ended up emailing almost each other often now and critique the writing and photos that both of us enjoy posting. Milly actually read 40plusers when it was open and she would have a chuckle at our Aussie-isms as she called them. Apparently there truly is a difference between Australian humour and American humour.

Nonetheless, two of her children grew up and married into the divisions of the Amish religion known as Mennonites. As a result I have learned little bits and pieces about the Amish.

For example, their church rules cover all aspects of day-to-day living including no power-line electricity, limited use of the telephone, many do not own or operate an automobile although a few do, and specifying the style of dress. Amish do not buy insurance nor accept government assistance of any kind. The Amish seek to limit contact with the outside world to protect their way of life and instead emphasise church and family relationships by living a rural life.

This woman's son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter are permitted to visit the son's family though. All of that aside, they can be fascinating.

Milly often posts recipes that her daughter-in-law teaches her. When I first read them I took one look and thought "no way" I couldn't be bothered cooking from scratch however, she made a remark about how easy they are and how quickly they can be made . Now that caught my attention lol. I tried this one and loved it.

Amish Baked Apple Pancakes

Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter 1 Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices (naturally I used canned apple pie filling to save some time and was surprized at how flavoursome it was)

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup self raising flour

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt Confectioners' sugar, for dusting if you want but I like them plain

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 230 degrees C. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or baking dish over moderate heat, put 2 tablespoons to a mixing bowl. Add apple slices to baking dish and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. While apple is cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to butter in mixing bowl and blend until smooth. You can use a whisk if that is easier. Pour batter over apple and transfer baking dish or skillet to oven. Bake in preheated oven until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar or add a bit of maple syrup, then serve immediately. Makes 2-4 servings. Note: in order to get a nice looking pancake that puffs up on the sides, make certain the skillet or baking dish is hot when you add the batter !

Some of the waratah flower photos were snapped at the Bowral Tulip Festival 2008. The later photos were snapped at Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens October 2008 at our photography class photo shoot. I hope that you enjoy them.

Low and Behold......

Well, if you thought I was excited before....you should see me now lol.

After the excitement and force of the thunderstorm a beautiful peace arrived as the clouds broke up enough for the sun to shine through.

Outside everything seemed refreshed and alive, even the parrots returned to our tree looking thoroughly soaked. It did not deter them from chirping at each other through the water droplets.

I sat downloading my photos when something caught my attention outside. When I looked through the window I was speechless.

The sky had lit up as though it were on fire. I grabbed my camera and darted across to the beach.

Never in my life had I witnessed such beauty. The sky was alive with colour and it reflected over the water and beach.

My words here could never do justice to such a majestic scene, and I realize now that my photos will not do justice either.

It was one of those sunsets that makes one want to silently sit and marvel. The colours streaked through the southern sky slowing down the beats of my heart and causing my breath to hold for the smallest moment as the splendour seeped in leaving me in awe.
Mr J!!! I need a wide angle lens lol lol !!!!!!

Black as the ace of spades......

This afternoon here there was a dooooozy of a thunderstorm. Mr J and I stood out on the verandah taking in the spectacle which Mother Nature put on for us.

The sky was gun metal grey with a sickly cast of purple here and there. In fact, the air had been heavy with humidity most of the day while we were at work.

By the time I had arrived home the first rumble of distant thunder came. It was as I turned my head to the sky wanting to feel the relief of drops, that I noticed just how truely dark the sky was.

There was a savage beauty about it, in the jagged shapes of the clouds; in the threatening colours and weight in the atmosphere. It was truely lovely.

At one stage the sky was so dark that one could be forgiven for thinking that it was midnight. It raged with thunder and lightening for 30 minutes.

The storm crept in from the south east to collide with another storm that arrived from the south west Goulburn area. There was such electricity and energy all around of us that I tried to capture the moment on my camera.

The close-ups were taken using a 300mm zoom lens. I hope that you enjoy them.

