Lichen in the morning, has me exploring

Rusty Roo workshop Sept 2009. Long week of creativity.


A week of creativity. Where to start ? A good walk, glass of wine, sharing of stories, laughter, and an evening meal shared with the wallabies and a bright moon . .. then more stories . . . Yes, I'd say it was a good start!!
An explorative evening walk exposed lichen awash with the glow of an evening sunset. Natures pallette of ruffled colours inspired us to try representing these designs and patterns.So it was out with the 'grounds' and on with the backgrounds . . .

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Friday night we had a lovely evening with friends . Cool breezes, crystal clear skies, with lots of good food and laughter . . . The skies were so clear in fact, that Cameron and Warren, being members of the local fire brigade, hopped into the car to vamoose down the road to see if the red glow in the sky, was a raging bush fire. NO, it was the glow from the city . . . along with Stefan's beams meandering across . . . it made us remember we are actually only a short distance from the fast lane.

When we first started establishing the Rusty Roo,(http://www.rustyroo.com/) we though of it as a place, where city people would visit to escape the hustle and chaos of their hectic life style.(bear in mind that that included US !! )
However, as we insinuated ourselves into the life of the area, more and more we began to realize that it is a place that even the locals like to drop in. . . . . and stay.
Without appearing too crazy, I have to say, that I feel it is the spirit of the land. You feel the peaceful vibes permeate through you, creating a complete aura of oneness with the place.. . . . do I hear giggling ?
Any ideas !!! Conjecture ? WHAT THE !!

So okay, no more along those lines . . . but, I do have to add that at long last, after almost 10 years, the wild life are loosing their wariness/fear of us. This lean toward being friendly is resulting in numerous sightings of various birds and animals throughout each day. For some time I have been document a timetable of their visits, which is starting to show a pattern. Each species appears to have a schedule . . . . I am now wondering who is in charge of their time table? . . . and is it the same when were are not in residence ?


Early morning the Black cockatoos arrived. They looked fantastic against the blue sky.
By Saturday mid morning there was a heat wave spreading up from the land. It was as if a moisture suck had started, which was resulting in the air feeling like a heavy layer of molasses.

Strangely this haze was accompanied by a hot dry breeze. This combination was confusing. Even the wildlife seemed perturbed by the atmosphere and the usual time schedule of visits was abandoned, as they made their way willy nilly up to the house, to enjoy the relief bought about by the water mist, created when we put the sprinkler on the grass.
By mid afternoon the air was whiter than a, Beijing pollution induced fog.

Saturday night the air was clear again, as the heat lifted. Though it was still balmy and we couldn't believe that only a couple of days prior we had been comforted by a roaring fire.
Cam and I took our evening drinks and the bean bags out to the grass area at the side of the Rusty Roo. We sat/layed in the dark watching the stars listening to the night visitors closing in around us. At one stage the snuffling snorting sounds were so loud and close, I turned on the torch to see what was not more than a meter from us . . . Cameron thought it was hysterical that I wanted to sit out in the dark . . . but, then wanted to know exactly what was out there with us. We were in the midst of friendlies; 1 huge possum, an owl and 6 wallabies, all enjoying a feed of the moist grass and seed . Magical !
We have four workshops happening between here and the middle of October. The long week of Indulgence with various facilitators, Water colours with Mia Clarke, Ikebana with Lily Karmatz and Mixed Media. The long weekend & water colour are full, with only 2 places in Ikebana and 3 in mixed media remaining.If you are interested email me for information.
Then, we close in November, with a break until March 2010

New homes for rent

New homes for the birds. We are thrilled to have a lot of new life around the place. So . . . . new homes needed.