Falling back in love with my camera

I much prefer cardigan weather. Queensland Summer's are long, hot and humid. The scarce rain leaves our grass brown and crisp. The chickens burry themselves in the sandy shade, beaks ajar. I don't sleep well in Summer. There is no comfort to be found in a fan and a sheet. Not like a blanket weighing you down in slumber. I am already quite over Summer, though it stretches out in front of us until probably Easter.

Trapped by the suns rays, we have been spending the heat of the day inside. One advantage is that I am finding more time to pursue my interests as the children pursue theirs. I've fallen back in love with photography and have been indulging in time spent in our air-conditioned lounge room with a pile of photography books from the library, and YouTube and Creative Live clips on my iPad. Something seems to have really 'clicked' during this process. A level of fear I had about my skills seems rather silly now. Instead, I'm embracing the process of experimentation and continual learning and enjoying it.

I brought a new lens for my Cannon 1100D, a 50mm, which has further inspired me to bring my camera along on our sweaty Summer jaunts or look for new ways to capture the children at home. I've discovered Lightroom and ColorMade presets and am having a lovely time playing with them too. As such I do believe I shall be sharing more photographs and rambling tales on the blog once again. xx

A new family member

Introducing Miles, a reserved little chap who's had quite a tumultuous start to life, ending up at the pound, being rescued and fostered, and now coming to live with us in his forever home. He's wary of men, frightened of raised voices and spent the first few days mostly hiding under our bed. But this resilient little fellow is coming out of his shell now and everyone has fallen in love with him. He is a ridgeback cross, possibly kelpie, and is 8-12 months old. He doesn't bark or dig, is mostly not interested in the chickens and cat, but has nibbled his way through an electrical cable, a book, a skirt, and the edge of the sheet that overhung the bed... (He'll grow out of that, right?! We have brought him several dog toys!)

Still, a small price to pay for such a beautiful new family member.

-

Adopted through Precious Paws.

All is well

The garden has been calling to me, reminding me that I am needed. The barren beds, the abundant weeds, the ripening tomatoes and the empty pot plants. I surveyed the blooming pink camelia, the wandering passionfruit vine, the fragrant lavender, the spent roses, the ghost of the mulberry tree - bare branches reaching into grey skies, the clumps of strawberry leaves, the new shoots on the lemon tree. I answered the call with a visit to a farm-like produce store yesterday and a flea market today. 

My pants are dirty at the knee, my fingernails retain traces of soil, empty pots are piled up in the shed and empty seed packets adorn the bin. And new life has been brought to my garden. A lilly pilly plant for jam, a Mathew Flinders bottlebrush for the birds, gooseberries, gerbera, strawberries, beetroot, lettuce, broccolini, spinach, carrot, peas, beans, cress, azalea, lavender and pansies. The beds are weeded, the lawn rid of dandelions and prickles. All feels well in the world.

Wax dipped candles

We've been burning through so many candles this Winter. The children's nightlights keep running out of batteries or requiring new bulbs, and out of necessity, I reached for candles. Now they love to fall asleep by candlelight, while I love to burn candles now and then throughout the day. (There's nothing quite like sitting at the table with a cup of tea, a burning candle and my nature journal.) 

I love making things for our home and have tried making candles before with beeswax from a friend's beehive. I learnt the hard way that there is a specific ratio of wick thickness to jar size. Alas, my chosen wicks were not thick enough, so a puddle of wax would quickly extinguish the flame. I still had the premade wicks and wax in the cupboard, so today I tried my hand at wax dipped candles.

Though lumpy and 'rustic' looking these candles burn with success! And smell beautiful. As my wicks were pre-cut, I couldn't dip them two at a time and hang them to dry as one is supposed to. Instead, I lay them on wax proof paper`to cool and I dipped my way through them all in rotation. At least we now have a supply of candles, and I am keen on buying a length of wick and trying again.

Winter Days

Photos from a Winter afternoon at the park

We've been settling back into 'home' after spending four days camping with our homeschool group in the beautiful, but cold, surrounds of Mount Nimmel Lodge. It was my first experience taking the children 'camping' on my own - though we stayed in a four bunk cabin - with hubby only joining us on the last night. There was a shared camp kitchen, fires morning and night, several packets of marsh mellows shared around, and experiments with the survival skills they have been learning this term at our homeschool group. (Pics on Instagram.)

At first, I was so aware of exactly where my children were within the campgrounds, but gradually they formed their own boundaries and I let go so they could run wild and free with the other children. Cohen overcame several difficulties while out bush and I have noticed a real growth in his maturity since. It reminds me of the confidence I have seen growing in Emerson since she began horseriding lessons.

Upon our homewards return, we discovered that the last of our quails was missing, with only a few feathers and a trail of blood through the chicken wire in evidence. This time at least the cat is not to blame, and I wonder if it could have been a rat? Thankfully, our six chickens are all healthy and still laying four to five eggs a day despite the cooler weather. We really do have such a mild Winter here. In all our years living here we have never known a frost and even now my garden beds are full of ripening tomatoes.

