BRUNO'S SCULPTURAL GARDEN

5 years ago at Bruno's sculptural garden 

To me this garden was very spiritual. We traveled there 5 years ago after l had just found out l had breast cancer. While l was waiting in the doctors surgery l was reading in a magazine about this beautiful old town called Marysville, nestled amongst the hills. With tree ferns as high as our house, unique shops and Bruno's garden and gallery. l said to my husband that l would love to go their one day.
Before the operation l wasn't coping very well so my  husband said "Come on lets get ready we are going to Marysville".
We explored this beautiful old town and then headed to Bruno's garden. There was a light mist as we walked around under our umbrella's surrounded by enormous tree ferns and life size clay statues (the photos tell the story).
l knew l could face anything. The world seemed very beautiful at this spiritual place.

-Now 5 Years Later -

We are back but a lot has happened in those 5 years.

 Firstly l have survived but Marysville hasn't. 

3 years ago a raging bushfire went through killing 135 people and the only thing left standing in the main street was the bakery. Only a few homes were left standing, the rest was total devastation including Bruno's studio gallery and the garden.

Also 60% of his statues were gone, the heat beng so intense they had exploded but that was 3 years ago.

Bruno decided to stay as did many others.

They are rebuilding the town and Bruno has re-opened his garden, the trees and plants have started to grow and the remaining statues have been restored. He has rebuilt thanks to his many artist freinds and is almost ready to re-open the gallery.

The saddest part was that he wasn't insured. The insurance company wouldn't insure him as his large kiln was in the studio. 

He has made many more statues in the last 3 years. 

They are all very brave people to stay and rebuild.

A WALK IN TIME.

 A walk in time ?

ln the 1940's there were photographers in the big city of Melbourne, Australia, making a substantial living by photographing just ordinary people.

This is a photo of my mother Thelma and her brother Bert walking down Collins Street in Melbourne.

Bert does not look very happy,as he had just broken up with his girlfriend,

( she left him for another guy )

Such ls Love!

l wonder if you could take photo's in this day and age and make a living from it ?

l think my mother looked very beautiful. She was 18 years old,

A Blog l Watch -couchcrochetcrumbs.

l love watching other peoples blogs (storys ) that l like to follow day by day.

l just  found another blog couchcrochetcrumbs, and l now follow that as well.

Very clever,different, and you have a great sense of humour.

But your writing was so small l needed a magnifying glass to read it.

After getting in touch with you, the writing has been enlarged, thank you, l can even read it without glasses.

I loved the story of your chickens and the purple lace in your sidebar!

OUR OLD CAR -THE F.J HOLDEN

When hubby and l were young ( l was 17 and he was 18 ),we owned a 1955  F.J  Holden.

The highlight of my hubby's life, his gleaming,dream, cream car, driving up and down the main street just

to see his cars reflection in the shops windows.

Eventually after we were married and the 4 children came along we knew our car had to be updated

for a newer version.

This was a very sad moment when our F.J. was sold.

Now after many decades have passed hubby has been looking for an F.J.to restore.

Thanks to his brother Jimmy he found a replica of his Holden { now antique ) , only this car is black.

Our grandson Jai went with him to pick it up,filling up at the petrol station surrounded by interested people
(remember this car is now antique and there aren't many around),the car refused to go.
After a push start and help from interested people they continued along their merry way .
never to stop and be pushed again.

All the car needed was a little loving!
As they drove up our driveway, it was a very nostalgic moment. l love the look, the shape,the red leather seats, and the white wall tyres. All it needed was a paint job and a fox tail.

Our panel beater, spray painter sons, Jody and Kyle soon bought it back to its gleaming, original self.

Now, all it needed was a fox tail. We would often  see a  dead fox on the side of the road, so at 5-30 in the morning (when hubby was doing the early breakfast show at the radio station ) a tail went missing off one of the foxes.

Our True Blue Australian F.J. Holden will go on forever. No computers in this car, and hubby knows how to look after every square inch of it !.
  

APPLE STAMINA

To-morrow morning when you wake up eat an apple.

You will be feel more awake than having a cup of coffee!

Maybe l'll eat an apple and then have a cup of coffee.

SNAKES - Now out of Hibenation.

lt is now Spring and the warm sunny weather is bringing snakes out of hibernation

A few days ago our friend Bert, who owns an orchard was devastated when his precious dog, that he had reared from a pup, was bitten by a tiger snake.

He then fell in the water in the channel, Although Bert tried to rescue him, it was too late.

 On the 15th of August each year Goulburn Murray Water releases water from our reserve to fill all our channels with water as we have irrigation in our district.

The snakes lay on the channel bank as it ts warm and near the water. 

