Meanderings

This bridge can be seen from our new house and Mr11 has an ongoing love of bridges so he is thrilled to have this bridge in view when ever he wants to look.

It is called McFarlane Bridge and was opened in 1906 and the curved track for the counterweights was based on the work of 18th century French engineer B F de Belidor, all of this is fascinating stuff for my bridge loving history buff, but Mr7 and I are more interested in the pair of Brahmany Kites who nest up there in that purpose built nest cradle, you can see one perched on top of the big wheel and the other one in the nest, It will soon be spring and we will certainly be keeping an eye on what happens up there.

We are living in a sugar cane farming area here and the cane fields are bright green and vast, it is harvest time and on dusk the farmers burn the fields, creating an amazing orange glow, it is a brief burn though they are really only burning off all the blades of this giant grass to make the harvesting of the cane easier. We also have showers of black ashen grass blades, that are strangely beautiful (as pointed out by my friend Amala.)
The harvest machinery has been really interesting to the boys as well, loads of cane trucks rumble past on their way to and from the nearby sugar mill and the machinery in the fields as we drive by always starts a discussion.

We can see this boat from our home,
we live over there on the other side.

and this is a sunset last week, looking out our dining room window, it is very beautiful here.

Sadly we are unable to have ADSL broadband here and mobile wifi is patchy and slow so we are reduced to dial up and the slow uploading of pics.

A Beautiful Blogger Award

Thank you my lovely friend Alecat from Serenades and Solace for awarding me as a beautiful blogger- I am honoured.

The regulations state the recipient of the beautiful blogger award must:
*Add a link and a note of thanks to the person giving the award,
*Pass the award onto the most beautiful blogs you love
*Share 7 things about yourself.


Blogging is such a peculiar pastime, I often feel like I am sitting here in my pj's and jotting down my thoughts or our days homeschool adventures and it is quite a solo experience, but when I read all of your lovely comments or am given an award or as has occasionally happened I meet a reader in real life I realise how nice that feedback is, how lovely to have others interested in what the boys and I are doing and even inspired by our activities. So thank you Alecat for your award and for sharing all you do on your lovely blog, I am often inspired by what you and Maestro and Mariposa are doing and it has been a lovely journey we have travelled together as we have developed our friendship online.

There are many beautiful Blogs that I love.
Here are 7.
Joannes beautiful photographs at Framed are a rare but special treat.

Moonbindery is a very talented and inspiring maker of hand made books.

Monika and her Bohemian Shadows is a delight, I enjoy her art, her thoughts and the inspirations she shares.

India Flint is an incredibly talented artist who does magic with natural dyes, her beautiful blog is not all those who wander are lost

I love to read what Ariad and her gorgeous kids are up to at Rainbow Love Farm

Kez's blog is another great blog I enjoy as a peek into anothers homeschool.

And the last but certainly not least beautiful blog I will share today is Barnacle Goose Paperwork's another fabulously talented artist writer and bookmaker.

And 7 things about me.

~I have just moved into a beautiful warm house with stunning river views and I am so happy about that. I have a drafting table and some shelf space permanently devoted to my art space- yay!

~After years and years without a bath tub I am having 4 or 5 long soaks in the tub each week. I take something to read and a cuppa and lie back in the warm and fragrant bubbles and R E L A X ahhh

~Some of my best friends live in my computer, I am a member of The Rockpool Homeschool forum and Milliandes art community for women and both of these online communities are wonderful safe supportive places than nourish me and many many other women. I feel blessed to have these communities in my life.

~I love to cook and to experiment with new recipes, we have been eating lots of fish from the local co op and I want to make a nice fish curry in the next few days.

~ I have a huge colony of red headed flying foxes living in some remnant rain forest near my home and I love them. I love the musky animal smell and the noises and the thousands of bats that flow through the sky just after sunset, and I love the ones that get in my garden and wake me at night, their cheerful chatter delights me, just don't tell the locals ; )

~I have pulled a muscle in my b.. last night at scouts, my gluteus maximus I think it is called and am hobbling around, but it was a great reason for a soak in the bath today. I hope it does not take too long to heal.

~I adore my kids and love our homeschooling lifestyle. I love seeing them learn, develop and grow.

~I am preparing a body of work and a portfolio to apply to a local art gallery to be an exhibiting artist in their gallery.