Spring jam making

The warm spring weather with us, with some bursts of summer heat. We went away for the weekend, and I am sure bunches of tiny new grapes appeared over the weekend on our grape vine - promising of a good harvest for this summer's grape jam making.

A couple of weeks ago with lemons from our tree I made French marmalade (carrots, lemons & sugar) - not as bitter as some marmalades can be), and Lemon Butter (lemons, butter, eggs & sugar).

Here are the results -

The French Marmalade - 

The Lemon Butter -

Is there nothing as homely as produce fresh from you own garden..........

 The new bunches of grapes....

 

We live only an hour or so from grape growing and wine producing areas....the photo below was taken at one of the vineyards. 

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday at Little Red House and the wonderful work of  Mary and other photographers from around the world.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Where I'm From

I belong to a writing group called South Side Quills. I wrote this for our latest assignment.......

Where I’m From

I’m from Jackson and Clayden

From Bilbarin, Corrigin, Kulyaling and Moorumbine

The big kitchen table

And the long back yard at my grandmothers

The outhouse under the weeping trees in the dark

Singing with my sister on the wooden bench under the kitchen window

The gravel footpath.

Gum trees and wheat fields

The cellar under the yard filled with jars of fruit

And the loving embrace of my Aunt.

I’m from Rivervale, Tranby and Belmont

And the inviting smell of a new reading book

The pathway through the bush garden

And a boy named Tony whose father was hanged.

I am from a teacher who frightened me from my sums

Skipping in the playground until the Tranby ship’s bell rang.

And wanting to go to dancing lessons with my Russian friend Anna

With the long name that no-one could spell.

I am from the diesel on my father

And the prickles on his chin

Climbing up to sit beside him in the big tanker truck.

The feel of crushing grapes between my fingers

And the big pot of grape jam on the wood stove.

I’m from the knitting on my mother’s knee

And the treadle sewing machine on the back veranda.

Her singing that filled the house

The pictures that she drew

And listening to her recite Banjo Patterson.

I am from books borrowed from the travelling library van

And sitting on the floor in the cool of the passage way reading on a hot summer’s day.

Running under the sprinkler

And the delicious strawberry nectar of a push up icecream.

The cubbie under the wattle tree

And flying up into the air on the swing on the back shed.

I am from the sound of the milk-cart horse in the early morning

The roar of the cockeyed bob that lifted our roof

Pulling down a Guide tent in the rain while the earthquake cracked!

The front row seat at Oliver Twist and the smiles of the actors just for me.

I am from burnt toast and sloppy cabbage

Lemon meringue pie and Sunday roast

Afternoon tea in a floral tea-set

And buying icecream buckets with my father at the drive-in.

I am from the feel of the hymn book in my gloved hands

As I gaze up at the stained glass of the Wesleyan church

dreaming of my wedding day.

I am from teenage love

And two boys

The eldest unfairly forced to grow up at the age of two

because of a world turned upside down by Down Syndrome

Feeling different because of the label on my forehead that everyone can see.

I am from a life changing accident

Two precious perfect grandsons

The passion of a dragon boat

and selfish stolen moments.

I am from the camera in my hand

And the images and words in my head.

Bush walks and wildflowers and travelling through my country.

And learning too late who I want to be.

I am

By Jill Harrison

September 2011

some more Western Australian wild flowers from our recent trip..........

I'm linking up to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House. To enjoy the work of Mary and other wonderful photographers, please click on the link - Mosaic Monday
I am also linking up to Kim Klassen and her Beyond Layers Course - click here - Beyond Layers

Have a wonderful week. Perhaps you would like to write your own "Where I'm From"

To see more images from our trip go to my post - hopetoun-fitzgerald-river-national-park
 I hope to bring you more images soon - once I've sorted through them!

You can also see my posts - 52 weeks touring around Western Australia - here - Tour Western Australia
A blog I have created from our travels over a number of years around our amazing state of Western Australia.

Hopetoun & the Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia

We recently took a camping trip to Hopetoun located on our south coast, east of Esperance and 50km south of Ravensthorpe where Western Australia meets the Southern Ocean.   