Bert has another dog that he gives insulin to every day ( as  he has diabetes ) 

lt goes to show how much they love their dogs;
His brother- in- law Kieth who manages the orchard also has 2 dogs that follow him everywhere (Susie and Beau) One has had a cancerous tumour removed from his back at great expense.
but is in no pain now.
His other dog has also has had a cancer operation, on his stomach but he is now cancer free.

lt makes you wonder whether the chemical sprays on the orchard have contributed to this
When Kieth is pruning the fruit trees, the dogs  follow him from tree to tree, have morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea.and plenty of water
There age is catching up with them but they have been well loved.

Did you know that 20 of the deadliest snakes in the world are found in Australia?
Also the only country where venomous snakes 70%, outnumber non venomous ones.
Australias deadliest snakes are the brown snake (responsible for around 60% of deaths caused by snake bite) tiger snakes,the inland tiapan, death adders,copperheads. red bellied blacks, king brown and many more.

l even feel cold and shivery if l see a snake at the zoo.

Did you know many species of reptile have 2 penis's
Snakes are shy by nature and will only bite when threatened
Snakes can expand the capacity of their jaws due to an elastic jaw ligament.
Snakes have poor eyesight, and have heat censors that can pick up vibrations.
70% of all snakes hatch from eggs..
Once their skin is shed the snakes skin doesn't actually have a colour for a while
Snakes have no limbs..

Photos on my Blog.

l have so many blogs (stories) l have written, over 30 in fact, but they all need photos.

Especially some of the arty gardens l have been to ,the antiques l have found, strange happenings and 

the new mosaic table l have made.

But photos when l transfer them to my blog, look like abstract paintings, with bright coloured lines

through them.

Maybe l can start a new trend as they are very bright.

My family computer teachers are coming to see us for Fathers Day.

Thats 2 weeks away l'll have 50 blogs by then.

Thanks for being patient, l might have worked it out by then!

WATTLE OR CHICKEN ART ?

When l had my first Art exhibition one of my paintings was the brilliant yellow pom pom flowers of our wattle tree.

As it was sold the opening night and another lady wanted it, she commissioned me to paint another one.
As l have difficulty painting the same thing twice, the soft yellow flowers started to look like a tiny little chicken. Before l knew it, my finished painting had turned into a chicken emerging from his cracked egg shell.

The lady was not impressed with her wattle? painting and of course she didn't buy it, but l sold it to a chicken lover.

WHAT CAME FIRST THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG

British Scientists believe they have solved this long sort after question!
Who came lst,--The Chicken or the Egg?

ln answer to this old age riddle or mystery. They say " The Chicken".

The chicken came lst because a protein required for the formation of an egg can only be found inside the chickens ovaries
"lt has been long suspected that the egg came first, but now we have scientific proof that in fact the chicken came first" said Dr Colin Freeman.

Where l wonder did the chicken come from?
ln one of my older blogs l wrote about lsabella the Chicken.
The trivia l put at the end of lsabella's story was that the closest living relative to the chicken is the T Rex
Well,that could explain where the chicken came from,but where did the T Rex dinosaur
come from We could go on forever here so l think l'll leave it to the scientists.

 

The Golden Wattle

The Golden Wattle "Australia's Commonwealth National Flower"
(our green and gold colours)

My walking schedule is a bit messed up now. l used to walk at 1/4 to 7 and watch Martha Stewart on television on from 7-20 until 8-20 (as l have stated on my Martha Stewart blog (story). Now they have changed it and put it back an hour (6-20 to 7-20)

l like walking early in the morning,
l feel like l have the whole world to myself as there aren't many people around.

To-day l drove to our natural reserve called "Cussen Park"

The wattle trees and shrubs are glorious, sunshine yellow,the flower soft and fluffy like a little chicken
Our evergreen wattle will with stand just about any condition-droughts,winds and bushfires.

The bright yellow pom pom flowerheads explode into flower in the spring, although there are a few that bloom all year.
There are over 760 different types of wattle as seen on our Australian stamps over the years.

 

 

 

The 1st of September each year is Australia Wattle Day.

MARTY'S STORY - by FLOYD

Hi my name Floyd I am 9 years old this is my story about Marty. Marty is my hippopotamus he will be turning 4 on 14th of September 2011.

l got Marty from my lovely grandmother, and she got him from Mackay in Queensland, so he was born in Queensland.
l take him to bed every night. He's my favourite hippo,he's very very soft and very special.

MY GARDEN

Throughout my blogs (l like to call them stories) l have shown the arty side of my garden, but never my actual garden. 

l have bought many of my plants, shrubs and trees but many have been given to me by friends and acquaintances.

I  love these flowers and l have named these after the people l received them from. 

My yellow Margaret daisy flower, my Anne day lilies, my Sonia deep red geranium, and especially my many rose cuttings