Time keeps on slipping slipping slipping ....

So where did last week go? Beats me.

The weather here has been diabolical. People have died. There's been a landslide on Mt Keira, floods in the Hunter, and a tanker washed up on the beach in Newcastle in the five metre swells. I watched a documentary on oil called CRUDE recently - such a chilling prediction about the future ... this wild weather could be a symptom ... truly frightening ...

So I was very pleasantly suprised to find the sun shining this morning when I awoke, we had to get some fresh air so we took the children on a huge adventure - about two minutes drive from my place. The Wollongong Botanic Gardens.

When we left home there was masses of photogenic filtered afternoon sunlight on the lawn and grounds. As soon as I got out of the car this happened:



(look how the spires on the cactus have bowed down in the wind - this picture is taken with the camera parallel to the ground) so I had to make do with cloudy light.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the roses. I know they're not perfect blooms but considering the deluge they've survived in the past week it's a wonder they've got any petals left at all.






My favourite was this faded lilac colour, almost grey really, very vintage looking.




There were bridges to be crossed.

And a scarf to be photographed in it's natural habitat. Here's my most recent quickie project, a (you guessed it) feather and fan scarf in a colourway called painted desert. Man I love this colour - can you beleive how much is looks like the scoria on the ground?

Can you see I conducted a little experiment with this yarn? For five repeats towards the ends of the scarf I separated the two strands, the mohair on it's own and then the rayon boucle on it's own. The rayon boucle looks so much like platinum leaf when knitted by itself - so lustrous. Alhtough methinks this stuff may classify as novelty yarn - what do you think?

I prefer to knit this pattern in two pieces and graft down the centre otherwise the scalloped edge only happens on one side - this lack of symmetry would be untenable in my book. Because I only had one hank of this yarn I made it quite narrow, with only 24 stitches and 4 k2togs instead of the usual 3.


On our way out, Blair found a fairy village. All the fairies must have been hiding, for we could only see their houses.

So that was it. I'll leave you with this, who doesn't love a good strelitzia - found on the front lawn of every fifties fibro on the eastern seaboard?



COMMENTERS:

Jussi - I cried all the way thru Leaving Las Vegas too, my heart was broken badly from a boyfriend once because of the wretched drink - alcoholism is such a strong addiction and such a waste.

Meg - GOLD!! I have oft wanted a camera crew to come down and do a doco on the extended family of British gypsies who live on the park - they must be third or fourth generation of this lifestyle - their accents haven't changed for they don't mingle too much with mainstream society - they have a LOT of cash - are illiterate - so interesting a lifestyle. Not to mention the permanent van owners, the grey nomads, the backpackers, the transient workers - it's an amazing cross section of society we get.

BTW - I will keep you informed. I don't actually think he's going to die in situ on the park (although it happens more often than you might think) - but I do think that things are going to get worse for him - he's not at 'rock bottom' yet - but I'm sure he can smell it from where he is. Poor bastard.