A Waiting Game

North Queensland Python

This slowly growing python appears in our house or shed a couple of times a year. Our house skinks are tempting. Python's hunting style requires patient waiting, hanging motionless above a skink runway. One runway lies below the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Python waits and ignores us when we forget he's there and casually walk past. We startle more than he. Eventually, snake succeeds in catching his dinner and disappears to digest for a while. When the rains associated with Cyclone Nathan began three days ago, the python and the skinks disappeared.

We decided to stay home.

Sometimes, one must wait and hope for the best. We are waiting now for Cyclone Nathan to move away from Queensland coast. We're not in the direct path of the cyclone which is further north. It has brought welcome rain. We've had 100+ mm rain, more wind than rain today. We continue waiting... cyclones can be unpredictable.

Life has been unpredictable. Over the past year I've had to limit time spent on handcrafts and keyboarding. In that vacuum, I found it amazing to uncover embers of old friendships still glowing through the years. And further delight in the  bonds with growing young ones. Life provides alternate streams of creativity.

Love and Kindness, Family and Friends - these exist in the same world as snakes hunting skinks. Let's nurture that diversity. It's a blessing.

Post by M in JaM
Photos by J in JaM

Great Bowerbird Bath

During the Dry Season, Jerry keeps the birdbath brimming full for the daily stream of bird visitors. As soon as the Wet Season gets underway, the rains tend to keep the birdbath topped up even as the numbers of bird visitors decline as they gain access to water in heaps more places.

This year the rains have been patchy – concentrated for a few days or a week, then followed by no rain for a spell. Thus it has become more important to make daily checks on the bird bath and refill as necessary.

A sleek and serious young male great bowerbird arrived for a bath. 

He couldn't believe how low the water was.

He settled for a sponge bath.

There's something refreshing about looking ridiculous.

What's ridiculous is letting the water get that low!

Post by M in JaM

Pix by J in JaM

Summer Ends and Autumn Begins

Full Moon: 26 February 2013

I awoke in time to photograph February's full moon as it was setting. The month delivered a total of 100 mm rain (4 in) which is half the normal rainfall here. March 1^st marked the beginning of autumn in Australia. We expect more hot days and hope for more rain. We do appreciate the cooler conditions associated with overcast or rainy days.

Skinks continue to slink onto the kitchen counter top to look for food scraps. Insects are more abundant since we've had rain, but the skinks find it is easier to consume scraps and tidbits of canned dogfood than to catch insects. The dog frowns on the skinks' lazy habits yet she obeys our commands to leave the skinks alone. I can't tolerate rodents, while I can't help liking skinks.

This week I spent a delightful overnight helping out with the twins. At one point they were rough-housing and leaping onto one another atop one of their beds. I stood beside the bed, saying, settle down, settle down, someone is going to get hurt.... when one twin paused, held up his arms and leapt on me. We fell back onto the other bed and I began laughing. I held him in a hug as I stood up and looked over in time to see the other twin launch himself at me. Now we all three fell back onto the other bed and lay there giggling and laughing. I instantly understood how much fun rough-housing can be. And no one got hurt....

It's always lovely to get home to Jerry again. I'm surprised by how slowly I recover, but I gather that slow recovery is simply part of aging. I'm lucky to get to enjoy the rambunctious charms of grandchildren as well as the quiet serenity of living with Jerry... and the dog and the skinks.

Skink porthole

Post by M in JaM

Photos by JaM

Happy As Larry

Content Codger here and now: Jerry opted for a quiet birthday celebration this year, rising at dawn as usual, spending the day at home periodically relaxing in his new rocker, getting served cappuccino with homemade Anzac bisquits, finalising and sending file to Guy who immediately used his MakerBot to generate the ABS plastic shell for the new and improved LED clock – AND - ending the day with a glass of Australian wine.

Lightshow

The sun continues to shift southwards. This week we get to see the total eclipse of the sun, weather permitting. The sun's current position allows it to illuminate the Chinese holiday mobile that's been hanging in front of this window of our home since last Christmas. I love the way coloured light gets thrown around the room as the gentlest air currents make the mobile move.

Common Green Treefrog

I trust the common green treefrog knows something about the weather. We could use some rain. Everything is very dry. The frog lives in the shower/laundry area, spending the days hidden in a partially open pipe where the washing machine drains. Pipes make great amplifiers for frog calls. Lately, we've been finding him perched on the top rail of the gate that we close each night in order to keep the neighbour's goats out of the shower and shed proper. Twice the wandering mama goat and her two kids appeared and insisted on moving right into the house, but the upset dog drew the line despite being no match at all for mama goat.

