Remembering George

Remembering George our beautiful bunny who died this weekend.

DH

Spring Fair

Come and say hello to us at the Warrimoo Spring Fair (held at Warrimoo Public School) this coming Sunday 23rd October! 
We will be there with photos on display and numerous items available for purchase including our new range of journals. Together with other stalls, rides, and entertainment, it promises to be a great day for the whole family.

Spring Unfolds

The Blue Mountains comes alive with colour and transforms into a new world in spring. Up here where the seasons are much more defined by the weather, we get to marvel at the beauty around us as the sun shines more brightly and spring unfolds.

Many private gardens are generously open to the public during this time, charging a small entry fee, often to fundraise for a worthy cause. If you missed viewing the beautiful gardens around Hazelbrook last weekend, you still have time as they are also open this coming weekend. Gardens in Yellow Rock and Winmalee open their gates as well this coming weekend while Leura has a week long garden Festival during the first week of October, culminating in the Leura Village Fair on October 8th-9th.

The early settlers of the Blue Mountains must have seen the similarities of the weather patterns here to their homes in England and covered their gardens and estates with all sorts of flowering trees, shrubs and bulbs making it feel like another world as you walk through the garden gates. This is especially evident in the long established gardens in the delightful village of Mt Wilson which are open for a number of weekends over the next few months.

Of course the The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mt Tomah and Everglades at Leura have their doors open all year round and are wonderful places to visit.

To find out more about some of the open gardens here are a number of links with more information:

Hazelbrook Gardens Festival

Leura Gardens Festival

Mt Wilson Gardens 

Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mt Tomah

Everglades Historic House and Gardens

Michelle's Photoshoot

We had the pleasure of photographing the lovely Michelle last week. After her 'solo' shots we captured some great moments with son Jordan and their beautiful retriever, Cruise. Click here to view more of the photos!

Magpie Mania

An overhelming dislike of magpies seems to grip the public at the start of spring - the media this week was full of complaints about these birds swooping passers by to protect her nest and her young. What a lot of people fail to recognise is that humans have taken away the magpie's home and habitat - we force them to nest in unnatural places and have removed their source of food - we have built homes, roads and surburbs on their original habitat, and then we expect them to trust us when we go near their nest!

The magpie is a native bird - a protected species in Australia. They are impressive intelligent birds and only swoop to protect their eggs and young. They guard an area of about 30 - 50 metres around their nest but once their chicks have fledged (which takes about 6 weeks) they stop their swooping behaviour.

Old time remedies such as wearing a hat or head gear with eyes painted on them has been said to stop these birds swooping. If you're riding a bicycle, putting a flag at the rear of the bike stops the birds from making contact with the person. However the obvious plan would be to avoid the area they nest in for a few weeks till nesting is over.

There are times when we need to be reminded that we share the planet with some beautiful and amazing creatures who also deserve a space to live and survive.

DH

Murphy

SO here's the thing. Murphy is now nearly all grown up. Still as beautiful as ever but of unknown parentage. Dil bought him as a rescue dog and was assured he is part chihauhau.  I say, chihauhau my...eye! He's up to my knee and must be about 15kg. I love making her crazy about this especially by saying that his deep chest lends itself well to Doberman (she is LESS than impressed with that idea!) So here he is...and here's the challenge. What do YOU think he is? Comments welcome.

Photo by Louise and textures courtesy of Skeletal Mess (Shadowhouse Creations)

LB

Remember this year's Father's day for a lifetime.

Gift vouchers for dad available from the link below:
http://mindseyephotography.yolasite.com/specials-and-gifts.php

Blackheath Choir Festival

The Joyful Noise - singing at the 2010 Blackheath Choir Festival

Immerse yourselves in wonderful music at this year's upcoming Blackheath Choir Festival. Events such as this remind us of the unique opportunity we have in the Blue Mountains to be involved in the music and culture around us. It is a well known fact that music soothes the soul, lifts the spirits and brings people from all walks of life together.

Held this coming weekend, from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th August, the festival is a chance to celebrate the richness of music and of singing. There will be many local choirs performing as well as talent from far and wide. To find out more, have a look at

http://blackheathchoirfestival.weebly.com/

A Ghost Town

It was a surreal experience walking the streets of Yerranderie – now a ghost town in the middle of the Blue Mountains National Park. In its heyday (in the early 1900s) it was a thriving mining village nestled in the valley with working silver ore mines in the hills surrounding it. By the 1950s the mines were closed and slowly people started leaving the town after a number of unsuccessful attempts to reopen them.

Yerranderie has been privately owned since then and visitors have been welcomed to this tranquil place to enjoy its peaceful bushland, understand its history and hear stories of the people who lived and worked on this land. After the long drive in on gravel road, it’s worth staying the night and there are a number of accommodation options – the old post office is now a hostel, there’s a self contained mining cottage across the road and also an inviting expanse of grassed area for campers.

Yerranderie is lovingly cared for by a couple of caretakers who can show you around the town, tell you the history, and direct you to the number of walking tracks to the various mines in the area. The old town buildings are fascinating to view and house a large number of interesting items, while a walk through the old cemetery is a reminder of just how many people called this place home. Surrounded by mountains there is also a walk to Yerranderie Peak – a somewhat difficult climb but the views are worth it.

This charming and unique place is one of our historic treasures – it’s future is now changing hands and we hope it will remain open and welcoming, so we can all see and taste the glory of the bush and learn of its history.

DH

SEE MORE IMAGES OF YERRANDERIE HERE

The Cave Hotel

A fascinating piece of history lies hidden along the Bells Line of Road – The Cave Hotel sits just metres away from the road where hundreds of motorists drive by each day.

The cave itself seems to have first been in use by the indigenous people of the area as evidenced by the many emu footprints carved deeply on the cave wall. It is said the cave became “The Cave Hotel” in the late 1800s and served grog to the passing travellers. The outside rock face bears the inscription “The Cave Hotel, by T.Shearwood”.

What an interesting and curious site! It makes us wonder what other gems are hidden away along this road and in the surrounding bushland … and what will be destroyed if the proposed widening of the Bells Line of Road goes ahead?

DH