Bribie island day trip

Hello! Went to Bribie Island, just north of Brisbane today, for a bit of beach and a bit of forest.

My favourite painter , Ian Fairweather, lived on Bribie island, and the local museum has a small feature wall about him as he lived out there. He chose to live very simply, in a small cottage/shack in the forest. This image comes from the Ian Fairweather project site, and shows him in his house/studio painting.

The forest on Bribie is pretty special, I can see why he was so inspired and felt so attached to the place.

'I came like water and like the wind I go' Omar Khayyam.

The beaches, especially Red Beach, are pretty special too. I have a confession to make though-despite living in the so-called sunshine state- I am no summer person. I am sure this is frustrating to people enduring those bleak European winters...I am sure because I have been told off by many over the years for my lack of 'Aussie beach life appreciation'

By the time I have gathered all the togs, towels, hats, sun cream, etc and gotten us to the beach I am generally irritable-sweaty, hot and bothered, then it is so glare-y and the sand sticks to my suncream, which washes off my skin in about .5 seconds in the water ensuring sunburn will occur, then my (by this stage) totally annoying kids jump all over me and splash water in my eyes and; oh, I could go on but I am sure you get the picture! I'd rather take photos, read a book but there's never much shade...winter, please come now!

Anyway, whiney-ness aside-I loved the shapes of these deeply embedded driftwood tree trunks-just looking at them conjures so many different ideas and forms...

The Casuarina trees which sprawl all over the sand are lovely trees too...apparently the name comes from the Malay word for the cassowary bird, Kasuari, because of the similarities between the trees slender drooping foliage and Cassowary feathers. I wouldn't know, I haven't been north past Townsville and I think they only live much further up into Queensland, maybe the Daintree? In any case I think I'd tend to give a bird like that a wide berth so I will take their word for it!

And I better go and get dinner into my not so annoying anymore kids,

xKate

hello world

Hello, I thought I'd share a picture of the toy I mentioned a post or two back that my neighbours son chose...he was made with beautiful wool from my treasured stash of

fauve fibre.

I feel like having a bit of a chat about the environment. I hope people who enjoy my craft also enjoy reading about other interests, if not simply skip it! :o)

Flooding has always been part of a cycle here and is getting more extreme due to global warming and it's effects. And I am noticing a lack of news coverage or discussion about the fact that while we are in a flood period now, we have just come out of droughts. It is my view these extremes need to be accepted and their effects and causes looked into further.

There are lots of things we can do to tackle some of these effects locally, if we know how.

We can plant trees along river banks, much like this beautiful re vegetation plantation which my dad worked on in his home town.

We can buy recycled paper products instead of consuming products created from the destruction of forests. There are beautiful recycled products available now including

Gumnut hill stationery products. I love this collection!

Anyway, there is just so much we can do and be involved with and it is my wish we would as a society take a little initiative in nurturing our home here on earth and the creatures we share it with.

Happily these rains provide nutrients and vegetation to vast areas of land, so lots of little creatures will soon be having boom times in a brilliant habitat, which after the dry years is a lovely thing.

Of course the animals who are suffering from displacement in the short term need a hand and you can find out more and donate via reputable organisations such as wildlife Queensland.

The frogs are already revelling in the conditions and these are a couple I found in my yard...

Don't you want to give them a little kiss?

xkate

tree love

I am inspired by a fellow blogger friend Kirsten as I write up this. She recently popped some of my tree brooches on her blog, which led me to lots of tree musings and happy times looking through my tree photos. Which I really enjoyed and I hope you enjoy this little collection of tree favourites.

Trees tough it out. This native cypress has been growing on a granite outcrop through a severe drought. Its bursting into life as the rain has finally come.

I do love trees, have definitely hugged them and planted them and sat under them and climbed up them and we live surrounded by them and their products every single moment.

We are lucky, aren't we?

xkate

Mitiamo trip

Hello, I am going nuts with my camera at the moment. I have so many pictures to sort through and upload! In the meantime here's a few more images from the Mitiamo trip. Up above is a native and local pine tree variety. It's broken through a huge slab of ancient volcano granite and is a white pine. The Mt Terrick Terrick area was reserved originally for these trees-they are resistant to termites so this area was being preserved for timber. Fortunately for all the wedge tailed eagles, black wallabies and other beautiful locals it has all been protected as a national park now.

Something I find interesting is how the soil, the classic orange-red outback ground, looks dry and dusty, despite the huge amounts of rain this area has recently received, in fact on the way there and back lots of the side roads are still impassable, with water right over them.