3 ply handspun; 30% baby alpaca, 55% superfine merino, 15% silk
blended roving ("Sandstone") from Freelance Fibres

I wanted a break from spinning white cotton. Also wanting yarn to knit another pair of fingerless gloves, I dug through my fibre stash and found the last of a blended roving of alpaca, superfine merino and silk, surely enough for my plan. Listening to an audio book, I settled at my Ashford Traditional wheel whenever I had a chance and it didn't seem to take long to spin three singles over the next few days. I placed the three bobbins on my Lazy Kate and began plying. Soon I had created my first 3 ply yarn (not counting “Navajo-ply” which creates a 3 ply out of one single). I like the look and texture of the final yarn. The alpaca adds warmth, the silk adds shine, the merino I can't resist... and I had the chance to try something new.

Make that Two Content Codgers.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

It's That Time of Year

The native sandpaper figs are fruiting.

Someone has mowed around the schoolbus stop, a facility built by local residents for their children. Mowing reduces fire hazards and accidental snake encounters.

School bus stop

Last week, in the evening of the same day as my close encounter with a huntsman spider, Jerry discovered what he thought was a small python slithering along the shelves above his computer. Both of us admire pythons though I wouldn't be comfortable with a big one on the loose in the house. When I took a torch to have a closer look at the snake, we realised it wasn't a python. It was a night tiger... and a ready biter. The night tiger didn't like the spot light and retreated behind a small box. As the evening went on, Jerry periodically located the snake which always moved away from the light of the torch, thus he slowly wrangled the snake along the open shelves around the perimeter of the room and toward the kitchen door. Finally reaching the frame of the open door, the snake hesitated. Jerry gave an encouraging vigorous shove with a soft pushbroom. The snake climbed on board the broom bristles. Luckily, it didn't race up the broom handle, but waited until offered escape into a nearby shrub.

We had another unexpected encounter as well. Having finished our shopping day in town, we headed home, then stopped along the way at a little roadside park with a stream running through it. Two ducks were swimming on the small pond. We parked under a gorgeous paperbark gumtree and unpacked a thermos of coffee to fortify us for the drive ahead. Sipping from our cups, we scanned the park and noted a number of other people had similar ideas to us. Suddenly, Jerry exclaimed, “That's an echidna!”

Can you see the claw on the back foot?

In the 25 years I've been living here, I had never encountered an echidna in the wild... or in a little roadside park with people strolling here and there. This solitary echidna busily dug in the ground, maybe 50 feet away from us, totally unconcerned about the presence of people. Jerry grabbed the camera and began taking photos. He got quite close to the echidna... who continued digging for ants, termites or something edible. Sometimes you get lucky.

Did you know that an echidna baby is called a puggle? Have a look at an echidna puggle at Taronga Zoo.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

Alert Awareness

This philodendron blossom stays open for one day. I have to keep alert or I miss it. Whenever I take things for granted, awareness goes downhill.

It got hot yesterday, 34.8 C (94.6 F), building up to a brief shower after dark which cooled everything back down to an enjoyable temperature. By bedtime I was wearing a flannel shirt over my tank top when we walked to the bedroom. It felt even cooler when I got up at 5 a.m. The sky was just getting light. As I walked past the shower on my way to the kitchen, I grabbed warmer clothes that I had left hanging on pegs. I began musing about the fact that I no longer worry about creepy-crawlies getting into clothes left hanging in the shower room. It's just never happened.

During our first years in Far North Queensland, we slept in a beautiful Moss tent, safe from insects and other creepy-crawlies. Tents work a treat that way... as long as you remember to zip the zipper all the way to the end. But, eventually tents develop holes.

When we finally got our own property, it had a bedroom. We began sleeping under a mossie net there. Over the years we coped with occasional creepy-crawlies in the bedroom: centipedes, snakes and huntsman spiders. Each time we successfully wrangled them back outside... sometimes with a hint of panic flavouring the air. Using a soft push-broom, Jerry has become a Master Wrangler when it comes to evicting huntsmen spiders. Neither of us has the courage to let one climb onto a bare arm for transport outside, as one of our previous housemates could do.

