North-facing windows are indeed a joy. In the depths of a Ballarat winter, the huge patch of sunshine in my loungeroom is the perfect antidote to the August blues. The warmth of the sun is different from other heat sources, and I find myself drawn to the sunny spots as though they are
The snow this morning was the most I’ve ever seen in the 16 years that I’ve been living in this part of the world. What better activity to finish a chilly day than to warm up with old summer holiday photos? This one is from 2018 at Great Oyster Bay in Tasmania, between
Succulents are so interesting, attractive and tough. I don’t know what any of the ones in my garden are called, mainly because I have picked them up in my travels. A stalk from a roadside here, a bit from someone’s garden there, one from the green waste pile at the tip. You just
It’s fun fishing through my photos for something to post here. I’d forgotten about the magical, curly Xanthorrhoea that I saw driving home from Adelaide a few years ago. Like giant, twisted penises reaching for the sky as the cars whizz by at 100km an hour. It’s probably the wind out there, coming
I look out on my new back yard and see a myriad of possibilities. I have inherited two large raised veggie boxes replete with greens and herbs – lettuce, rainbow chard, thyme, parsley, rocket, dill, oregano and other leafy greens – but the rest of the garden is really a blank slate. Flat
They reintroduced wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 (the last wolves were killed in the 1920s) and the environmental chain reaction is extraordinary. Deer population was reduced, forests shot up, birds came back, beavers got busy, bear numbers increased, and ultimately the river changed course. It’s an uplifting story of possibility and
Moving through the landscape is something I’ve always found inspiring and exciting. It brings a new perspective and sense of space. Maybe that’s what drives the traveller in me. Maybe it comes from growing up in the bush. Maybe it’s what underpins my interest in wine – a liquid expression of landscape. I
The rare and beautiful colander bird is found in a small area north of Bendigo. It lives in low grasslands near the North Central Catchment Management Authority building in Huntly, where it feeds on small pieces of discarded metal from passing traffic. Identifiable by its unique colander-like head and star-shaped markings, the
Yes, you read it correctly. It definitely says Decorative Cabbages. These many layered pink cabbages are a cheery addition to the streetscape. I spotted a planter box filled with them in Hobart last week. After the first sighting, I then seemed to see them around every second corner. Some white, some pink, their
In the centre of the central Victorian town of Guildford there stands an enormous, old River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). I saw it for the first time today on my way back from Bendigo. It is, in the true sense of the word, awesome. Estimated to be somewhere between 500 and 1000 years