The main attraction for tourists to Hopetoun is the pristine coastline, easily accessible unspoilt beaches, walk trails and drives, beachside camping, and the magnificent Fitzgerald National Park and Eyre Ranges which borders the town. On a clear day the views from the top of East Mount Barren, only minutes from town, appear to go on forever.  Fitzgerald is the largest and most botanically significant national park in Australia, and one of the most flora-rich conservation areas in WA, with a biodiversity of 1800 known species of flowering plants, including 75 varieties which are found nowhere else, and is an internationally recognised Biosphere Hotspot. Currently roads are being upgraded in the area, which will make Fitzgerald even more accessible.

It was the thought of a few days in the sun and the wildflowers that drew us to Hopetoun in October, and the region lived up to its name – the beaches were beautiful and the variety of wildflowers where truly amazing.  The best way to enjoy them is to stop along the roadside and walk a short way into the bush, or walk along one of the trails, or climb East Mount Barren.

This was our first trip to Hopetoun and the Fitzzgerald River National Park, and there were many wildflower species we had never seen before -

Below is the Scarlet Banksia - Banksia coccinea. Seen here along the roadside near Hopetoun. The plant grows to 8 metres. In this picture you can see the flower forming on the RHS to fully open in the middle photo. In the first photo you can see the red parts of the flower folded over in curls, which open out as the flower matures as in the second photo.

This is the Qualup Bell - Primelea physodes. See here at East Mount Barren with raindrops!

And below is the Barren's Regelia - Regelia velutino.
See here with a view from East Mount Barren over the ocean.

This is the Rusty Hakea - Hakea ferruginea. I love the way the flowers form in the cups of the heart shape leaves.

This is the Royal Hakea - Hakea victoria. A most unusual plant which grows up to 4 metres high. Seen here at East Mt Barren . Unfortunately we didn't see one flowering - the flowers form in clusters in the cups of the leaves.

This is the Shining Honeypot - Dryandra obtusa.
It is a prostrate shrub whose flowers come out of the ground. This is listed in my wildflower book as being uncommon, so I was very excited to see it.

And some views from East Mount Barren in the Fitzgerald National Park. On the right is the Southern Ocean, and on the left Culham Inlet - looking towards Hopetoun.

This is looking south west over the National Park and the Southern Ocean. 

 This is the view from East Mount Barren the day we climbed it - it was cloudy, misty rain and we climbed up into the clouds. 

 And at days end a walk on the beach and a beautiful sunset. 

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of Fitzgerald River National Park and the beautiful and unusual wildflowers I have shared with you. I hope to bring you more photos of our trip in the coming days. 

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday at Little Red House. To see the work of Mary and other wonderful contributors - please go to the link - Mosaic Monday

Have a wonderful week.

To read more about Hopetoun and the FItzgerald River National Park you can click on the link here - Hopetoun & FItzgerald River  - where you can read more and see my article printed in "On the Road" magazine, July 2012
 

Sunset on Steve Jobs

A quote from Steve Jobs from Apple Inc Co-Founder, a visionary and creative genius who died from pancreatic cancer on Wednesday 5 October at the age of 56.....

“And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

I took this photo walking down to the beach late afternoon at Hopetoun on Western Australia's south coast on Sunday.

In search of wild orchids - Western Australia

In the south west of Western Australia there are around 400 species of terrestrial native orchid species - out of the around 800 species found in Australia - found in a diverse range of habitats. 

Every year in spring we go bushwalking in Manea Park in the southern Bunbury suburb of College Grove. It is Bunbury’s premier bush reserve and home to several threatened species of flora and fauna and more than 30 varieties of orchid.  A limestone trail takes you through the habitat which varies from swamp lands to jarrah and banksia woodland.

Yesterday we went walking at Manea Park. Here are some of the orchids we found - 
In this mosaic from left to right you can see -
Purple Enamel Orchid, Sun Orchid, Silky Blue Orchid, Jug Orchid, Donkey Orchid
Bee Orchid (also called Antelope Orchid), Blue Lady Orchid, Pink Fairy, Cowslip, White Spider Orchid

Light the Night

On Wednesday we joined my son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons as part of Jen's team for Light the Night in Bunbury, which is an initive of the The Leukaemia Foundation to raise awareness of Leukaemia and raise funds for the wonderful work they do supporting families. We went along to support Jen and to remember Jen's mother, Dora, who died on 26 February 2008, suddenly and unexpectedly from acute promyelocytic leukaemia. 