Clutching my warm clothes to my chest this morning, I reached the kitchen where the stone walls still retained some of yesterday's heat. I threw my warm clothes onto a chair and stripped off my tank top. In no time I had slipped on the warm t-shirt. Chuckling at myself and feeling slightly ridiculous, I started at the bottom of my shirt and lightly patted up my torso to prove nothing was lurking inside my shirt. But... something WAS there. Something with stiff bits... near my shoulder... not far from my neck....

Time truly stretches in such moments. I had time to think: no, no, no, get the shirt off, get the shirt off, it's surely only a cockroach, ewww, nononono. I whipped the shirt off in a flash and flung it, now inside-out, onto the floor. Nothing moved. I turned on a brighter light. Nothing to be seen. I gingerly straightened the shirt. Nothing. I lifted the shoulder and a huntsman ran out. I squeeked.  He disappeared under a nearby workbench. Huntsmen get as big as my hand. He wasn't that big. He was only as big as my palm.

I'm using a new way of storing my clothes in the shower room.

After calming down, I reflected on how non-aggressive the huntsman had been. Most are timid biters. The bites aren't considered dangerous. They are scary because they are big. They are most dangerous to drivers who panic when the huge huntsman crawls into sight inside a moving vehicle. I'm sure the huntsman felt as threatened as I did. Today's experience made real for me the knowledge of huntman strategies for survival:

1. Freeze

2. Flee.

3. Bite if all else fails.

Not a bad set of strategies for anyone facing Life's surprises and uncertainties.


Post by M in JaM
Photos by JaM

Birds of a Feather

Currawong stays alert between drinks

Currawongs have been coming to our bird bath. They do savor a drink and a splash. I love hearing the calls of currawongs.

Rainbow lorikeets

Lorikeets chatter and screech, continuously, but their brilliant colours make one forget to notice noise levels. Two kinds of lorikeets have gathered at the birdbath today: rainbow lorikeets with blue heads and scaly-breasted lorikeets (slightly smaller) with green heads.

Rainbow Lorikeets and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets 

The birdbath has a circumference of ~114 cm (~45”) . The lorikeets squabble if more than six gather around the rim. I infer that lorikeets like to occupy a personal space of about 18 cm (~7”). If each bird is about 5 cm (2”) wide, that provides 10 cm (5”) or so between each bird. I assume that distance is a little further than necessary to nip a neighbour's leg. ETA: Lo and behold, I just saw 11 lorikeets crowded around the rim. There goes my avian personal space theory.

Great Bowerbird

The Great Bowerbird is another welcome visitor. One bowerbird regularly admires/attacks its reflection in the windows of the weaving room. We also encounter this bird in the shower room excitedly conversing with its reflection in the mirror whenever we forget to turn the mirror to face the wall after each use. I can't judge the bird as too foolish since both my husband and I have found ourselves talking back with vehemence at newsreaders on tv.

We're slowly getting over the habit of watching tv news, like we got over the habit of reading printed newspapers. When we lived in California some 25 years ago, my husband bought and read a newspaper every day. Nowadays we find most of our news online through forums of interest and blogs. On occasion when I can't resist seeking a traditional news fix, I look at The Guardian newspaper online. Most often I wind up feeling like I've slowed down to look at a wreck on the freeway.

Watching native birds visit the birdbath makes me feel content on these warm autumn days.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

Houston, do we have a Problem?

Take me to your leader....

Look who has landed: gorgeous harlequin beetles... but hard on hibiscus, right? I'm torn between doing the “right thing” to protect the hibiscus and doing nothing because the beetles look so dazzling. I guess that's one of the reasons I don't qualify as a gardener. I have to remind myself that I have other good qualities.

Avoiding the decision about the beetles, I cut the fabric from the loom. Now I look at the loom and know it's empty even though it's covered to protect it from dust and bat droppings. That's the way it shall remain until cool weather returns. The finishing process for the woven pieces has begun. I've threaded the treadle sewing machine, a Singer 328P, and begun sewing beside the cutting lines of each woven piece (six pieces, counting four samples). Each will be hemmed by hand and washed.

experimental band in commercial cotton and cottolin

This is my first unwashed but hemmed sample, a narrow band with four picks of crackle weave in the centre surrounded by plain weave. I squeezed this piece out of the very last of the warp, coaxing the shuttle through an ever-narrowing shed. I'm pleased with the result. Warp: cottolin. Weft: cottolin, pearl cotton and unmercerized cotton.