The ground supports a lot of life though and as the rains fell out come these lovely wildflowers and wallaby grass. The star shaped very pale purple flowers are Wahlenbergia stricta.

The yellow flowers are a kind of daisy-the petals are tough and hard like paper and are so called 'everlasting daisies'

These clumping purple isotoma axillaris flowers are very prolific, growing around the granite rocks- they were so sweet, looking more like a cottage garden plant than a native flower.

Some of my family lived in this area a hundred odd years ago, maybe these flowers were appreciated by my old relatives, perhaps even placed on a grave?

One of the best places to see wildflowers in Australia is around old cemeteries. When mourners gathered wildflowers, and left them on the graves, they self seeded and have continued to reproduce each year( as they are relatively undisturbed and rarely cleared special grounds.)

So while it may seem morbid I love and recommend if you are ever in Victoria to go visiting old cemeteries!

xKate

early morning stroll

I went for a lovely early morning stroll today, around a local lagoon, a place of such beauty these photos don't even begin to do it justice. I love living where I do, the trees and birds and the expanses of water creates such lovely images.

'I'm watching you watching me, crow.' Crows are like little dogs, they make a lot of noise but startle easy!

Christmas colours?

Australian 'snow'? Casuarina tree needles piled up around the bark of an old tree?

I made this yesterday

...I wonder where all these materials which come to me already 2nd hand have come from? This piece of moss green velvet was a cushion, unfinished and marked by pins...who left it un finished? Would they like what I did with it?

xkate

little footprints.

I have a lot of environmental information below, and am trying any which way I can to help to reduce destruction of this fragile beautiful place, our world(which by the way our life depends on-fancy that!)
But first here's my new friends who's carbon footprints are very small, yes?


As my boys and I are raising 4 baby silkworms I have been looking up information about them...and amongst the many sites I found this little gem, simple to read and non advertorial.
http://www.permaculturevisions.com/silkworms.htm
so if you have a need for a quiet little pet, have a peek, not everyone is a dog/cat person.
The sensation of their tiny feet gently gripping onto my skin is the most tender experience. They are so delicate. They eat a LOT of mulberry leaves though, I am restocking twice a day with only 4 mouths to feed so it matters to have tree nearby.

"and where is that leaf!?"

Anyhoo, aside from tending these guys I have been making these


and reading this
which is informative and easy to read. Highly recommended!
And now for the longest post I think I will ever have....
A crash course of sorts- on redgums!Lets get in a submission this Friday!

'Dear Red Gum Supporter,

The future of our fragile Red Gum wetlands is being decided in the next
few weeks! The NSW Natural Resources Commission has put out its first
report, and we have just three short weeks to make comments on it.

If you want to see Red Gums protected in world class National Parks
instead of being carted to Melbourne as cheap firewood, then we need you
to write a submission.'

These trees are such incredibly beautiful and life supporting living structures, as their branches fall their trunks form natural hollows which become homes to endangered birds and sugar gliders amongst other creatures.

'The River Red Gum forests of the Riverina are islands of iconic remnants in one of the most poorly reserved regions in the country. They line the major rivers of of the region, the Murray and Murrumbidgee and provide refuge habitats for hollow dependant species like the Barking Owl and the Squirrel Glider. The Central Murray Red Gums are listed under the Ramsar convention as internationally significant wetland; and are of vital cultural significance to indigenous Traditional Owners, who have never relinquished their sovereignty. And yet, there is just one tiny nature reserve along the NSW side of the Murray, and the forests are being patch clearfelled for low value products like firewood and railway sleepers. Help support the campaign to create large new national parks in the River Red Gums, with aboriginal ownership where sought by Traditional Owners.'

We've provided information below to make that as quick as possible for
you. Just make the key points below, add a note about your own feelings
on the issue, and keep it short and sweet. The closing date is 23rd
October 2009.