As part of the night, the people attending walk with coloured balloons, remembering those they have lost, celebrating those that have survived, and thanking supporters. 

I didn't take many photos, but two that I did take I share with you here, of my grandson's Jamie and Owen - Jamie who only knew his grandmother for 2 years and Owen who never knew her. I know she watches over them. They are such a special part of my life.

These photos were taken in low light, and I didn't want to use the flash, so I used a high ISO to get this shot. I know it has a bit of blur, but I rather like the effect - and these snapshots of a slice of time in their young lives. 

This is the greatest love of all  xxx

You can see a poem and photos about Dora and our grandchildren here -  
For Dora - our beautiful boys 

Where the wild orchids grow - Western Australia

We have a small patch of bush near our home that separates the houses from the main road. I have written about it here before - Wildflowers are starting to bloom

Every year the wild orchids and other wildflowers put on their spring display and I go there to photograph them. Sadly every year I see more invasive weeds taking over, but the delicate wild orchids still manage to push up through the weeds.

I love walking in the Australia bush - it is so peaceful and rejuvenating. So it is lovely to have this little pocket of bush near my home. I hope you have somewhere where you can walk in the bush near you. 

In this mosaic, going from left to right across each row, you can see -

White Spider Orchid, Leek Orchid, Purple Tassels, Milk Maids, Purple Mat Rush

Dampiera, Rush Cotton Heads, Running Postman, Cowslip Orchids, Wild Violet

Donkey Orchid, Mangles Kangaroo Paw (Red Kangaroo Paw), Pink Fairy, one of the Pea family, White Spider Orchid.

Here is a closer view of the Leek Orchid "Prasophythum" of which there are over 25 different species in Western Australia.

And the delicate little Donkey Orchid - "Diuris" of which there are 20 species in Western Australia. So I couldn't hope to clearly identify this one.

The White Spider Orchid - "Caladenia longicauda". There are many varieties of White Spider Orchids - so I am no botanist, I can't clearly identify which variety this is.

 And our Western Australian floral emblem, the Red Kangaroo Paw, Mangles Kangaroo Paw - "Anigozanthos manglesii"

A wildflower guide is essential if you enjoy wildflower photography or just exploring a bush path. The two I have used for this post are - 

Guide to Native Orchids of South Western Australia - by Bob Liddlelow - R&R Publications Australia Pty Ltd

Colour Guide to Spring Wildflowers of Western Australia - Part 2 Perth and the South West - by Eddy Wajon - Wajon Publishing Company. (currently a set of 4 books covering two thirds of WA)

I hope you have enjoyed this little walk in my bush block with me.

I cherish your comments, so I look forward to hearing from you. Have a wonderful week.

Cathedral Avenue & Australind Pioneer Cemetary, Western Australia

On Wednesday morning I went out to Cathedral Avenue which runs along the Leschenault Inlet at Australind, about five minutes from my home. The paper-bark trees form a natural arch over the roadway, which has now has a re-routed road around it so that you can just walk along the road along this part. It is such a lovely peaceful place to walk.

and a close up of the beautiful bark of the paper-bark tree with the early morning light on it.

We have an old pioneer cemetery in Australind near where I live. There lie the bodies and ashes of some of our early  pioneers from 1842 onwards. The Australind & Districts Historical Society have done a lot of work out there since the last time I was there. And now there are lists on the entrance archway with the names, death dates and numbers of the graves, so you can identify them. Many are marked only with a simple number. Others are falling into  decay - like this one - crumbling and overrun by weeds - I cleared away some of the long weeds.

From the number on the grave I found it was the grave of Rachel Smith - aged 19 - died 2/7/1852, George Smith - aged 32 - died 25/7/1852 and Henry Smith - aged 4 months - died 15/9/1852.
They died so close together - I wonder who they were and what was their story.

The cemetery is a peaceful place in a pocket of bush. In the spring time the freesias push up through the ground and flower in profusion.

I hope you find a time for peaceful wandering over the weekend.

Update - Some information (see below) about George and Rachel Smith was sent to me by Phyllis Barnes, Bunbury historian, and editor (with others) of   "The Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton : 1840-1861" . Please click on the link - Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton


Thank you Phyllis for this valuable information. It was wonderful to learn something about George and Rachel. 