Kookaburra's fierce regard

A kookaburra has been coming regularly to the bird bath. He keeps a sharp eye on things. The little birds stay out of his way. Even snakes take heed. Is it too much to hope that the kookaburra might like to eat hibiscus beetles?  

Post by M in JaM
Photos by J in JaM

Season of Shy Birds

Male Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

A pair of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos have been feeding on the minute seeds within the gumnuts of bloodwood eucalypts near our house. That massive bill gets put to good use. The ground below the trees is littered with lots and lots of shredded gumnuts. The shy couple take flight whenever we walk into view until one lucky day we managed to use a telephoto lens to capture a few images as they perched on high. One of the largest cockatoos. these magnificent birds average 63 cm (25 inches).

Female Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
She has attractive yellow speckles and bars enhancing her appearance.

Pale-headed Rosellas like the grevillea blossoms near our windows and they are shy but regular visitors of our birdbath. These birds like to travel in pairs. One stands guard, keeping an eye out for danger while the other bird takes a drink. They are so shy that we have resorted to hiding inside the house to take photos through the glass windows. Pale-headed Rosellas average 30 cm (12 inches).

Pale-headed Rosella with grevillea blossom

Yet another shy bird, the Peaceful Dove uses the birdbath with great caution, usually accompanied by one or more companions to help keep watch. All take flight if we step into view. Shy and small, they average 22 cm (~9 inches). I love the sweet call of a Peaceful Dove: “woodle-woo.”

Peaceful Dove

While life has been a bit unpredictable in recent weeks, we have had a lovely, relaxed weekend. Temperature dropped to 2C one night. I appreciate the way DH lays a fire each evening in preparation for lighting it in the brisk mornings. I have been spinning more cotton and weaving again.

Flyer Magic

I love this photo – the essence of captured light reveals the flyer in motion on my spinning wheel.

Woodle-woo.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by JaM

August Winter Days

Bamboo in August

Not a Aussie native, this slow-growing bamboo provides a screen between the laundry and our bedroom. I love the colours and shapes.

Scarlet Honeyeater (male)

This shy, little Scarlet Honeyeater shows up when the honey gem grevilleas bloom in July and August.

Scarlet Honeyeater loves nectar of honey gem grevillea.

No problems with the minor surgery I had last week. Tomorrow the stitches get removed. What did take everyone by surprise was little grandson going for emergency surgery on weekend after an accident that required stitches to repair soft palette. No fun. Good thing they make little boys (and girls) resilient.

I'm going to blame my current singular lack of motivation on the after effects of the sedation I was given for surgery. I might give it another week before I tackle anything requiring focus, like weaving. I did get some knitting done... and then undone when I got it wrong. I did spin a little cotton until the cotton fibres floating in the air kept getting stuck in the ointment on the stitched incision on my nose. I eventually gave myself permission to coast for a few days.

Now I sense a change in the air.

Post by M in JaM

Pix by JaM

Busy Hands

Handspinning cotton on Ashford Traditional wheel and on JaM support spindle
as participant in Tour de Fleece.
~Easy to Spin Pima cotton top from Cotton Clouds~

Craftwork continues as my primary focus these days. I'm meeting my goal of handspinning a bit every day during Ravelry's Tour de Fleece and we keep abreast of SBS's streamed highlights of the Tour de France. Go, Cadel Evans!

The loom is dressed!

I've also finished dressing the loom with some helping hands from DH.

Weather has changed again. We got 11mm rain last night (almost 1/2”). A female bower bird danced and trilled along the edge of the railing of the balcony as I was working on the loom a few feet away. Skinks skitter across the kitchen floor. Definitely, a change in weather and such.

Working industriously on more projects than I can shake a stick at, I wonder why I feel so compelled to be busy.... and determine to reflect on my claim to a “slow and simple” life.

Post by M in JaM

Pix by J in JaM

Dragonflies and Crackle Weaves

Queensland dragonfly (100mm = 4inch wingspan)

Every night over the past few weeks, a pair of dragonflies (100mm = 4inch wingspan) have been entering the house just on dusk before we close doors and windows. They settle for the night on Chinese hanging Christmas decorations (foil) still strung from the ceiling. The dragonflies are pretty safe from geckoes there. And there's no wind inside. In the morning, after it warms up, they fly out one of the windows which we throw open as soon as we rise. I love sharing my home with dragonflies.