Points to Make in a Submission

The Regional Assessment of River Red Gums and Woodland Forests conducted
by the Natural resources Commission (NRC) is inadequate for the
following reasons:

• The NRC has not conducted a scientific assessment of the conservation values of River Red Gum forests in the study area.
• There is no consideration of the national reserve criteria or how they will be met.
• The impact of logging on ecosystems has not been considered.
• CSIRO findings that large protected areas are vital to the survival of species in a warming world have been ignored.
• Refugia, corridors and linking habitats in the region have not been identified
• The report fails to address the legal requirements of that EPBC Act 1999

Ask the NRC to address these failings in their next report, and to
ensure that they recommend:

1. Extensive new Red Gum National Parks because:
* Under the national reserve criteria Red Gum is a vulnerable ecosystem that needs a 60% reservation target
* Red Gum forests are vital refuges for plants and animals in a rapidly warming world
* National Parks are crucial to ecosystem resilience

2. Joint management of new National Parks because:
* Red Gum forests are living cultural landscapes that provide bush foods & medicines and contain many cultural sites
* Traditional Owners hold critical ecological knowledge and have cultural obligations to care for country
* Joint Management brings new employment opportunities for Aboriginal communities

3. Much improved environmental water flows to ensure the health of Red Gum into the future

4. A fair restructure package for individuals and businesses affected by the changes.

Email to forests@nrc.nsw.gov.au

good wishes to all who work towards making things better,
xKate

market

My winter season love of wattles is continuing, I love watching how the colours of the flowers and buds change as the day passes...sorry if I am getting a bit 'I love a sunburnt country' here. But oooh acacia trees are just such gorgeous native beauties! Did you know you can use the bark of them to dye fabric and yarn? I will be writing more on this soon, having gathered some information on dyeing using natural materials from my lovely Aunty.

Anyway, I have had a few busy weeks includuing a fun night out at the Avid Reader market.

It was like a party! Lots of lovely friends and family coming through to visit, live acoustic music(gorgeous piano accordion and violin-hmmmm) and food&wine...I couldn't ask for a better night out really, a happy night!

I will be back again, with more of the same brooches and such, plus some newies fresh off the press-including some coasters made with special aboriginal art designed fabric.

The next market night is on the 21st of this month, slightly earlier than usual. Same place and same time though, Avid Reader, Boundary Rd, West End 5.30 p.m til about 8pm.

I am enjoying sewing, on my new machine. The update on my earlier post is -yes, I totally killed my old one. How terrible! But fortunately my kind mother came along to the shop with me and helped me choose a newie and even spent a day teaching me how to use it and showing me lots of little tips and tricks. Since then I have been spending many an hour whirring away.

My stock of crafted goods is building up, stitch by stitch, loop by loop and I have an etsy store in the works...I am in the process of refining it all and will be getting some techno-computery-help from a talented friend of mine...

She is not just a happy cupcake but also a total genius with making and designing so hopefully my Internet presence might be a bit more spruced up next time you log in here!

And now here is my not definitive very amatuerlist of hints for anyone contemplating a market stall-my own ever growing collection of hints and reminders presented as a...

Market cheat sheet

Prepare a small case containing-receipt book, very legible price signs, pens, sticky tape, scissors, wire ties. It is so handy to have a little supply of these things ready to go.

It is good to also have a small amount of wrapping paper or paper bags as people often buy things at markets for gifts...I use recycled papers and tissue paper.

A thermos and plenty of snacks will keep your expenses down, but you can also barter your items for snacks/drinks sometimes.

Layered clothing with beanies, scarfs,gloves for winter and sun hats, suncream for summer are practical and for night markets a blanket is handy too.

I think a good rule of thumb is to have about $100-$200 of 'float money' made up in both change and notes, (and some extra change for parking might be helpful too.) And if your maths skills are not wonderful bring along a calculator, it might just help you to use one anyway as a double checking system.

To display your goods you might need to provide a table and chair for yourself for some venues, the bi-fold ones fit better in most cars and can be bought cheaply from Kmart, and you can also get sun shades there too. Added extras-lamp, a cushion, table cloths(long rectangle shapes usually work best and dark colours with simple patterns are good backgrounds for most products)

I prefer attending markets that have tables as it is a big job to carry and dismantle tables, shades and your goods. If you plan to do a market by yourself, for the first time ask a friend along to at least visit so you can have a toilet break, etc.

I carry my items in vintage suitcases inside large plastic tubs(weather proof and tough), the cases are set up ready to be opened as part of the display.

Another way to display items is to pin fabric to cook book or plate stands and pin things through the fabric-this works well with my brooches.

And my last tip is to price your goods sensibly. Do not undervalue your time, your designs and your work! If you break down the cost of replacement materials, your time spent designing, researching and making up the product, public transport or petrol, stall fees, insurance, materials(books, magazines, patterns, sewing machine, hooks and needles, yarns, etc, etc), Internet and phone access, etc. Anything which contributes to the finished product and which needs to be accounted for...then add on a little extra for increases, this is how you will get a fair and realistic price.

xkate