In among the trees

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

~Mary Oliver 

Time is relentless....

The semester, and year, are ending.  Here are some photos.

I discovered a very sweet Boobook owl family near my house - thank you noisy miner birds and butcher birds for pointing them out!

Kezia got an award for year 9 music at her school.... but is sad that her year 12 adopted big sister is graduating and leaving the school.

This year's Tawny Frogmouth family are as gorgeous as ever.....

And there is a new exhibition coming up at Reverse Garbage, I Heart Handmade that opens on Saturday 26th November and will have heaps of fab Christmas presents for people to buy.

More Irises

 First my water iris, growing in both the little ponds.

And the next are progeny of the ones I planted 12 years and 3 houses ago, they were originally from the garden of a neighbour and friend.  I've brought some with me each time I've moved and this garden is now full of them.  They are almost mystical, I reckon.

Spring

The iris I got out of my mum's garden a year or so ago is flowering.

The Scrub Turkeys are maurauding:

and they (not the scrub turkeys)  are chopping down trees right left and centre at the cemetery, I fear for the ringtail possums, the birds and the harlequin beetles, among other creatures.

Today

An avid Tess:

She is just so cute and totally focussed.  One can imagine her herding cattle, being very clever and waiting....waiting.... till just the right time to run in behind there, nipping at the heels and bringing the stragglers home!

 Here she is with Lil'.  I think she keeps Lily young, though sometimes Lil' just wants to bash her up.

A beautiful little polypore fungus.

A Sneak Peek

Just a little preview of what I will be exhibiting in the upcoming exhibition at Reverse Garbage - Materialistic - these include desk-sitters, danglers and brooches.

Two of the desk top owls:

A couple of danglers:

And one of the brooches:

And I baked another batch of sourdough last night, this loaf was given its final proofing in my new banneton and then baked in my cast iron dutch oven.  It turned out wonderfully and I had to force myself to stop eating it.....

A photo of the banneton after I'd tipped the loaf into the cast iron pot.

My beautiful assistant.....

Yesterday I also made Spicy Zucchini Pickles, the recipe for which you will find on the Etsy blog here, I couldn't resist trying them almost immediately and they are delicious.  I also added a couple of tablespoons of sugar and some bay leaves to the vinegar mixture and packed in a few split fresh red chillies.

What a yummy day.

Sourdough

Oh Yeah!:

Doesn't just look good.... tastes fantastic!

This is what got me started.  City Hippy Farmgirl's recipe for sourdough starter.