Of Sky and Sea and a bit of painting

Hi there,
I've enjoyed popping in and out of everyones' blogspots now and then over the past couple of weeks.
It's beaut to read (and see) all the different things that interest bloggers.
I love to read the kind of things that mean a lot to people and to take enjoyment in those shared moments that make us all smile.

Ok, as usual, I never know where to start, so it's diving in time.
Reckon, I'll open with some of the (millions of) pics I've taken from our backyard.
Quite often, in that beautiful late afternoon,  I check the sky - just in case there's a photo opp... of course, there usually is...

On one of our trips to the water, we stopped off at Kalimna Jetty (near Lakes Entrance, Victoria).
You can see the jetty by looking back down the path we'd taken.

A bit of a re-allocator of bits and pieces, I couldn't resist taking some shells - they look lovely in the garden amongst musthave shells from other jaunts :D)

Can you see the crab?  I nearly missed him.

He was a bit shy, but we had the time to wait....

... and we were rewarded.  He (or she), slowly emerged.

So gorgeous.  Definitely a future subject for another painting. I love those colours.

As you may know, I've been dabbling with paints over the past while.
I like to talk about it now and then in my posts as it has come to form a large part of my life.
If you're ever thinking of doing the same, I heartily recommend it.  It's fun, it's like being a kid again!

I did get a bit bogged down in the "Just a Passing Thought" painting that I've displayed over on my sidebar.
I wanted to draw fish with stripes and have them all shimmery as I'd seen in photos...  oh boy, it wasn't working though (grrrrr  grumpy tamtrumy susan)(see what I mean about being a kid again!!) as you'll see in a few of my attempts:

All worked out when I watched B from the naive art group I attend.  She devised a clever little method of scratching paint to reveal an under colour.  Brilliant!!

So, time to re-do.
I painted my fish white, let them dry, then painted the top halves black and while the paint was wet, just drew the stick through, revealing the white... making stripes.  Had to work quickly though before the black paint dried (I use acrylics).

I learnt another lesson too.  If something isn't working, there's such a thing as artistic license - lol - these fish ended up being nothing like the photos I'd used as reference, but the black and white worked for me!

Thanks for taking the time to visit.  Cheerio for now :D)

Reminiscing - back in Thailand

Looking through photos of our trip to Thailand a while back, I wanted to share (another) nice experience of our time there.

We were at the Ban Huack (Thai/Laos) Border Market and I saw this lady who I immediately wanted to photograph.
I held my camera up, pointed to it and smiled - this is what I always did before taking photos of people. Mostly everyone would agree to a photo, if not that was cool too. I liked to ask first though.

However, there were several other people with the same idea... and with no pleases or thankyous pushed in front of me and literally shoved their cameras in her face clicking away.
I felt ashamed to be near them and was sorry for her.  She certainly showed her displeasure too, lowered her head and wouldn't look at them.

As I walked off, I took a look back and to my joy saw that she'd turned away from them and gave me a most beautiful smile as you can see here.  It made my day.  I hope it makes yours!

Such a smile on her beautiful face - no words were needed. We understood each other.

It's a wee bit damp here

Rain, rain and more rain.
Fortunately though it's coming slowly enough to flow through the rivers and into the lakes system and out to sea.

Look who I saw just outside our window.  Sooky's not happy

Just the weather for some comfort food.  Spaghetti Pie

I collect Pyrex cookware from Op Shops, and recently found theses two dishes.
Just the thing for my "one to eat, and one for the freezer" recipes.

In between showers, I roamed (squished) around the yard yesterday...

These pretty Correas certainly brightened up the day!

I have a real fascination
for these beautiful Tribouchina. 

Our resident tennis player.
He endures all weather and doesn't chuck a wobbly when things go wrong!

Squelching on, forgot to put on my rubber boots - ah well, now that sneakers and socks are saturated, I may as well keep going.
Down to the Orchard now .....

The Mandarins are beauties - our first crop.

MD's grapevines also had their first year.
They have endured hailstorms and all manner of bad conditions, however, they
continue to thrive.
Only 2 more years until we have grapes on the table.

Looking through a Grevillia at the grapevines

Back inside with my supply of fruit ... 

I also raided our lemon tree - its first year of production
and I've stripped it already.
We like to start the day with some lemon juice in warm water...  lol, have
forgotten why now, but we're in the habit and it's beaut having our own lemons.
There'll be a lot more next year I'm sure.

My two pampered succulents.
Bought them for $1 each at the Lakes Entrance Markets recently - love a bargain!
Will put them outside when the weather is warmer.

Oh and finally, here's Froggie - I've already shown this pic a long time ago, but he did remind me that HE had the good sense to at least wear a raincoat outside when its wet.