Quote from Phyllis - "I believe in getting such info onto the jet stream so long as it is accurate. I cannot tell you how George died, possibly pneumonia but have never quite worked out how a little baby can get to paint – presumably lead poisoning that takes weeks to build up and was sometimes chewed off the cot by a child!!!"

Rachel Catherine Clifton was born on the 10^th of March 1833 in London although the family was living in France. She was the fourteenth child of Marshall Waller Clifton who was appointed the Chief Commissioner in Australia for the Western Australian Company in May 1840.

The Co. had purchased 103 000 acres of land that formed a huge square from just north of the Collie River to about Wokalup and from the west side of Leschenault Estuary into the hills; the town of Australind was to be on the southwest corner.  Shares were sold to investors and settlers who were willing to emigrate entitling them to 100 acres of rural land and four ¼ blocks  in town. The surveyors left England in December 1840 arriving in January 1841, but then it all went pear shaped and many investors withdrew taking their money - a blow from which the Company never recovered.

Nevertheless, Clifton arrived in Koombana Bay on the Parkfield on the 18^th of March 1841 with 11 of his 14 surviving children including three little girls - Lucy was 11, Rachel 8 and Caroline was 6.

Three sons of the Company Secretary, Charles Henry Smith, came to Australind –

John Valentine Smith, later Sir John, arrived on the Island Queen in December 1840 with the surveyors on the Island Queen, and then George and Henry came on the Parkfield  as Gentlemen Settlers.  All three worked for M.W. Clifton who thought well of them and frequently mentioned them in his Journal.

Rachel and George were married at on the 21^st October 1851.  Her brother Charles Hippuff Clifton married Maria Elizabeth Glynn, ward of the Thomas Little of Belvedere, earlier same day in the day in a Catholic ceremony at Belvedere, then joined Rachel and George in a dual Anglican ceremony at Australind.

The young couple went off to live in Perth but Rachel died in childbirth and George soon afterwards.  All this comes to life in 'The Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton … published last year.

Phyllis Barnes

Foodie Wednesday

This week my day off from work was Wednesday, and I spent a lot of the day playing around with food photography. It has been my project this year to learn as much as I can about food photography and it has taken over my days off work. I don't know where it is taking me but I am certainly enjoying the journey, meeting up on the net with other foodies and learning a lot as I go, especially about lighting and styling.

There are lots of resources and inspiring photographers on the web and you can hook up with a lot of them through Flickr and Digital Photography School. Go to my links and check them out.

Here are my efforts from Wednesday.

First is Chai Latte - taken back lit by morning light, this is my first attempt at capturing the steam coming off a hot drink. You need to have a darkish background to capture the steam. You need to have everything ready and pour in the boiling water at the last minute. In the foreground are some chocolate stick biscuits and a piece of cinnamon stick.  Originally I was going to have the cinnamon stick in the glass, but the drink is not thick enough to support it.

 Next is coffee beans - just poured onto a white plate. Again back lit by morning light.  Some friends on Flickr say they can almost smell the coffee beans in this shot.

 Coffee beans again - this time tumbling out of a cloth bag with an old metal scoop that I found at my mother-in-laws house.  This was taken in shade on the patio, so I used a gold reflector to try and throw in some warm light.

Chillis - I would have liked the background to be whiter in this image. I have played with it in pp but this was as white as I could get.

Playing with food photography doesn't always require really expensive dishes - this is two minute noodles.

and a different angle -

And then I read on Dario's food blog about using light from a south facing window - I have always been using a north facing window - but of course it depends on which hemisphere you live in..........so out with the coffee cups for a simple experiment.....the lighting looked pretty good, but I didn't have any time to play around with something more elaborate. That will have to wait until another day.

 Time to cook tea - I had been so involved in my foodie photography that the whole day had gone.  But just one last photo - this is lemon meringue pie - it is my speciality - but you wouldn't be able to see that from this photo - it was probably because I was in so much of a hurry that the meringue wasn't as good as it was supposed to be. It still tasted delicious! And shot again here in my south facing window!

So there you have it. A day of food photography. Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you!

A ducks watery world

We have a small swamp area a few streets from us. It is a lovely place to wander and sit quietly on the benches in the shade of the trees. 

When I saw this duck on Monday I rather envied him swimming in his beautiful watery/reedy home amongst the paperbark trees.

Have a wonderful weekend.