River Gum sheds the past

I also love to learn new things. I don't expect to be an expert or authority on any one thing, because I can't resist the lure of learning something new. DH gives me encouragement and reminds me that you often learn more from failure than from success. New creations don't always bring satisfaction. Often they bring inspiration for improvement.

Almost two years ago, before the twin grandsons were born and things got very busy for all concerned, I decided to learn to do a crackle weave with a summer & winter treadling on my 4-harness Gilmore loom. I'd never done a crackle weave threading. An issue of Handwoven (September/October 1994) got me started. I based my project on Dixie Thai's Buttercup Baby Blanket, p 83, in that issue. It took a lot of mental gymnastics on my slow brain's part as I wanted a narrower warp, but just how narrow should I make it and don't forget 18% shrinkage. I had to figure out how many pattern repeats I would need. And I'd be using a different weft. Did I have enough yarn? I made decisions and wound the warp, then the twins were born. One year later I got the warp out of storage, threaded and warped the loom, wove to the end of the warp, cut the fabric off the loom and carefully packed the roll of fabric away as hot weather arrived.

This year's cooling weather and diminishing numbers of eye flies* in the Shed have given me the chance to unpack the roll of woven fabric and set about finishing that fabric. I used our treadle sewing machine to zigzag lines of stitching beside cutting lines of the woven sections. Then I cut apart the sections and pinned the hems. As I refilled a bobbin for the sewing machine, the old leather treadle belt broke (again). No longer repairable, it had to be replaced. I felt incredibly lucky when I located a supplier in a town 45 minutes drive away. I was going to that town anyway for my free two-yearly eye exam (socialised medicine, what a blessing). In the meantime I handstitched the hems on my first newly woven cotton table runner, It's been washed and now lies on our table (photo above). There's more of these crackle pieces waiting to be hemmed and the new treadle belt waiting to be installed.

*eye flies: Queensland's eye, ear, nose and throat flies, small quick and in large numbers this time of year. They swarm about your head and dart into your eyes for a quick drink of eye moisture. We don't like'm at all! 

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

Walking, Knitting, Birding

We've been enjoying our daily walks in beautiful weather over the Easter weekend. None of the usual damp and drizzle that we've come to expect on this holiday. The gorgeous full moon felt close enough to touch.

Morning temperatures have fallen. We put the doona back on the bed and unpacked a few items of winter clothing from the trunks though we don't need to wear much in the way of warm clothing yet. I am loving the ankle warmers that I knit from natural brown, handspun Corriedale wool last winter. The ankle warmers keep me feeling comfortable in the morning and evening without needing socks.

Ankle warmers for DH

I encouraged DH to wear my ankle warmers one evening. He looked dubious, but gave it a go and soon wanted a pair of his own. I made his pair from hand-spun Corriedale that I had dyed purple. Being warm feels great and so does using yarn that I've created and stashed in previous years. Come to think of it, DH did some of the handspinning of that Corriedale yarn on an electronic spinner that we rented from the local guild.

Squatter Pigeon in Far North Queensland

A pair of Squatter Pigeons appeared in the mowed area around the house and hung around for a few days. We didn't see a mating display, but you can see that in this remarkable photo by photographer Rod Warnock.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

Pardalotes and Cockatoos

In April 2010 a Striated Pardalote provided us with a photo opportunity when he engaged with his reflection in the window beside a hanging planter. We haven't yet seen or heard any pardalotes this year.

Pardalotes always make me smile. We listen for their simple song. They can be hard to spot in the trees. Sometimes we see one fly out of its burrow in a sandy bank. Sometimes we see what appears to be a leaf fall from a tree, flutter toward the ground, only to wing into a burrow at the last minute. They range between 9-11.5 cm (3-1/2 to 4-1/2 inches ) in size.

We've seen fewer numbers of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos (63 cm; 25 in) in the last couple of years. In the previous twenty years that we've lived here they heralded each Wet Season and we looked forward to their appearance. They sound to me like minature elephants trumpeting gently. Flocks of twenty  and more of these large birds sometimes flew overhead. Typically, 3-6 individuals would settle in a nearby bloodwood tree where they would shred gumnuts and feed on the minute seeds.

Black cockatoos seem to have been replaced by Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (45 cm; 18 in), extremely loud and raucous birds that flock in higher numbers. It is likely loss of habitat that drives them into new territories. Always on the lookout for fruit and nut trees, especially orchards, they have learned to be very wary of people, but their voice and white colour do not work well as elements of camoflage when raiding. Our neighbours have numerous fruit and nut trees. How could a white cockatoo resist?