Bowral Tulip Festival.....

This past weekend John and I spent some time down in the Southern Highlands. Like most people I have been before but that was many years ago. We primarily traveled down for the tulip festival and opening of the private gardens however once you enter the Southern Highlands the landscape takes one’s breath away with it’s shear beauty. After all of the recent rains the countryside was lush and green and everything seemed so clean and crisp. The mountains, the valleys and the meadows were rich in pastures and it was such a pleasure to drive through it all.

Bowral itself dates back to the mid 1800’s in fact, the railway was built through there in 1860. One of the first locals that we spoke to took it upon himself to give us a short history of the area lol.

The story goes something like this….many a Sydney-sider traveled on the train down to Bowral for a country style holiday. It became so popular by 1886 that it was considered the major destination south of Sydney. The businesses and residences (many still standing) were made of sandstone and were considered state of art because they had gas and in years later, they even had electricity. The locals paved the streets for the horse and carriages, to prevent a clogmire after any rain.

The local town had a gasworks, a brickwork (sandstone blocks), a milk-processing business and local services for the farming community such as a doctor, a sweet store (glad to hear that the early settlers had their priorities right lol), a grain store, 2 hotels, a restaurant, a blacksmith and a general store.

In order to encourage more tourism from Sydney, the locals grouped together to plant many exotic deciduous trees; these were carried from Sydney in wagons and carts which was pulled by horses. Many of the trees are still standing on both sides of the streets and have grown over and joined across the tops of the roadways. Eventually many bulbs were also planted which are what have multiplied and make up the tulip festival. It was interesting to read that at the end of the tulip display you can take your shovel and help dig up the bulbs. For $15.00 one can take home a bag of 100 bulbs for your own personal use.

We arrived very early and the only rain was several hours in the late morning. Fortunately by the time we met up with my sister and her friend for lunch, the clouds had passed and the sun was shining.










The main display was at Corbett Park but between Mittagong and Moss Vale (Bowral being in the middle) there are many private homes with magnificent gardens opened for viewing. The colours were breath-taking and a photographer's delight. I am still in awe of such beautiful vivid colours which can be found in a single tulip. When one steps back to look the gardens are amassed with colour. Oh to live amidst such glorous grounds lol.

I couldn't imagine Spring being the same without the whole magical feeling one gets from new flowers like these, especially tulips. If you think of springtime a picture of a yellow tulip immediately comes to mind, the gardens then brighten up life after the grey winter.

I made this same remark to one of the gardeners, who stood talking to the visitors roaming through the park. He said that they begin to plant the bulbs five or six months ahead of flowering time. About one to two months after planting a tiny hair-like seedling appears. There are no chemicals delicate enough to control the weeds that grow aroundthe tulip, without harming the seedlings, so he and the other gardeners, remove every weed by hand for the next six moonths (my back was aching in sympathy for them).

It was worth visiting the area just to have a look at some of the old homes; they were absolutely beautiful. I loved the old buildings in Bowral as well. It is so hard to imagine settlers building such exquisite structures with no modern tools or appliances. It was all done with draft animals, wagons, mallets,chisels and the sweat of human muscles. The intricate detail in the sandstone left me wondering whether this has become a lost craft these days. It is so difficult to cull the photos but I have sellected these after shooting over 450...yes 450! Thank god for digital, I would never have afforded that much film lol.

I hope that you enjoy my photos as much as I enjoyed snapping them. I will make mention of Christian Wright, my photography lecturer and instructor, who sugested that I would learn much by visiting the tulip festival, thank you Chris.

Anyway, we stayed in Mittagong on Saturday night and spent Sunday visitinga few more gardens down at Moss Vale which has some wonderful old antique stores and craft shops as well. The afternoon was spent was the footy grandfinals at the club, the locals all supporting Manly lol. Then headed off to Fitzroy Falls early Monday morning. Enjoy!