That's it for today.
Keep your tootsies dry to those in this part of the world.
Stay cool for those in the Northern parts!
Cheerio now :D)

Bits of this n that and some messing around with paints too

Hi there,
Jumping right in and getting this post done.  Been away too long and find I'm questioning everything I write, so shall stop phaffing around and get on with it!

Here's a few pics of what's been happening in and around my neck of the woods.

Spied this pot of Eyelashes Begonia at the Paynesville Craft Shop
- just had to have it, so cute!

here's a close-up of a baby one

I still can't decide where to keep it, so it's on the kitchen windowsill
sometimes, and in the lounge at others.

(This photo reveals my dislike of cleaning windows.... they have to take their turn - I'm a Sometimes Window Cleaner as well!!)

Having a go at Monet's style.

I have no pretensions about my art abilities but I've finally found a hobby,
 in addition to photography, that I thoroughly enjoy.
Once it "clicked" that I have nothing to prove and everything to gain by
freeing up my inner critic, it all started to happen!

This is "Sooky" our friendly Little Wattlebird

The "Little Wattlebirds" are different to the Red Wattlebirds who are not inclined to have anything to do with humans other than to "clack" at them.

Sooky likes to fly in for a visit when we sit on the verandah of a morning.

That basket of Candy Bell Fushchias are so so tiny, but Sooky's littl tongue finds a spot of nectar in
each little bloom.  Delightful!

Cheerio for now, thanks for visiting.
Susan :D)

Shady business ending in a bit of a stink

A bit of a peek in our shadehouse:

These are Crucifix Orchids I do believe.  Very hard to photograph I found, so have included a few photos of them at different angles.

I love Orchids, theyre tough plants as far as I'm concerned.  All I give them is a monthly drink of worm wee and the very occasional banana skin.  They are all in their original soil - some of it as old as 6 years.

Here's another view inside the shadehouse:

A closeup of that delicate Zygocactus flower:

All sorts of containers are utilised... colanders do a great job for the bromeliads:

Fuschias thrive in there, much to our delight:

Meet "Old Smelly" who has a ... shall we say, body odour problem.  In other words - it Stinks!

... a closeup of the stinking, smelly, flower - so pretty in its stinkdom isn't it!!

On that rather smelly note I shall leave you ;D)
Thanks for taking the time to visit...  I will get back to visiting everyone - slowly catching up on what you've all been doing over the past month.

Cheerio for now and I hope life is being kind to you,
Susan :D)

Sunday Serenity... simple garden Treasures

Geraniums and Pigeons ... Treasures???
Definitely.
Have a look below and see what I mean :

Crisp white, with just a whisper of  pink

Gentle pink

Rosebud-like 

A baby Bronzewing Pigeon hiding under our Lilly-Pilly

Can't you just feel its little heart beating rapidly
(I kept a good distance away)

Beautiful Mumma Bronzewing - just a few human paces away from baby, keeping watch

The absolute shimmering beauty of her colours

Our Mystery Bottle of Tambo Bay

Hi there,

I hope that this new year is being kind to everyone.

Lots of busy things going on throughout blogland, so thought it was well time I updated too.

A couple of weeks ago, MD and I took our Son to Tambo Bay.  It's a little out of the way holiday home type of place, very quiet once the holidaymakers had returned home.

Thinking back to the first time we visited Tambo Bay, a raging storm was in progress (the weather doesn't deter our drives!).  We sat in the car and looked out over the Bay with its grey clouds, pelting rain, waves lashing the sand and some poor seabirds hanging on to the jetty for dear life.  Since then, I've always thought of Tambo Bay as a dramatic, wind-blown, romantic type of spot.

Anyway, the three of us decided on a walk before our picnic and, in the distance I saw what I thought was just an old beer bottle bobbing up and down in the water.
As we got closer, it looked a bit more interesting so, trying to keep my sneakers dry, I had a go, between waves, at trying to pull it in to shore.
Darn, I forgot the camera but fortunately our Son had his phone and took some beaut photos .... (ok, I 'fess up... I was yelling to him fairly over-excitedly in between the sloshing waves something like "quick ... phone...take  picture"... fortunately our darling children know that Mum tends to get a bit over-the-top sometimes! )

After a bit of encouragement with a stick (and the inevitable 
soggy sneakers),  I got it to shore

Yep, definitely some flotsam... or jetsam...
well, a bottle, and it looked old.

Yay - it was obvious this bottle had been in the water 
a long time.

Complete with rotting cork and partly covered in barnacles...
we were hoping there might be a note inside!

it has three sides and
was about two-thirds filled with liquid.

Here's a closer look and the words "This... must... use... food"
are visible.

(Still banging on about the bottle!)

Here's a shot of it now that it's been home with us
for a few weeks.
The cork dried out and dropped inside the bottle.
The liquid had no smell at all.

Alas.... no note was found

A closeup of its barnacled bottom.

Our mystery bottle sits in all its glory here at home.
I wonder where it came from.