And how could I resist linking to Snowball (cockatoo), the first non-human capable of beat induction (that is, dancing). Just for fun, have a look at Snowball dancing in a 35 sec commercial.

post by M in JaM

pix by J in JaM

Raise your hand if you agree

Gecko votes

We've had a hectic week. Queensland State Elections occurred on Saturday and we drove to town to vote at the nearest polling booth. Australian citizens who do not vote are fined. We would vote regardless. Despite my observation that my choice seldom gets elected, I do not take my right to vote for granted. Afterward we enjoyed visiting a local exhibition of paintings by our friends Steve and Marijke Hancock - a lovely way to refocus our agitated minds away from politics and onto appreciation of the wonderful creativity in the community around us.

Polling Booth

On Sunday we went to a community meeting to discuss the process of lodging objections to a mining lease extension to the area containing the headwaters of the creek that we depend on for domestic water. The current mining operation is located near the headwaters of the adjacent creek and has received an environmental protection order, requiring that the mine leaseholder and mine operator stop releasing contaminated water.

Bottom Pit beside Jamie Creek

Both creeks flow into the Walsh River. Dead fish have been found downstream and residents have been told not to drink the water or use it for stock after it was contaminated with heavy metals. Long time residents do not ever remember seeing dead fish in the river.

We feel concerned for the future wellbeing of our own water supply should the mining lease extension be granted. Arsenic levels are already elevated from historic mining in the area. Any further elevation could make it untenable for us to live here.

Assured last year that safeguards would be in place to avoid environmental breaches at the current mining site, we have been trying to endure the noise of continuous mining activity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week as well as lights that set the southern skyline aglow all night long. The recent contaminated water releases occurred in association with heavy rains, but heavy rains surprise no one here. This is the Tropics and it's the Wet Season. We realise there is no such environmental security as we envisioned. An expansion of mining activities would bring mining activities, water degradation, even more noise and light pollution closer to our home.

Do you detect the erosion of our sense of well-being and joy? As custodians of this land, we recognise that we have a responsibility to act to conserve our natural systems for current and future generations.

On Monday we lodged our objections.

Handspun cotton

I continue to spin and ply cotton as work with the wheel and spindle help calm my mind. And we continue to enjoy our fellow travellers – the frogs, crabs and fish in the creek, the quolls, frilled-neck lizards, bower birds, kookaburras, sugar gliders, bats – and all the fauna that depend on the permanent slow seeps and billabongs of the creek in the Dry Season as well as the generous flow in the Wet Season.

Gecko

post by M in JaM

photos by JaM

Little By Little

I've been going through old papers, re-organising where necessary, tossing and shredding the rest. Most of these papers come out of cabinets and bins, so things don't look that much different when I stop. But... I feel so much better, knowing there's less rubbish! Little by little, I'm making a dent.

Old bush poles holding up garage roof

A while back we had to replace the bush poles holding up the roof of the garage as termites had infested them. Termites, like rust, never sleep, apparently. New steel poles have replaced the bush poles. The old poles got stacked in a heap behind the garage and other bits and pieces got thrown there as well. The heap grew into a fire hazard. Lately, the weather provided the perfect opportunity to burn the heap - no rain, no wind and the surrounding bush very green and damp from recent rains. We mowed and raked around the heap. It took a little work to get the fire started. We took turns keeping an eye on it.

During my watch, I took along my drop spindle and got a little spinning done as I stood in the shade behind the garage, not far from the fire. I bought that boat anchor of a spindle 40 years ago in San Francisco and learned to spin on it. Most of the time I use my spinning wheel or a light weight support spindle, but both require sitting. Drop spindles work well while standing or walking. My best tip for beginning spinners: spin a few minutes every day. There's nothing like practice to get better at something and short sessions minimise frustration.

I'm not sure I'm getting better at using GIMP, the open source graphics program. Maybe I should practice a little every day instead of once a week. This week I followed a YouTube video on making a new brush from the image of a flower (I chose my favourite hibiscus). 

Everything went well. I used the brush to place hibiscus flowers in the corners of the framed photo above. I got lost when it came to saving the brush. I saved the image, just couldn't save it as a brush. Back to the learning curve. I do love learning. Grumbling goes with learning.

Another tiny frog appeared.

He's no bigger than the end of my thumb.

post and pix editing by M in JaM

pix by JaM