I've let the chickens into the other veggie patch to clean it up, turn it over and fertilise it. I have so many plans for the garden, but it is all a matter of time and money - and I have had other priorities for my money lately - like camping and books. 

Family adventures, plants and books are all good priorities to have though I think!

Life lessons

There have been some difficult life lessons lately after our cat, George, got in amongst the quails. First, two quails went missing and the only evidence of their existence was a small pile of feathers in the yard. We thought they had flown over the fence of their run, then been caught by the cat, so we extended the fence higher to keep them in.

Next, Emerson found the cat with a quail in his mouth. Her scream sent me running, and though the poor bird survived the ordeal, despite our best efforts, she did not survive the night. That was particularly hard on my sweet nature loving six year old. We buried the quail beneath a lemon tree and although distraught, Emmy understood that it was in the cat's nature and loved him regardless. We found a small gap where the rain had washed away the soil and the quail could possibly have escaped, so we boarded it up and as an extra measure brought a large bird net - the type that goes over fruit trees - and secured it over the hutch and run so that the birds couldn't possibly fly out.

A couple of days later Emerson's heart broke yet again when she discovered three dead quails in their run. I sent her inside to get Dada while I inspected the damage. Three of the remaining six quails had their poor little heads bitten off and all evidence pointed to the cat. We believe he had been jumping the neighbours' six-foot fence, walking along the cubby house and jumping into the run. While we had been worried about keeping the quails in, we had not realised we needed to focus on keeping the cat out. He's more than twelve years old but obviously should not have been underestimated. This time Emerson asked if we could sell the cat...

The netting is now nailed in place and the cat has no means of entrance. I am pleased to say that the surviving quails are doing quite well. We tried to replace the missing quails, but as it is Autumn and quails hatch in Spring, we shall have to wait until next year to increase our flock again. Emmy has forgiven George, while also learning much about the nature of life and death.

I took the children to see a baby barn animals petting farm and she would now quite like to add a goat, piglet and sheep to our menagerie. But for now, she will have to make do with six chickens, three quails, one naughty cat, hundreds of gold apple water snails and a mealworm farm.

Rainy Day Art Play

 The Iridescence of Birds - A book about Henri Matisse

Dark grey clouds and sheets of rain made for cozy inside play today. This morning, after checking on the quails and letting out the chickens, the children amused themselves with Lego and built a blanket and pillow fort. I read them some Bedtime Maths and we watched some Mystery Science clips - how broken bones heal and how hand sanitizer works, from the comfort of a pile of pillows. Later, I read some picture books from our library basket. A sweet and timely book, Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn, followed by The Iridescence of Birds, which is particularly charming and inspiring. It actually inspired our art project for the day. I retrieves paper plates and a shoe box fulls of tubes of paint paints and we started work on our own plates, reminicent of the ones Henri Matisse's mother paints in the book.

This afternoon we brought out our umbrellas and splashed in puddles until the rain eased off. We weeded the garden together and discovered several insects. Mis Six played with a spray bottle and counted the squirts, unintentionally skip counting in threes (for the win!).

Now the sun is shining and we are joining family for dinner. Good days indeed. xx

Fast and Slow

1 & 2. Homegrown flowers, 3. Making hammered leaf prints, 4. A basket full of decorations, 5. Our Christmas tree, 6. Christmas baking traditions, 7. Holiday reading, 8 - 11. Carnation capilary food dye experiment.

December always seems to whirl by in a flurry of decorations, traditions, work and family, and so it was again this year. I find myself overwhelmed by the end of the month, grateful for that blissful window between Christmas and New Years where everything seems to be on hold. A chance to reflect, relax, envision. Then there is the joy and anticipation of the New Year, full of promise and clean slates. I find I always start the year on a high of optimism that carries me through several months. 

I have already started the New Year with a new diary and a new haircut. I have scrubbed my kitchen, cleaned my fridge, culled and organised my wardrobe, spent my Christmas gift vouchers on new clothes and underwear. I'll have a blood test, update my glasses, service my car. All those nagging and necessary parts of being a grown up that once done bring such a sense of satisfaction and make for a fresh start for the year ahead.

I've no resolutions for the New Year, only a word that I will carry with me throughout the days and bring my focus and intention back to as often as I can. Previously, my word was 'nurture', as I nurtured my family, my business, my health. This year, my word is 'slow'. A simple and gentle reminder to slow down and not get caught up in busy. To slow down our cooking and eating, resulting in less prepackaged food and more home grown and cooked from scratch. To slow down our pace, walking more and driving less. To slow down on the number of activities so as to allow white space for pottering, exploration and creativity. To slow down and enjoy the time that unschooling offers to learn from life and my children. To slow down and spend time in this space, recording my thoughts and capturing moments that I will reflect on with gratitude in the future. 

I have so many photos and stories yet to share, and now that I am once again embracing slow, I will be here more often to share them. xx